Identification and Control Methods for Common Diseases and Pests of Dwarf Lilyturf

Dwarf LilyturfDiseases and pests and their control:

(1) Black spot disease

The pathogen is a fungus of the Deuteromycetes group. In the early stage of the disease, the leaf tips turn yellow and the discoloration spreads downward, producing water-soaked lesions of varying shades of green and white; in the later stage, the entire leaf turns yellow and dies.

Control methods: ① Select disease-free seedlings; before planting, soak the seedlings for 5 minutes in 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture, or in 65% zineb wettable powder at 500 times dilution. ② Strengthen field management and drain excess water promptly. ③ During the disease period in the field, diseased leaves can be cut off and 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture sprayed once every 10-14 days, for 3-4 consecutive applications.

(2) Root-knot nematode disease

The pathogen is a root-knot nematode of the class Nematoda, phylum Nematoda. It mainly damages the roots, causing galls that shorten the fibrous roots of dwarf lilyturf; in the later stage, the root surface becomes rough, cracks, and turns reddish brown. When the swollen parts are cut open, large numbers of milky white, shiny spherical bodies can be seen, which are the female adults.

Control methods: ① Practice crop rotation; where conditions permit, alternate paddy and dryland cropping, avoid rotation with flue-cured tobacco, Chinese milk vetch, cowpea, taro, sweet potato, cucurbits, monk fruit, Atractylodes macrocephala, Salvia miltiorrhiza, belladonna and other crops, and preferably rotate with gramineous crops. ② Select disease-free seedlings and trim off all old roots. ③ Select disease-resistant varieties, such as large-leaf dwarf lilyturf, Ophiopogon japonicus, and Suining dwarf lilyturf from Sichuan. ④ Soil treatment can provide control.

(3) White grubs, mole crickets, wireworms, cutworms, etc.: see the section on diseases and pests of ginseng and their control.