Cherry Tomato Seedling Disease Prevention and Control Methods
What diseases affect cherry tomato seedlings? How do you prevent and control pests and diseases in cherry tomato seedlings? We ask experienced growers to help explain. The diseases that occur in cherry tomato seedlings include damping-off, seedling blight, root rot, and late blight. These diseases often cause symptoms such as seedling death and lodging in cherry tomato seedlings, so...
What diseases affect cherry tomato seedlings? How do you prevent and control pests and diseases in cherry tomato seedlings? We ask experienced growers to help explainThe diseases that occur during the cherry tomato seedling stage include damping-off, seedling blight, root rot, and late blight. These diseases often cause symptoms such as seedling death and lodging in cherry tomato seedlings. Therefore, Zhongdiwang has compiled the symptoms and control methods of the above diseases, listed in detail below for growers' reference.
I. Symptoms of damping-off in cherry tomato seedlings:
This disease, commonly known as "little foot plague," occurs only during the seedling stage. Initially, water-soaked lesions appear at the base of the seedling stem, then gradually turn yellow, and the affected part constricts into a thread-like shape. After a small number of seedlings are affected, the pathogen spreads to the surrounding area, causing patches of seedlings to lodge. When the seedbed humidity is high, white mold-like growth easily forms on the affected parts and in the soil. When diseased seedlings are pulled up, soil often sticks to the affected area.
II. Symptoms of seedling blight in cherry tomato seedlings:
This disease is also called seedling death disease, and it is more severe in the middle and late seedling stages. Affected seedlings develop oval dark brown lesions at the base of the stem. In the early stage, diseased seedlings wilt during the day and can recover at night. When the condition is severe, the lesions gradually become sunken, causing the seedlings to die but not lodge. The affected area has concentric rings and does not grow white cotton-like mold, which is the main feature distinguishing it from damping-off.
III. Symptoms of root rot in cherry tomato seedlings:
Root rot mainly manifests as no new roots growing after the young stem emerges from the soil, pale and yellowing leaf color, wilting leaves, scorched leaf edges, rusted and rotting root bark, and the entire plant being easy to pull up.
IV. Symptoms of late blight in cherry tomato seedlings:
After the disease occurs, cherry tomato seedlings' cotyledons become infected and develop water-soaked dark green lesions with obvious mold layers at the edges. The lesions spread rapidly and extend to the main stem, making the stem thinner and dark brown, causing the whole plant to wilt or break and fall over. When humidity is high, sparse white mold forms on the surface of the affected parts.
Control methods for diseases in cherry tomato seedlings:
Method 1. Setting up the seedling bed:
The seedling bed should be built in a place with higher terrain, good ventilation and sunlight, and good drainage. The bed soil should be field soil from a previous crop that did not grow solanaceous fruits; the previous crop is best if it was alliums such as onions or garlic. If old bed soil is used, it should be disinfected. Before sowing, the bed soil should be fully turned and sun-dried, and organic fertilizer should be fully decomposed.
Method 2. Management of the seedling bed:
The seedling bed should be kept warm to prevent invasion by cold wind or low temperatures. During the day, the bed temperature must not be lower than 20°C. In cloudy days with low temperatures, loosen the soil to reduce humidity and raise temperature, promoting root growth. After continuous cloudy days turn clear, ventilation should be strengthened. Remove diseased plants immediately and sprinkle fine dry soil or plant ash on them.
Method 3. Treatment of seedling bed soil:
When using old seedling beds for raising seedlings, the bed soil should be disinfected. 15 days before sowing, rake the bed soil loose. For 1 sq m of seedling bed, use 120 ml of formalin mixed with 3-9 kg of water (the amount of water depends on the dryness and humidity of the seedling bed). After applying, cover with plastic film for 4-5 days, then uncover it. After 10 days, sow once the solution has fully dissipated. Alternatively, for 1 sq m of seedling bed, use 10 g of 50% carbendazim wettable powder or 10 g of 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder, mix evenly with 1 kg of fine dry soil, and place it as a bottom layer and top cover when sowing (1/3 as bottom soil, 2/3 as cover soil). It is also possible to use 10 g of 70% dexon original powder mixed with 1 kg of fine dry soil for 1 sq m of seedling bed, apply it in furrows or holes, and then sow.
Method 4. Disinfection of cherry tomato seeds before sowing:
Soak seeds in warm water at 50°C-55°C for 10-15 minutes, or soak in 0.3% potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes. You can also treat seeds with 50% carbendazim wettable powder or 65% mancozeb wettable powder, using an amount equal to 0.3% of the seed weight.
Method 5. Chemical control:
For damping-off in cherry tomato seedlings, spray with 500 times dilution of 50% metalaxyl-mancozeb wettable powder or 600 times dilution of 72.2% propamocarb aqueous solution;
For seedling blight in cherry tomato seedlings, use 1000 times dilution of 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder or 1500 times dilution of 5% jinggangmycin aqueous solution. When both diseases occur together, use 800 times dilution of 50% thiram wettable powder plus 600 times dilution of 80% pencozeb wettable powder. Spray once every 7-10 days, and depending on the disease condition, apply 2-3 times consecutively. If humidity is too high, you can also mix 30 g of 20% miaojundi wettable powder with 4-5 kg of fine dry soil and evenly broadcast it on the seedling bed at noon on a sunny day; the effect is relatively ideal.
For late blight in cherry tomato seedlings, use 500 times dilution of 58% ridomil wettable powder or 600 times dilution of 72% DuPont Curzate for control. Spray once every 7-10 days, and depending on the disease condition, apply 2-3 times consecutively.
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