A Complete Analysis of Common Pests and Diseases of American Ginseng and Their Control Methods

American ginseng is a relatively precious medicinal herb, and the older the root, the more expensive it is and the higher its medicinal value. However, the age of American ginseng on the current market is generally not very high. Due to the scarcity of wild resources, the yield from home cultivation is also not very high, while market demand is relatively large, so supply falls short of demand on the market. If you want to increase yield, you need to prevent some of the diseases that appear during the growing process, so that you can produce American ginseng of high quality and high yield. Below is an introduction from Qinnong Network on some pest and disease control methods for American ginseng, and we hope it can help everyone.

1. Black spot disease

Black spot disease in American ginseng generally appears on the leaves and stems, and sometimes also on the fruit of American ginseng. In the early stage of the disease, scattered oval-shaped dark brown spots appear on the leaf surface or stems. If no control is carried out, the color will gradually deepen and continue to spread, and eventually it will appear on the fruit of American ginseng, then penetrate into the fruit, and by then such American ginseng will have no value at all. The cause of this type of disease is generally relatively abundant rain and failure to drain water in time. The most basic control method is seed treatment, which means mixing American ginseng seeds with a pesticide against black spot disease at planting time, so as to enhance the resistance of American ginseng. When the disease occurs, we need to use Bordeaux mixture and chlorothalonil alternately for spraying.

2. Phytophthora blight

Phytophthora blight in American ginseng generally occurs in June and July of summer. At this time the temperature is very high and rainfall is also relatively heavy, so it very easily triggers phytophthora blight. Phytophthora blight mainly harms the roots of American ginseng, causing the roots to rot. If it is not controlled in time, then by the time you dig up the American ginseng, basically not a single root will be intact. The control methods are to dig ditches all around at planting time, which makes drainage convenient. Next, the grass and wood used to mulch American ginseng last year cannot be used a second time. Finally, at planting time, spread quicklime into the holes. When the disease occurs, mancozeb can be used for control, and the effect is still very good.

3. Damping-off

The symptom of damping-off is that American ginseng seedlings lodge, and it will slowly spread, producing patches of lodging. It seriously affects the growth and yield of American ginseng. Its ability to spread and its infectivity are both very strong, so we must be very careful in ordinary field management and need to regulate the temperature and humidity in the field well. Next, as soon as one or two lodged seedlings are found, chemical treatment should be carried out. The pesticides used are carbendazim or an antibiotic. Carbendazim is mostly used for covering soil and seed dressing, while the antibiotic is used for spraying. At the same time, Bordeaux solution can also be used, and the effect is about the same.

4. Cutworms

Cutworms are the natural enemy of root and stem plants. They especially like to bite the roots and stems of plants, which affects the growth rate of the plants, and in severe cases causes the plants to stop growing. So we generally control them by using trichlorfon, or buy some trapping and killing devices for cutworms to trap and kill them.

5. White grubs

White grubs are actually the pest most disliked by American ginseng and even all ginseng types. The main effective and valuable part of American ginseng is the root, and white grubs especially like to eat root parts. If white grubs are encountered during the planting process, then in severe cases basically no American ginseng output will be seen. So in order to avoid all your hard work being ruined, you need to prepare for prevention in advance. When necessary, trichlorfon and phoxim emulsifiable concentrate need to be used alternately to kill the insects.