How to prevent and control gray mold in peppers? All the practical methods are here

Gray mold in peppers is one of the more common diseases we encounter when growing peppers. Its onset period is from December to May of the following year. The pathogen prefers environments with low temperature and high humidity, so it is prone to occur on cloudy and rainy days in winter and spring, and in severe cases it can cause plant death. Below, Qinong Net introduces the prevention and control methods for pepper gray mold.

Before introducing the prevention and control methods, Qinong Net first wants to introduce the symptoms of pepper gray mold, so that everyone can have a basic understanding of this disease. Although for many experienced growers this disease is already very familiar, it is still necessary to introduce it here.

I. Harmful symptoms of pepper gray mold

At the seedling stage, it damages leaves, stems, and terminal buds. At the beginning of the disease, the tips of the cotyledons turn yellow, then it spreads to the young stems, which become constricted and thinner, and often break and fall at the diseased part and die. At the adult plant stage, it damages leaves, flowers, and fruits. Leaf damage mostly starts from the leaf tip, initially forming light yellowish-brown lesions, gradually extending upward into "V"-shaped lesions. Stem infection produces water-soaked lesions, and the parts above the diseased area wither and die. When floral organs are damaged, the petals wilt. When fruits are damaged, it mostly starts from where the young fruit adheres to the petals, showing water-soaked lesions, which after expansion cause brown spots on the entire fruit. The boundary between diseased and healthy tissue is obvious, and the diseased part has a grayish-brown mold layer.

The above are the symptoms of pepper gray mold. Next comes the prevention and control measures that everyone is more concerned about. In fact, Qinong Net mentioned at the very beginning that this pathogen prefers low-temperature and high-humidity environments, so the most environmentally friendly approach is inevitably not to create a good growing environment for gray mold. Let us look at the details below.

II. Prevention and control methods for pepper gray mold

1. Strengthen ventilation in greenhouses and glasshouses. Watering should be done in the morning on sunny days, and the water amount should be controlled and must not be too large. After rain, drain accumulated water in time, and ventilate and dehumidify reasonably in the greenhouse;

2. Eliminate the source of inoculum. Remove diseased fruits in time and take them outside the greenhouse or glasshouse for deep burial. After harvest, thoroughly dispose of diseased plants, etc., carry out deep plowing, and turn remaining diseased leaves, diseased branches, and so on into deeper soil. Cultivation with plastic film mulching can reduce the occurrence of gray mold;

3. Chemical control. For diseased plants in protected cultivation, 15% procymidone smoke agent 250-300 g/mu can be used for smoking, once every 5-7 days, for 2-3 consecutive or alternating treatments. It can also be used with Lyuheng 70% pyrimethanil water-dispersible granules 1000-1500 times solution, Lyuheng 30% pyrimethanil · thiram suspension concentrate 700-800 times solution, or clove · carvacrol aqueous solution 600 times solution, combined with Lyuheng No. 6 (50% chloroisobromine cyanuric acid soluble powder) 750-1500 times solution or Lyuheng Copper Master (86.2% cuprous oxide) 1500 times for spraying, which can strengthen the control effect on gray mold and at the same time control various concurrent diseases. It also has special effects on bacterial diseases. Spray once every 7-10 days, and spray 2-3 times continuously depending on the disease condition.

The above is Qinong Net's introduction to the prevention and control methods and medication for pepper gray mold. Doing a good job in disease prevention and control is also one of the key factors affecting the yield and benefits of pepper cultivation. I hope everyone can gain something after reading this article and that it can serve as a certain reference for the prevention and control of pepper gray mold.