Detailed Guide to Common Pest and Disease Control Methods for Dragon Fruit
Dragon fruit is a fairly well-known fruit nowadays, with considerable market sales. It also appears in videos of all sizes joking about its fruit having too many seeds, too little edible flesh, and being too troublesome to eat. Thanks to promotion through various channels, the popularity of dragon fruit has risen by several levels. Today, the editor will share with you some pests and diseases that occur during the growing period of dragon fruit and their control methods. Let's take a look below.
1. Anthracnose
Anthracnose generally occurs during the flowering period of dragon fruit or just after fruit set. Because the temperature is relatively high, combined with excessive rainfall, and field management not being handled properly, it can lead to the occurrence of anthracnose. The prevention method is to strengthen daily field management, drain water from the field in time, prune old branches in areas with very dense growth, and enhance field ventilation. The early symptoms of anthracnose generally manifest as red spots appearing on the stems, which then slowly turn black. In severe cases, the black spots penetrate into the fruit, and black spots of various sizes can be seen attached to the fruit skin. The treatment method is first to remove infected plants from the field, clean up the soil in that area, spread a layer of quicklime for disinfection, and then fill it back with clean, virus-free soil. In addition, spray with 450g/L prochloraz emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution; generally two to three applications are sufficient for control.
2. Scab
The cause of scab is too much moisture in the air, especially when dragon fruit seedlings are growing new shoots, which occurs more commonly in spring and autumn. So in these two seasons we need to take preventive measures in advance: prune branches and leaves that have been in the field for a relatively long time showing signs of aging as well as those damaged by pests and diseases, clean up weeds and other debris in the field, and then if a small number of plants with brick-red spots are seen in the field, we should begin chemical control in the field. Generally, spray with Bordeaux mixture or 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 500 times dilution. If the symptoms are not relieved, then it is necessary to switch to another chemical, such as 72% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, which will be a bit more effective.
3. Red and Yellow Spider Mites
Red and yellow spider mites prefer to feed on the tender shoots of dragon fruit, seriously affecting the metabolism of the dragon fruit orchard and the yield of dragon fruit. They will slowly eat away at the plant, then move to the roots, causing the roots to rot and the plant to die. There are two control methods. The first is to buy some traps specifically designed for red and yellow spider mites to trap and kill them. The second is to spray 73% propargite emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution or 15% pyridaben emulsifiable concentrate at 1500 times dilution, spraying once every five to six days, generally requiring two to three consecutive sprays.
4. Inchworms
Inchworms are a relatively harmful pest. If you are bitten by one in the field, be sure to disinfect the wound, otherwise the bitten area will develop large patches of redness and swelling and be very painful. They mainly damage the newly grown branches and leaves of dragon fruit, and they themselves are pale green, giving themselves excellent camouflage. If you do not look carefully, you really will not notice them. The control method is to spray 1.5% emamectin benzoate emulsifiable concentrate at 1500 times dilution or 15% indoxacarb suspension concentrate at 1000 times dilution two to three times. Of course, you can also choose trapping, but trapping is not particularly effective against inchworms.
The above are several relatively common diseases and pests of dragon fruit introduced by Qinnong Web, along with their causes and control methods. Of course, there are other conditions such as fusarium wilt, soft rot, and so on, but the editor has limited energy and will share just these few for now. If you discover other conditions during the planting process and do not know how to handle them, you can leave us a message.