Symptoms and Control Methods of Lily Anthracnose

Lily anthracnose harms the leaves, stems and flowers of the plant, causing premature leaf drop, seriously affecting the plant's growth and development and reducing its ornamental value.

Symptoms: In the early stage of the disease, oval-shaped lesions appear on infected leaves, with the center of the lesion pale yellow and the edges purplish brown or dark brown, and the center of the lesion slightly sunken. Lesions on petals are light brown and become thinner. Infected flower stalks turn black. Infected bulbs generally occur on the outer scales, and sometimes also on the inner scales. In the early stage of the disease, light brown, irregularly shaped spots appear on the scales, after which the lesions expand and sink, changing from brown to black, and the scales become dry, rotted and shriveled. In the late stage of the disease, small black dots appear on the diseased soil, which are the acervuli of the pathogen.

Pathogen: The pathogen is Colletotrichum lilii Plakidas, belonging to the Deuteromycotina, Coelomycetes, Melanconiales, genus Colletotrichum.

Disease pattern: The pathogen overwinters on diseased plant debris as mycelium and acervuli. When conditions are suitable the following year, it produces conidia, which spread through wind and rain to infect the plant. High temperature and high humidity favor the occurrence of this disease.

Control: 1 Reduce sources of infection: promptly prune or pull out diseased plants when found and destroy them in a centralized manner. 2 Strengthen cultivation management: do not overwater the bulbs and do not let the bulbs freeze. If conditions permit, use disease-free soil for planting. For potted plants, use sterilized soil to fill the pots. Strictly select disease-free bulbs; before planting, soak the bulbs in Benlate, which has a certain control effect.