Methods and Technical Key Points for Pest and Disease Control in Asarum

For damping-off disease, before the seeds emerge in spring, spray the seedbed surface with 70% Dexon at 500 times dilution; after emergence, use 50% carbendazim at 500 times dilution for control.

Sclerotinia disease mostly occurs in June-July. At the early stage of the disease, brown strip-shaped lesions appear at the base of the leaf petioles, and after they spread, the aboveground parts lodge and die. At the same time, the pathogen spreads to the roots, covering the rhizome with black sclerotia, until the entire root rots away leaving only the root bark. The control methods are: loosen the soil promptly in early spring, raise the soil temperature, and pay attention to drainage; promptly pull out and destroy diseased plants; spray with 0.3-degree lime sulfur mixture, amobam at 600-800 times dilution, and zineb at 600 times dilution; harvest at the proper time and rotate to a different plot for cultivation.

For rust disease, water promptly during drought, and after leaf unfolding spray 50% carbendazim at 300 times dilution, once every 7-10 days, spraying 2-3 times.

The insect pests harming Asarum include small cutworms, larvae of the Asarum swallowtail butterfly, black hairy caterpillars, locusts, ants, and others. They bite and feed on the buds and leaves of Asarum, and can be controlled with pesticides such as dichlorvos, trichlorfon, and fenvalerate.