Analysis of the Causes of Pepper Plant Death and Control Methods
Pepper plant death has always been a persistent worry for vegetable growers. It seriously affects pepper yields and causes huge losses for growers, so to grow peppers well, control measures against this disease must be carried out properly. So what causes pepper plant death? How should it be controlled? Let's take a look.
1. Bacterial wilt
Bacterial wilt is a devastating disease in pepper production. When it strikes, the leaves wilt at noon and recover by evening, until finally they wilt and cannot recover. In open-field cultivation, it can easily cause large-scale death after rain, and even after death the plants remain their original green color with no obvious external symptoms. When the stem is cut open, milky white slime flows out with a foul odor. It is a bacterial disease.
Control methods: Avoid continuous cropping with solanaceous crops such as tomato and eggplant; rotation with cruciferous crops is best. Use high-ridge cultivation with plastic film mulch, and never flood-irrigate. Drain promptly after rain, and take care during hoeing and weeding not to damage the root system. Remove diseased plants promptly and disinfect the diseased planting holes, while spraying comprehensively with novobiocin or copper quinoline on the branches.
2. Phytophthora blight
It is also a devastating disease, and can occur at both the seedling and mature plant stages. When seedlings are affected, water-soaked lesions appear at the base of the stem, gradually constricting, causing the seedlings to collapse and rot, and finally wither and die. When mature plants are affected, pale green lesions appear on the leaves and gradually expand; when humidity is high, white mold-like growth can be seen on the lesions, and finally the leaves become soft, rot, and fall off. When the stem is affected, water-soaked lesions appear and gradually spread into irregular brown patches; after encircling the stem, they cause the cortex to rot, and finally cause the plant to break and fall over.
Control methods: Plant at a reasonable density, avoid flood irrigation, maintain good field sanitation, promptly remove diseased and dead plants and carry them out of the field to burn. When disease occurs, spray metalaxyl mancozeb or propamocarb for control, which gives good results.
3. Root rot
Root rot generally occurs after transplanting. When it strikes, the top leaves of the plant wilt and recover in the evening or morning; after this repeats several times, all the leaves wilt, but the color remains green. Brown lesions appear at the base of the stem and gradually rot, exposing the xylem; in moist environments, white or pink mold layers grow, which are the fungal conidia.
Control methods: Manage field moisture well, since moist environments easily trigger this disease, especially after the rainy season when drainage and loosening of the soil should be done promptly. Remove diseased plants promptly and carry them out of the field, and sprinkle lime on the diseased planting holes to disinfect, then spray pesticides comprehensively for control.
The above is an introduction to the causes of pepper plant death and control methods. We hope it helps you. For more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.