2. Diseases of Major Spices
1. Black Pepper
• Quick wilt/Foot rot –Phyotphthora capsici
Old Name :P. palmivora
• Pollu Disease/Berry spot – Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes
• Slow decline / slow wilt – Fusarium solani Sacc. F. sp. piperi
Radopholus similis (Burrowing Nematode) and
Meloidogyne incognita (Root Knot Nematode)
3. Phytophthora foot rot (Quick wilt disease) -
Phytophthora capsici
• All parts of the vine are vulnerable to the disease.
Rotting of basal region of vine is called Foot rot and sudden death of
vine is called quick wilt.
Symptoms:
a. Die back:
•The aerial branches get infected at any point.
• At the site of infection of branch, the
discoloration occurs and rotting progress
upwards and downwards resulting in die-back
symptoms.
•The lateral branches of the affected vines
break off at the nodes and fall off. Die back Symptom
4. Symptoms
Foot rot or Collar rot:
• The stem near the ground level get
infected and the rotting and death of
vine occurs within 2-3 weeks.
• The affected portion emits bad odour.
The necrosis progress down wards to the
underground stem and to the root
system.
c. Root rot:
• The infection starts at main root or at
feeder root.
Phytophthora foot rot (Quick wilt disease) -
Phytophthora capsici
Collar rot
Root rot
5.
6. Epidemiology:
• The pathogen is soil borne and infected
plant debris serves as the major source of
inoculum.
• A temperature of 23-29o C, relative humidity
of 81-99 per cent, daily rainfall of 15.8-23
mm and sunshine of 3.5 h /day favours aerial
spread.
• Vertical and lateral spread of the disease is
noticed due to rain splashes during foliar
infection.
• The disease gradually spreads to the upper
region of the bush with intermittent rain
splashes.
Phytophthora foot rot (Quick wilt disease)
- Phytophthora capsici
7. Management:
•Selection of healthy nursery material.
•Provide good drainage.
•Soil drenching with 1% Bordeaux mixture after removal of the
affected plant.
•Spraying with 1% Bordeaux mixture (or) COC 0.25% (or) Alitte
0.3%
•Soil application of neem cake and Trichoderma viride or P.
fluorescens
•Different species of pepper like Piper colubrinum, P. arboretum
and P. sarmentosum have been found resistant while cvs. like
Narayakodi, Kallu valley, Uthirankotta and Balankotta were
tolerant to this disease.
Phytophthora foot rot (Quick wilt disease)
- Phytophthora capsici
8. Anthracnose or Pollu disease –
C. gloeosporioides C. necator Masse and
C. capsici
Symptoms
• The fungus causes angular to irregular brownish lesions with a
chlorotic halo on the leaves
• The affected berries show brown sunken patches during early stages
and their further development is affected.
• In later stages, the discolouration gradually increases and the berries
show the characteristic cross splitting.
• Finally, the berries turn black and dry.
Brownish lesion with chlorotic halo
9. Pathogen
• Casual organisms : Colletotrichum
gleosporioides, C. necator and C. capssici
• Mycelium septate, conidiophore bears
conidia which are falcate, hyaline , unicellular
with narrow ends .
• Acervuli and setae present.
Anthracnose or Pollu disease –
C. gloeosporioides C. necator Masse and
C. capsici
Acervulus of C. capsici
10. Mode of Spread
Primary spread : Ascospores from infected plant debris
Secondary spread : Air borne conidia
Disease cycle and epidemiology:
• Since the vines are perennial, the disease symptoms appear
throughout the season and thus the life cycle of the pathogen
continues.
• Dioscorea triphylla is a collateral host.
• The pathogen require high humidity in the form of dew, the
maximum disease incidence i.e. 28-34 per cent occur during the
months of August and September.
Management
• Spray Bordeaux mixture 1% alternating with carbendazim 0.1%
Anthracnose or Pollu disease –
C. gloeosporioides C. necator Masse and
C. capsici
11. Slow decline – Nematode and fungal complex
Etiology: Fusarium solani f.sp.
piperi,Meloidogyne incognita, Radopholus
similis, P & K deficiencies and soil moisture
stress
Symptoms
• Foliar yellowing, defoliation and die-back
are the aerial symptoms of this disease.
• The affected vines exhibit varying degrees
of root degeneration due to infestation by
plant parasitic nematodes.
• The diseased vines exhibit foliar yellowing
coinciding with depletion of soil moisture
and recover with the onset of monsoon. Infected leaf
12. • However, the symptoms reappear in subsequent seasons after the
cessation of the monsoon and the diseased vines gradually lose their
vigour and productivity.
• The affected vines show varying degrees of feeder root loss, necrosis
and presence of root galls due to infestation by plant parasitic
nematodes such as Radopholus similis and Meloidogyne incognita
leading to rotting of feeder roots.
13. Management:
• Application of neem cake @ 1kg/vine reduce M.
incognita population under field conditions.
• Apply Phorate (3 g a.i./vine) application twice a year for the
management of both nematodes.
• Mycorrhizal fungi Glomus mossae, G. fasciculatum, Gigaspora
margarita and Acaulospora laevis also show varying degree of root
knot suppression.
• Piper colubrinum is resistant to both root knot and burrowing
nematode.
• Soil drenching with Copper oxychloride in May– June and Sept– Oct.
14. Diseases of Major Spices
2. Cardamom
• Katte disease – Virus
Vector : Pentalonia nigronervosa
• Azhukal capsule rot – Phytopthora meadii,
P. nicotianae var. nicotianae
(Causes losses upto 30%)
• Damping off/ Rhizome rot – Pythium vexans
15. Symptoms
• General chlorosis of young leaves –
parallel streaks of pale green tissues
running along the veins from midrib to
the margins.
• Leaf sheath also shows stitch stripes.
• In advanced stage the whole plant shows
mosaic symptom.
• Rhizome shrivels and plants dies. If young
clumps are attached they die before
flowering.
• Vector: Pentalonia nigronervosa
Katte Disease -Cardamom Mosaic
Virus (CDMV)
Vector: Pentalonia nigronervosa
P. nigronervosa
(Banana Aphid)
Stitch stripes
symptom on leaves
16. Mode of Spread
• It is a non- persistent virus transmitted by the aphid Pentalonia
nigronervosa, use of infected planting stock.
Leaf hopper
Non persistant virus - Aphid
Katte Disease -Cardamom Mosaic Virus
(CDMV)
Vector: Pentalonia nigronervosa
17. Management
• Collection and removal of infected clumps along with rhizomes and
burning.
• Raising of nursery in diseases free areas.
• Spray with dimethoate (or) Methyl dematan (or) Phosphomidon to
kill the vector.
Katte Disease -Cardamom Mosaic Virus (CDMV)
Vector: Pentalonia nigronervosa
18. Symptoms
Azhukal /Capsule rot– Phytopthora meadi,
P. nicotianae var. nicotianae
Capsule rot
• Leaves, tillers, panicles and capsules are
infected.
• Water soaked regions appear on the
capsule which become dull brown.
• The infected capsules emit a foul smell
and snip off from the rachis.
• Tender shoots, decay
• Leaves show water soaked, greenish
lesions spread and become necrotic.
19. Favourable conditions
• High rainfall areas, south west monsoon period
• High RH and soil moisture
Mode of spread
Oospores and Zoospores
The fungus is soil borne
• Colocasia plants are reported to be the collateral hosts of P.
meadii.
Azhukal/ Capsule rot– Phytopthora meadi,
P. nicotianae var. nicotianae
20. Management
• Removal and burning of infected plants.
• Avoid moving of rhizomes from diseased areas to healthy area
for planting
• Provide proper drainage
• Three sprays with Bordeaux mixture 1% in May, June, July
• Soil drench with Bordeaux mixture 1 % (or) Copper
oxychloride 0.25%
• Biological control of P. meadii infections using antagonistic fungi
like Trichoderma spp. and Laetisaria sp. has also been found
effective.
Azhukal/ Capsule rot– Phytopthora meadi,
P. nicotianae var. nicotianae
21. Damping off/ Rhizome rot – Pythium vexans
• It is also known as Clump rot.
Symptoms
• Infected leaves become pale, yellow and ultimately the young leaves
die.
• Older leaves die prematurely and new shoots that arise are weak,
decay and the rhizomes rot at the base of the stem.
• The diseased shoot can be pulled out easily.
22. Management
• Destruction of diseased clumps.
• Providing proper drainage
• Changing the nursery site
• Drenching the nursery beds with Copper oxychloride 0.25% or
Bordeaux mixture 0.5%, before 15 days of sowing.
• Soil drenching with B.M 1% (or) PCNB 1.0%
Damping off/ Rhizome rot – Pythium vexans
24. Rhizome rot / Soft rot – Fungal & Bacterial Complex
Soft rot is the most destructive
disease of ginger which results in
total loss of affected clumps.
The disease is soil-borne and is
caused by Pythium
aphanidermatum.
The fungus multiplies with build up
of soil moisture with the onset of
south west monsoon.
Younger sprouts are the most
susceptible to the pathogen.
Complex disease-Pythium aphanidermatum-(soft rot),
Pseudomonas solanacearum-bacterial wilt, Fusarium sp. (Yellow),
nematodes, rhizome maggots.
25. Symptoms
•Plants become pale, leaf tips turn yellow
and the infection gradually spreads down
the leaf blade and leaf sheath along the
margin.
•Yellowing spreads from bottom upwards;
leaves droop, plants wither and dry.
•Infected plant can be easily pulled our
from the soil as the collar region becomes
soft, rotten and show pale, translucent,
water soaked patches.
•Rotting is also noticed in rhizomes kept
in storage.
26. Management
• Treat seed rhizomes with T. viride or captan or thiram
0.4% for 30 min before storage and once again before
planting.
• Select well drained soils for planting.
• Select seed rhizomes from disease free gardens, since
the disease is also seed borne.
• Application of T. viride along with neem cake @
1kg/bed.
• Remove the affected clumps and drench the beds with
COC 0.25%
Rhizome rot / Soft rot – Fungal & Bacterial Complex
27. Symptoms
The disease starts as a water soaked spot and later turns as a white
spot surrounded by dark brown margins and yellow halo.
The lesions enlarge and coalesce to form necrotic areas.
It spreads through rain splashes during intermittent showers.
Leaf spot – Phyllosticta zingiberi
Management
Spray Bordeaux mixture 1%
or mancozeb 0.2%.
28. Bacterial wilt - Ralstonia solanacearum
Symptoms
Water soaked spots appear at the collar
region of the pseudostem and progresses
upwards and downwards.
The first conspicuous symptom is mild
drooping and curling of leaf margins of the
lower leaves which spreads upwards.
Yellowing starts from the lowermost leaves
and gradually progresses to the upper leaves.
In the advanced stage, the plants exhibit
severe yellowing and wilting symptoms.
29. The vascular tissues of the affected pseudostems shows dark
streaks.
The affected pseudostem and rhizome when pressed gently exudes
a milky ooze from the vascular strands.
30. Bacterium
High soil moisture, high humidity and low
temperature are favourable.
Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita)
infestation predisposes infection by
bacterium.
Management
• Crop rotation
• Plant healthy rhizomes
• Provide good drainage and remove infected
plants.
• Treat seed rhizomes in Emisan or
Streptocycline 500 ppm for 30 min and shade
dried before planting.
• Drench with Bordeaux mixture 1% or copper
oxychloride 0.25% or streptocycline 500ppm.
31. Diseases of Major Spices
4. Turmeric
• Turmeric leaf spot - Colletotrichum capsici
• Turmeric leaf blotch – Taphrina maculans
• Rhizome and root rot – Pythium graminicolum
32. Turmeric leaf spot Colletotrichum capsici
The spots are elliptic to oblong 4.53 cm with grayish white
center, brown margin and yellow halo spots coalesce and leaves
dry.
Favourable conditions
• August-September when there is high humidity.
Greyish white center , brown marigin ans yellow halo spots on leaves
33.
34. Mode of spread and survival
• Conidia are disseminated by wind and rain
• Also carried over as dormant stromata between the
rhizome scales.
Management
• 1% Bordeaux mixture or 0.2% mancozeb in early August
before the appearance of the disease.
• Select seed rhizomes from healthy areas, avoid excess
shade adopt mixed cropping
Turmeric leaf spot Colletotrichum capsici
35. • The leaf spot appear in October-November on both the
surfaces of the leaves.
• It first appears as apple yellow discolorations turn to
dirty yellow and then brown with a chlorotic halo.
• The lesions coalesce, forming large necrotic blotches;
leaves ultimately dry
Turmeric leaf blotch - Taphrina maculans
36. Favourable conditions
• 80% RH and 21-23°C.
• Mode of spread and survival :Soil debris
Management
• Spray 1% Bordeaux mixture or 0.2%
Copper oxychloride
Turmeric leaf blotch - Taphrina maculans
Taphrina – Naked asci
37. Symptoms
• In infected plants, basal portion of the shoots appear watery and
soft.
• The root system is very much reduced
• The leaves exhibit gradual drying along the margin
• Infected rhizomes soft, rotted, color changes into different shades of
brown.
Pathogen
• The fungi produce oospores and zoospores. Oospores are spherical
and thick walled.
• The fungi are soil-borne. Infected rhizomes used for seed purpose
carry the pathogen primarily and the secondary spread by irrigation
water.
Rhizome and root rot –
Pythium aphanidermatum , P. graminicolum
39. Management
• Use disease free planting material
• Providing good drainage facilities
• Rhizome dip in copper oxy chloride or zineb (0.3%) for 30
minutes before planting
• Soil drenching with copper oxy chloride (0.25%) in and around
affected plants
• Soil application of Pseudomonas fluorescens talc formulation
(2.5 kg/ha)
Rhizome and root rot –
Pythium aphanidermatum , P. graminicolum
41. Powdery Mildew: Erysiphe polygoni
(Oidium Type of PM)
Symptom
• Small, white spots appear on leaf
surface and later cover the entire
surface
• Powdery growth can be seen on
petiole and umbels
• Under severe infection, plants
present an ashy -white
appearance
Management
• Spray with wettable sulphur 0.2
per cent
Powdery symptom on coriander
E. polygoni
42. Wilt – Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. Corianderii
Symptoms
• In affected plants lower leaves turn yellow
and later dry. Sterility often noticed in such
plants.
• Later, the affected plants show wilt
symptom
• The roots of affected plants shows vascular
discolouration
• Pathogen survives both in seed and soil.
Wilting Symptom in Coriander
43. • Soil-borne inoculum is the primary source of infection
• Optimum Temperature – 28 degree C and pH -5.8 to 6.9 for
the disease
Management
• Seed treatment with Carbendazim @ 2g/kg of seeds
• Seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10g/kg of
seeds
• Soil drenching with Carbendazim 0.1% or COC 0.25%
Wilt – Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. Corianderii
44. Stem gall: Protomyces macrosporus
Symptom
• Galls appear on the leaves and stems
of the plants affected by this disease.
• Shape of coriander seeds change
due to effect of the disease.
Epidemiology
• Severe in heavy and irrigated soils
• Low temperature, abundant dew
with higher day temperature
predispose plants to infection.
• Potassium and Nitrogen fertilizers
reduced stem gall incidence whereas
Phosphorus fertilizers increased it.
• A pH of 7.5 was most suitable for
infection while minimum infection
occurred at PH 5.5. Stem Gall symptoms in Coriander
45. Management
• To control the disease, sowing may be done only after treating the
seeds with 4 g Thiram and 2 g Bavistin / Kg. seeds.
• Spray 0.1% solution of Carbendazim when the symptoms start
appearing and repeat the spraying at an interval of 20 days till the
disease is completely controlled.
Stem gall: Protomyces macrosporus
46. Fenugreek- Powdery mildew-
Erysiphe polygoni (Oidium)&
Leveillula taurica (Oidiopsis)-
Symptoms:
• It usually appears late in the season.
• Powdery white growth can be seen on both the surfaces of the
leaves. It also appears on above ground plant parts.
Powdery Mildew on Fenugreek
Management:
The disease is controlled by dusting
inorganic sulphur at 25 kg/ha or spraying
Wettable sulphur 0.25 per cent at 20
days interval.
48. Description Oidium Oidiopsis Ovulariopsis
Symptoms Mostly on upper surface of
leaves
Mostly on lower
surface of leaves
Lower or upper
surface of leaves
Mycelium Hyaline, septate, ectophytic Hyaline, septate,
endophytic
Hyaline, septate,
ecto-and endophytic
Haustoria Present in epidermis only Present in epidermis
and spongy cells
Epidermal haustoria
absent, haustoria in
inner cells
Conidiophores Short, single, club-shaped,
non-septate
Long, branched,
septate
Long, single, septate
Conidia Cylindrical or barrel shaped,
in chains
Club shaped, single
celled,
Club shaped,
single celled,
Cleistothecia Mycelioid appendage Mycelioid appendage Bulbous appendage
Examples Erysiphe cichoracearum Leveillula taurica Muberry
Phyllactinia guttata
(syn. P. corylea)
Three types of powdery mildew pathogens based on the mycelium and type of conidia
49. Cumin-Powdery mildew – Erysiphe polygoni
Symptoms:
•The disease appears as greyish specks on the lower leaves
which enlarge and cover the leaf surface.
•Stem, flowers, umbels and fruits are also covered with fungal
growth.
•The infected plants bear few, shriveled, light weight seeds.
Management:
The disease can be effectively controlled by spraying fungicides
like dinocap (0.05%), carbendazim (0.1%) or hexaconazole
(0.05%) and repeat at 10- 14 days interval.
50. Wilt - Rhizoctonia solani
Symptoms:
•The characteristic symptoms of the disease are
drooping of leaf tips leading to mortality of the
plants.
•Later in the season, the colour of the leaves
changes from green to yellow from the oldest
leaf to the younger ones resulting in the wilting
of the entire.
•If infection occurs at flowering stage, no seed
formation takes place and if formed they are
small and shrivelled.
•Internal symptom: brown vascular discoloration
is common
51. Management:
•Follow long crop rotation.
•Use healthy seed.
•Two to three summer ploughing and application of decomposable
organic matter like cakes (castor and mustard) and poultry manure
(2.5 t/ha) reduces disease.
•Use resistant cvs./lines like UC-33, MC-43, UC-62 and UC-90.
•Seed treatment with carbendazim (0.2%) followed by sprays with
the same chemical (0.1%) have been found effective in reducing
the wilt incidence.
Wilt - Rhizoctonia solani
52. Blight - Alternaria burnsii
Symptoms:
•The symptoms of the disease appear as minute necrotic areas
on all above ground parts of the plants which turn purple in
advanced stages and later turn brown and black.
•The affected parts of the plants become blighted.
•Severely affected plants bear no seeds or shriveled seeds.
53. Management
•Collect and destroy the infected plant debris.
•Use healthy seed and treat the seed with captan (0.3%).
•With the initiation of the disease, spray the crop with
fungicides like mancozeb (0.25%) or propiconazole (0.03%)
•Use tolerant lines like MC-43, Gujrat Cumin-1, RZ-19 and
Gujrat Cumin-2.
54. Diseases of Tree Spices
8. Nutmeg
• Fruit rot – C. gloeosporioides and Botryodiplodia theobromae
• Leaf Spot and Shot hole - – C. gloeosporioides
55. Fruit rot- C. gloeosporioides and
Botryodiplodia theobromae
Symptoms
• This is caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Botryodiplodia
theobromae.
• Water soaked lesions are seen on the fruits, the tissues of which
become discoloured and disintegrated.
• Premature splitting of the pericarp and rotting of mace and seed are
the main symptoms of the disease.
• The internal tissues are found rotten. The fallen fruits become
enveloped with the growth of the organism.
• Management-spraying 1% Bordeaux mixture
56. Leaf Spot and Shot hole – C. gloeosporioides
Symptoms
• Sunken spots surrounded by a yellow halo are the initial symptoms.
• Subsequently the central portion of the necrotic region drops off
resulting in shot hole symptoms.
• Dieback symptoms are also observed in some of the mature
branches.
• On young seedlings drying of the leaves and subsequent defoliation
are seen.
Management- spraying 1% Bordeaux mixture two or three times during
rainy season.
57. Diseases of Tree Spices
9. Cinnamom
1.Leaf spot and die-back -Colletotrichum gloeosporioides
58. Symptoms
•On young seedlings small, irregular, deep-brown specks
develop on the leaf lamina.
•The spots coalesce and form irregular patches resulting in
drying up of leaves.
•Disease gradually extends to the stem and result in necrosis
from the apex downward. Seedlings die in advanced stages.
Leaf spot and die-back
Colletotrichum gloeosporioides
59. •On mature plant, necrotic blotches appear on leaves which later
turn papery white with reddish brown margins.
•Necrotic papery tissues fall and leaving shot-hole effect.
•Fungus produces acervuli in the necrotic tissues.
Management
Spraying 1 % Bordeaux mixture or 0.25 % COC
