Diseases of Fruit Plantation Medicinal and Aromatic Crops

Sclerotium wilt

Causal organism: Sclerotium rolfsii (Sacc)
Symptoms

• Beetle vine of all ages are vulnerable to infection particularly at the collar region.
• White cottony mycelial growth creep over the infected root or the stem and soon minute mustard like sclerotial bodies appear in the soil near collar region of the vine.
• The vine wilts, dries off and leaves droop. Decay of stem occurs at and below the soil level, where dense, white cottony, mycelial mass are found at the site of entry causing wilting of the aerial parts.
• Numerous sclerotial bodies develop on the rotting stem and the soil around the infected plants. There is abundance of mycelia near the infected tissue.
• The mycelium inside the host is both inter and intra cellular that destroys the middle lamella resulting soft rot. The plants are susceptible at all the stages of their growth.
• The sclerotia are produced in plenty and are responsible for perpetuation and dissemination of the pathogen.
Etiology

• Dormant mycelia and sclerotial bodies are present in the infected host debris and soil. The fungus survives as sclerotial bodies and spread through air borne mycelial strands.
Management

• Application of mustard oil cake, ammonium sulphate, sodium nitrate and ammonium phosphate in the soil reduce the mortality percentage.
• Earthing up of the vines to cover the sclerotial bodies to a depth of 75 mm and ploughing to a depth of 22 to30cm have also proved equally effective.
• Incorporation of bio-agent, Trichoderma viridae in the soil along with FYM can also manage the disease effectively.