Diseases of Fruit Plantation Medicinal and Aromatic Crops

Post Harvest diseases of plantation crops

COCOA

1. Black pod rot

Casual organism: Phytophthora palmivora
Symptoms:
• First sign of the disease is appearance of brown spot on the pod.
• The brown discolorations rapidly spread in all directions.
• The discolorations spread over the whole pod.
• Internal tissues of diseased pods become brown.
• Infected beans are discoloured.
• It causes further rotting leading to the spoilage of the quality of the produce.
Mode of spread & survival:
• Infected pods serves as source for the spread to the healthy pods in the storage and also during transit.
Management:
• Regular removal & destruction of infected pods at weekly intervals.
• Carefully identify the infected pods and remove them from the lot to the storage.
• Pre-harvest spraying with Benomyl 0.1% to avoid field infections.

2. Charcoal pod rot

Causal organism: Botryodiplodia theobromae
.Symptoms:-
• The infection appears as dark brown to black spot on any place on the pod surface & spreads rapidly.
Management:
• Regular removal & destruction of infected pods at weekly intervals.
• Carefully identify the infected pods and remove them from the lot to the storage.
• Pre-harvest spraying with Benomyl 0.1% to avoid field infections.

3) Cherella rot:

Causal organism: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.
Symptom:-
• Infected stalk becomes shrunken.
• The internal tissues of the pod become discoloured.
• Abundant pinkish slimy mass of conidial is produced on the lesions under high humid conditions.
• Ultimately the diseased pod turns brown to black & remains on the tree as mummified fruit.
Management:
• Regular removal & destruction of infected pods at weekly intervals.
• Carefully identify the infected pods and remove them from the lot to the storage.
• Pre-harvest spraying with Benomyl 0.1% to avoid field infections.