Diseases of Fruit Plantation Medicinal and Aromatic Crops

Early Blight

Causal organism: Curvularia andropogonis
Symptoms

• The pathogen causes damping off.
• Appearance of symptoms on leaves is seen as severe yellowing and browning of leaf tips initially with circular to oval spot on which in favorable condition become irregular.
• These spots in later stage turn to dark brown surrounded by dark reddish brown borders, Small unclean brown spots scattered over the leaf lamina .
• The minute spot increase in size forming big spherical or irregular patches. Sever in neglected crop
Epidemiology

• Nutritionally poor soil, temp 28-32^o C, RH 85-90 per cent, cloudy weather, susceptible host.
• PSI: Dormant mycelia
• SSI: Air borne conidia
Etiology

• Septate mycelia, inter and intracellular haustoria. any one of the conidia or conidiophore is colored Asexual spores-Air borne conidia in conidiaphore,sexual spores- Ascospores, vegetative structure is dormant mycelia.
Management

• Collect and destroy affected plant parts
• Increased nutritional status
• Reduce plant population
• Mancozeb 0.2% as aerial spray