Diseases of fruit plantation medicinal and aromatic crops (2+1)

Stalk rot of berries

Stalk rot of berries and leaves is generally noticed on Arabica and also on robusta coffee during Jul-Aug under the heavy pours of South-Western monsoon conditions.
Symptoms
• Necrosis of nodes & internodes from the junction of brown & green wood to wards the apex followed by berry drop and defoliation.
• Berries and leaves drop down due to necrosis & decay of the stalk portion. Generally, the rotting stalk remains on the branch while berries are dropped. One or two nodes at the tip of the infected branches may show total berry drop.
• The infected hanging berries remain lighter in weight and show premature ripening towards the end of Sept or Oct.
 
Favourable factors

• Low temperature, relative humidity (95-100 %),
• Surface wetness of plants due to rain or mist,
• Wounds on the stalk of berries and leaves and excess of soil moisture during monsoon are the most favourable factors for the disease development.

Management

• Provide good drainage by cleaning trenches & cradle pits to remove stagnation of excess water around root zone.
• Maintain thin overhead shade.
• Removal of mulch to expose soil around the plants
• Pre-monsoon spraying of Bordeaux mixture (0.5 %) in May-June giving a good coverage of branches & stalk of the berries.