Diseases of Fruit Plantation Medicinal and Aromatic Crops

Diseases of papaya

Introduction
Papaya is an ideal fruit for growing in kitchen gardens, backyards as well as in orchards. Papaya is a quick growing tree, bearing within 8-10 months of transplanting. Papaya is indeed, a very remunerative crop. It is a tropical fruit crop which is normally consumed fresh and is valued as a health food because of its rich vitamins C and A content. It is rich in Calcium and other minerals also. Unripe fruits are also used as vegetable. The fruits has medicinal value for piles, dyspepsia of liver spleen and digestive disorders. Ripe fruits are used in the preparation of jam, jelly, nectar, soft drinks, ice cream, flavoring crystallized fruits and are also canned as syrup.
It is now being grown in about 39,000 hectare area with production of 9.05 lakh ha. Its productivity is highest among all fruit crops. However, papaya is severely damaged when infected by fungal and viral diseases.
Diseases of papaya

A. FUNGAL DISEASES:

1. Powdery Mildew: Odium indicum Kamat, Odium caricae Noack, Leveillula taurica (Lev.) Arnauld
2. Leaf- Blight: Corynespora cassiicola (Burk and Curt).
3. Damping-Off : Pythium aphanidermatum Nirvan; Rhizoctonia solani Subramaniam.
4. Foot Rot : Pythium aphanidermatum Nirvan.
5. Anthracnose: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz.
B. VIRAL DISEASES
1. Papaya Mosaic
2. Leaf Curl of Papaya
3. Papaya Ring Spot Virus (PRSV) disease
C. POST HARVEST DISEASES OF PAPAYA:

I. FRUIT ROT OF PAPAYA:

1. Macrophomina Rot: Macrophomina phaseoli (Maubl).
2. Rhyzophus Rot or Soft Rot: Rhizophus stolonifer (Ehr.)
3. Phomopsis Rot: Phomopsis caricae (Pterrak and Cif)
4. Anthracnose: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides