Turmeric Diseases, Pests, Symptoms, Control Measures

Common Turmeric Diseases and Pests

Today let us discuss about the common Turmeric Diseases and Pests along with their control methods.

Pests in Turmeric:  

Rhizome Fly:

Symptoms:

  • The maggot drills into the shoots of turmeric plant and which results to holes that are found on the plants.
  • The maggots feed on the rhizome which causes rhizome rot.

Prevention Measure:

  • Select good quality seeds from reputed suppliers for planting.
  • The affected plants should be removed immediately and destroyed.
  • Use organic pesticide, diazinon can be a best option.
  • In case of severe infection, Application of 10% phorate @ 20 kg/ha should be applied to the base of the plants.

Shoot Boring Caterpillar:

Symptoms:

  • These pests lay eggs on leaves and other soft parts of the plant.
  • These caterpillars hatch out of eggs bore into the shoots and fed on the inner content which causes formation of dead hearts.

Preventive Measures:

  • Remove affected shoots along with caterpillar and dispose them.
  • In case of Spraying of carbaryl 50wp @ 1 kg in 500 lit. Water can be a good solution.
  • Spraying of 0.04% endosulfan can also be a good option.

Nematodes:

Symptoms:

  • These pests feed on tender rhizomes, roots and base of pseudostem causing stunting, chlorosis, poor tillering and necrosis of leaves.
  • You can observe root galls and lesions that lead to rotting of the roots.

Preventive Measures:

  • Dispose the infested plants completely.
  • Infected rhizomes should be treated with hot water (50°C) for 10 minutes.
  • Use nematode free rhizomes for planting.
  • Use marigold as inter crop.
  • Deep ploughing or solarized beds in summer to make bed fertile.
  • Implement crop rotation with cereal crops, marigold, Chrysanthemum, Sesbania, Gaillardia, castor bean and Desmodium spp.
  • Apply Neem (Azaradirachtaindica) seed cake before planting. 

Common Disease in Turmeric:

Read: Frequently Asked Questions About Plant Diseases.

Rhizome Rot:

Symptoms:

  • You can observe sudden wilting of the plant.
  • The rhizomes and roots of wilted plants get rotten.

Favorable Conditions: 

  • Younger sprouts are the most susceptible to this disease. Severe Nematode infestation can lead to rhizome rot disease.
  • Temperature above 30°C and high soil moisture climatic conditions favors this disease.
  • Poor drainage system and water logging increases the intensity of the disease.

Preventive Measures:

  • Drenching of soil with 1% ceresin can be a best option.
  • Use disease free sets for Planting.
  • Spraying of Bordeaux mixture 5:5:50 can be an effective treatment.
  • Avoid water logging conditions and implement proper irrigation.

Leaf spot:

This is a  soil-borne disease that affects the leaves in the months July to October. This disease survives in plant debris. This disease spread through rain splashes in rainy seasons.

Symptoms:

  • You can observe brown spots of various sizes on the upper surface of the young leaves.
  • The lesions are irregular in shape and white or grey in the center of the leaves.
  • Later, the spots may coalesce and form an irregular patch that covers almost the whole leaf.
  • The center of the spots on the leaves contains fruit head shaped fruiting structures.

Favorable conditions

  • High soil moisture can favor this disease.
  • The temperature below 25°C and leaf wetness can increase the chance of this disease.

Preventive Measures:

  • Proper sanitation and irrigation will protect the plants from this disease.
  • For an effective treatment, Spray with Mancozeb 0.25% or copper oxy chloride 0.25% immediately after the appearance of symptoms and at 15 days interval.

Read: Garlic Diseases and Pests.

Leaf blotch:

It is a soil borne disease survives on infected plant debris.

Symptoms:

  • The major symptoms appear as small, oval, rectangular or irregular brown spots on either side of the leaves, which soon become dirty yellow or dark brown.
  • The leaves also turn yellow.
  • If the infection is severe the plants look like water soaked the rhizome yield is reduced.

Favorable conditions

  • High soil moisture favors this disease.
  • Temperature below 25°C and leaf wetness conditions will favor this disease.

Preventive Measures:                   

  • Proper irrigation, avoid overhead water, prepare soil beds with well-drained soil.
  • Spray with Mancozeb 0.25% or copper oxy chloride 0.25% as soon as you observe the symptoms.

Dry rot:

It is a viral disease, that lives in the organic matter in the soil for many years.  It infects form vulnerable plants.

Symptoms:

  • The major symptoms are root rot and rhizome rot that mainly occurs in the typical dry rot of rhizomes from October onwards.
  • The affected rhizomes become very soft and shrunken, and then dry up and become very hard.
  • You can observe foliar yellowing and drying up of foliage during maturity period of the crop during the months of October– November.
  • When you open the infected rhizomes, the affected zones appear as dull brown and dark.

Favorable conditions

  • High soil temperatures (Temperatures above 35°C) and 15-20 per cent higher moisture in the soil and alluvial or sandy soil conditions favors this disease.

Bacterial wilt:

Symptoms:

  • Sudden wilting and death of the plant without any symptoms like yellowing or spotting of leaves is the major symptom.
  • This disease will wilt all the branches at the same time.
  • The infected plants have wilted stems that cut across, the pith has a darkened, plants look like completely water-soaked.
  • When you press the infected stems, you can observe greyish slimy ooze comes out from the infected part.
  • The disease is severe, it may cause extensive hollowing of the stem.

Favorable conditions

  • The diseases affect is very high in moist soils at temperatures above 24°C.
  • High soil temperature and moisture will encourage the this disease.

Preventive Measures:

  • Avoid overhead watering and implement proper irrigation methods.
  • You use insecticides for effective treatment. Spray Bordeaux mixture 5:5:50 for best results.
  • Spray once a week to reduce infection.

Nutritional Deficiencies:

Nitrogen: the nitrogen deficiency will give very poor yields in turmeric farming.

Symptoms:

  • Pale or yellow green leaves.
  • Reddish tints that turn at the leaf margins and it spreads to the midrib or central vein. The infected are Leaves are small. Overall growth is markedly reduced.
  • Deficiency results in reduction of rhizome yield.

Preventive Measure:

  • For nitrogen deficiency, Use Foliar spray of urea 1% or DAP 2% twice in a week

Potassium: Potassium deficiency is common in turmeric plants.

Symptoms:

  • Young leaves suffer with extreme deficiency.
  • Potassium deficiency leads to reduced growth and shortened internodes.
  • Potassium deficiency leads marginal burn or scorch (brown leaf edges), necrotic (dead) spots in the leaf, reduction of yields.
  • There will be lateral breaks in stems and they wilt readily.

Preventive Measure:

  • Application of K or foliar spray of K2 and SO4 @ 1% at every night will reduce the deficiency.

Iron: Young leaves of plants will suffer with iron deficiency.

Symptoms:

  • You can observe interveinal chlorosis and it spread entire leaf.
  • In severe cases, the leaves turn white.

Preventive Measure:

  • Treat the Soil with FeSO4 by foliar spray ofFeSO4 @ 0.5%during 3rd, 4th and 5th months.

Read: Turmeric Cultivation.

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