Eggplant powdery mildew pathogen, symptoms and control methods

When we grow eggplant, what should we do if eggplant powdery mildew appears?

Symptoms of powdery mildew on eggplant

The main damage is to leaves. In the early stage of the disease, irregular yellowish spots appear on the leaf surface, and white spots appear on the corresponding parts of the back of the leaf. Later, the number of spots increases, and the white powder becomes increasingly obvious, forming white powdery spots. The white powdery spots can be connected to each other, and after expansion, they cover the entire leaf surface. In severe cases, the front and back of the leaf are completely covered with white powder, and finally the leaf tissue turns yellow and dries up.

Eggplant powdery mildew pathogen

Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schlecht) Po11. is also called powdery mildew, belonging to the subdivision of Ascomycetes. Its asexual stage is commonly seen in the field, with conidia growing in strings on upright conidiophores. In late autumn, sexual reproduction bodies, i.e. cleistothecia, are sometimes produced. The cleistothecia are oblate, dark brown, 70-119 microns in diameter, with 5-10 filamentous appendages on the surface, which are brown and have septa. There is one ascus in the cleistothecia, which is oblate or nearly spherical, 48-96×51-70 microns in size, and is colorless and transparent.

Mode of transmission

The pathogen mainly overwinters in the form of cleistothecia on diseased remains. When conditions are suitable the following year, it emits ascospores to spread and produce