Main diseases of loofah and their control

When we grow loofah, we will encounter many diseases, which will lead to a decrease in the yield of loofah. Here we will tell you about the diseases of loofah and how to prevent and control them:

Main diseases and symptoms of loofah

Downy Mildew

The disease mainly harms leaves. Irregular light yellow to bright yellow spots first appear on the diseased leaves, which then expand into polygonal brown spots. When it is humid, a purple-black mold layer appears on the back of the spots. In the later stage, the spots are connected into pieces, and the leaves die, which seriously reduces the yield. The pathogen of downy mildew of loofah belongs to the same pathogen as that of cucumber downy mildew. The pathogen overwinters on the diseased remains. Low temperature, rainy weather, high air humidity, large temperature difference between day and night, and flooding in the greenhouse are all conducive to the disease. The pathogen is spread by wind and rain in field cultivation.

anthrax

The concentric ring pattern of the lesions is the main feature of the late stage of the disease. At the beginning of the disease, it is a small yellowish nearly circular spot, which then expands to dark brown with ring patterns. When it is dry, the center of the lesion is easy to be perforated and ruptured. In severe cases, the leaves will die early, seriously reducing the yield. The vines and petioles are susceptible to the disease. The lesions are oval dark brown concave spots. When the humidity is high, pink mucus overflows from the lesions. High temperature, high humidity and heavy rain are conducive to the occurrence of anthracnose. The pathogen overwinters on the diseased remains as mycelium and conidia.

Disease

The main damage is to the fruit, and sometimes the stems and leaves are also affected. The fruit is usually infected starting from the pedicel. The lesions are sunken and initially water-soaked dark green. When the humidity is high, the fruit quickly becomes soft and rotten, and there are white mold-like substances. The stems are mainly infected on the tender stems or internodes. Initially, they are water-soaked. After expansion, the entire section is wet and rotten, and dark brown. The leaves are infected, initially with water-soaked yellow-brown spots. When the humidity is high, a white mold layer will form. When dry, they are bluish-white and easy to break.

powdery mildew

The main damage is to leaves, petioles and stems. Initially, round or irregular white powdery spots appear on the front and back of the leaves, which later become continuous patches, and the leaves turn yellow and dry up. In the early stage of the disease, it is difficult to detect, and it is difficult to prevent and control after it becomes serious, which affects the yield. Prevention should be the main focus.