Department of Plant Pathology

Programme: - M.Sc. Ag. (Plant Pathology), 2ndSemester

Course Code:-PLPT 723
Course Title: -Diseases of Vegetable and Spices crops

Diseases of Brinjal
1. Damping Off

(Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp., Rhizoctonia spp.)

CLASSIFICATION

➢ KINGDOM : Fungi KINGDOM : Fungi

➢ DIVISION : Eumycota DIVISION : Eumycota

➢ S-DIVISION : Mastigomycotina S-DIVISION : Deutromycotina

➢ CLASS : Oomycetes CLASS : Hyphomycetes

➢ ORDER : Peronosporales ORDER : Aganomycetales

➢ FAMILY : Pythiaceae FAMILY : Aganomycetaceae

➢ GENUS : Pythium GENUS : Rhizoctonia

➢ Kingdom : Fungi

➢ Division : Eumycota

➢ Sub-division : Mastigomycotina

➢ Class : Oomycetes

➢ Order : Peronosporales

➢ Family : Pythiaceae

➢ Genus : Phytophthora
Symptoms:

The disease causes severe damage in the nursery. High soil, moisture and moderate temperature
along with high humidity especially in the rainy season leads to the development of the disease.
Two types of symptoms are observed-

Pre-emergence damping-off: The pre-emergence damping off

results in seed and seedling rot before these emerge out of the soil.

Post-emergence damping-off: The post-emergence damping off phase is

characterized by infection: of the young, juvenile tissues of the collar region at
the ground level. The infected tissues become soft and become water soaked. The
collar portion rots and ultimately the seedlings collapse and die.

Managaement

➢ Healthy seed should be selected for sowing. The seed should be treated with Thiram @
2g/kg of seed before sowing. Continuous raising of nursery in the same plot should be
avoided.

➢ The top soil of nursery should be treated with Thiram @ 5g/m2 area of the soil and
nursery should be drenched with the same chemical @ 2g/litre of water at fortnightly
interval.

➢ Soil solarization by spreading 250 gauge polythene sheet over the bed for 30 days before
sowing and application of bio-control agent Trichoderma viride in soil @ 1.2kg/ha is also
found effective to control damping-off to considerable extent.

2. Phomopsis Blight (Phomopsis vexans)

Symptoms:

➢ It is a serious disease of brinjal infecting the foliage and the

fruits.

➢ The fungus infects the seedlings in the nursery causing

damping off symptoms. .
 ➢ When the leaves are infected small circular spots appear which become grey to brown
with irregular blackish margins.

➢ Lesions may also develop on petiole and stem, causing

blighting of affected portion of the plant. Symptoms on the
infected fruits appear as minute, sunken dull and dusky spots
which later merge to form rotten areas.

➢ The flesh of severely infected fruits rots.

Pathogen:

Pycnidia with or without beak are found in the affected tissue. They are globose or irregular.
Conidiophores in the pycnidium are hyaline, simple or branched.
Conidia are hyaline, one celled and sub cylindrical. Ascospores
are hyaline, narrowly ellipsoid to bluntly fusoid with one septum.

Mode of spread and survival:

The fungus survives in the infected plant debris in the soil. It is

seed borne. The spores are spread by rain splashes. The fungus
spreads through implements and insects

Management:

• Adopting good field sanitation, destruction of infected plant material and crop rotation
help to reduce the spread of the disease.

• Seeds obtained from disease plants should not be used for planting.

• Seed treatment with Thiram (2 g/kg seed) protects the seedling in the nursery stage.

• Spraying with Dithane Z-78 (0.2%) or Bordeaux mixture (1%) effectively controls the
disease in the field.

3. Cercospora Leaf Spot :

Cercospora solani -melongenae, C. solani

Symptoms:

The leaf spots are characterized by chlorotic lesions, angular to irregular in

shape, later turn grayish-brown with profuse sporulation at the centre of
the spot. Severely infected leaves drop off prematurely, resulting in reduced fruit yield.

Pathogen:

The fungus produces stromata which are globular. Conidiophores in mass are medium dark and
slightly olivaceous brown in colour and paler towards the tip. Conidia are sub hyaline to pale
olivaceous.

Mode of spread and survival:

The disease is spread by air borne conidia.

Management:

Pant Samrat variety is resistant to both the leaf spots. Diseases can be managed by growing
resistant varieties. Spraying 1 per cent Bordeaux mixture or 2 g Copper oxychloride or 2.5 g
Zineb per litre of water effectively controls leaf spots.

4. Alternaria leaf Spot :

Alternaria melongenae, A. solani

Symptoms:

Cracks appearing in leaf spot. The two species of Alternaria occur

commonly, causing the characteristic leaf spots with concentric rings.
The spots are mostly irregular, 4-8 mm in diameter and may coalesce to
cover large areas of the leaf blade. Severely affected leaves may drop
off. A. melongenae also infects the fruits causing large deep-seated
spots. The infected fruits turn yellow and drop off prematurely.

Pathogen:

Mycelium is septate, branched, light brown to dark brown. It is inter and

intra cellular. Conidiophores emerge through stomata and dark colored.
Conidia are single celled, muriform, beaked and produced in chains. The
conidia are with 5-10 transverse septa and a few longitudinal or oblique
septa. Mode of spread and survival The disease is spread by wind borne
conidia.
Management:

Spraying 1 per cent Bordeaux mixture or 2 g Copper oxychloride or 2.5 g Zineb per litre of
water effectively controls leaf spots.

5. Little Leaf of Brinjal

Economic Importance:

This disease of brinjal was reported from India in 1938 and as far as known it occurs only in
India and Sri Lanka. In almost all the states of the country it has become a serious problem
facing brinjal cultivation. The yield loss is hundred per cent in the diseased plants.

Symptoms:

The characteristic symptom is the smallness of the leaves. The petioles are so
short and the leaves appear to be sticking to be stem. Such leaves are narrow,
soft, smooth and yellow. Newly formed leaves are much more shorter. The
internodes of the stem are also shortened. Axillary buds get enlarged but their
petioles and leaves remain shortened. This gives the plant a bushy
appearance. Mostly, there is no flowering but if flowers are formed they
remain green. Fruiting is rare.

Pathogen:

Little leaf was first considered a disease caused by a virus. In 1969 it was attributed to a
mycoplasma-like organism, closely related to aster-yellows and curly top. It is a sap
transmissible disease. The organism has been transmitted to Datura, tomato and tobacco. It
occurs in nature on Datura fastuosa and Vinca rosea. Natural transmission is through a vector,
Cestius phycytis (Eutettix phycytis) while Empoasca devastans is a less effective vector.
Perennation of the organism is through its weed hosts.

Mode of spread and survival:

The disease is transmitted by leaf hoppers, Hishimonas phycitis and Empoasca devastans and
grafting. E. devastans is less effective vector. Perennation of virus is through weed host. This
disease has a very wide host range.
Management:

➢ The severity of the disease can be reduced by destruction of affected plants and spraying
of insecticides.
➢ New crop should be planted only when diseased plants in the field and its neighbourhood
have been removed.
➢ Methyldemeton 25 EC 2 ml / litre, Dimethoate 30 EC 2 ml/ litre, Malathion 50 EC 2
ml/litre has been recommended for vector control..
➢ Cultivars such as Pusa Purple Cluster, Arka Sheel, Aushy, Manjari Gota and Banaras Giant
show moderate resistance to resistance in the field.