MODULE 9:

COMMON PLANT DISEASES

Study of the following diseases with emphasis on symptoms, cause, disease cycle and control
1. Bunchy top of Banana
2. Bacterial blight of Paddy
3. Root wilt of Coconut
4. Abnormal leaf fall of Rubber
5. Root knot disease of Pepper
6. Leaf mosaic disease of Tapioca
7. Citrus canker.

1. BUNCHY TOP OF BANANA

Banana bunchy top, where present, is the most important virus disease of banana and one of the few
truly important diseases of that crop. It occurs in most banana-growing countries of the world. It
causes severe losses because infected plants produce no fruit.

Causative organism: Banana bunchy top virus 1 or Musa virus 1

Symptoms

• Initially, new leaves of infected plants develop dark green streaks on their petioles and veins.
This symptom is sometimes referred to as “Morse code streaking” because the streaks are
irregular and resemble a series of “dots” and “dashes.”

• Also, dark green, hook-like extensions of the leaf lamina veins can be seen in the narrow,
light-green zone between the midrib and the lamina. The short hooks point down along the
midrib toward the petiole.

• On mature infected plants, new leaves emerge with difficulty, are narrower than normal, are
wavy rather than flat, and have yellow (chlorotic) leaf margins.

• Stunted growth.

• More erect leaves than normal.

 • The leaves at the top of the plant are narrower, upright, and closer together or typically
“bunched” together, forming a dense rosette; the symptom for which this disease is named.

• Severely infected banana plants usually will not fruit, but if fruit is produced, the banana
hands and fingers are likely to be distorted and twisted.

Disease cycle

Transmission- By infected suckers and banana aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa.

Banana bunchy top virus is spread by the banana aphid, which acquires the virus by feeding on an
infected plant. The aphid can retain the virus through its adult life, for a period of 15–20 days. During
this time, the aphid can transmit the virus to a healthy banana plant by feeding on it. Vector
transmission of the BBTV is circulative and non-propagative, meaning that transmission of the virus
occurs from and to the phloem tissues and the virus does not replicate within the aphid’s midgut.
Disease symptoms usually appear about a month after infection. The suckers produced on infected
plants that would usually be used for planting the next season will also be diseased, which is one way
the disease can spread from year to year.

Control measures

 Control of banana bunchy top depends primarily on adopting cultural measures that help
avoid or minimize virus infections. Such measures include
o quarantine to keep the virus out of a virus-free area,
o The use of virus-free propagative material,
o locating new plantations away from older infected ones, and
o Infected banana plants should be uprooted completely and burnt. Roguing of infected
and nearby plants seems to reduce the rate of virus spread.

• Phytosanitation-Maintain clean, weed free field for early detection of infested suckers.

• Attempts to control the aphid vector with insecticides have little effect on the spread of this
virus.
2. Bacterial blight of paddy

Causative organism: Xanthomonas oryzae

Symptoms

Seedling wilt or kresek

• Observed 1-3 weeks after transplanting

 • Green water-soaked layer along the cut portion or leaf tip of leaves as early symptom

• Leaves wilt and roll up and become grayish green to yellow

Entire plant wilts completely

Leaf blight

• Water-soaked to yellowish stripes on leaf blades or starting at leaf tips with a wavy margin.

• Leaves with yellowish white or golden yellow marginal necrosis, drying of leaves back from
tip and curling, leaving mid rib intact are the major symptoms.

• Appearance of bacterial ooze that looks like a milky or opaque dewdrop on young lesions
early in the morning

• Severely infected leaves tend to dry quickly.

• Loss in grain yield may be up to 60%.

Disease cycle

Xanthomonas oryzae survives primarily in/on infected seeds, stubbles, straw, self-sown
plants and rhizosphere of winter crops and perennial wild plants. Rice plants become infected
with Xanthomonas oryzae through rice seeds, stem and roots that are left behind at harvest, as well as
alternative weed hosts. Upon introduction to the host plant, the bacterium invades the plant through
natural openings (water pores and growth cracks on roots) and/or wounds or any other injuries

o
occurred during handling, insect attack etc. Infection is favored by a temperature of 25-30 C,
high humidity, shading, heavy dose of nitrogenous fertilizers, rain, flooding and severe
winds. The bacterium can be disseminated by irrigation water, by splashing or windblown
rain, by plant to plant contact, by trimming tools used in transplanting, and by handling
during transplanting.

Control measures

• Drain the field (except at flowering stage of the crop)

• Avoid flow of water from affected fields

• Maintain proper plant spacing

 • Burning of straw-stubble of infected plants to kill the bacterium.

• Destruction of weeds and collateral hosts

• Grow Tolerant varieties (IR 20, IR 22, IR 8, IR 72, PONMANI , TKM 6 etc).

• Use of disease free seeds

• Eradication of bacterium by soaking the seeds for 12 hours in Agrimycin (0.025%) and
wettable ceresan (0.05%) followed by hot water treatment for 30 min at 52-54oC;

• In BLB prone areas treat the seeds with bleaching powder (100g/L) and Zinc sulphate (2%).

• Apply of bleaching powder at the rate of 5kg/ha in the irrigation water in the kresek stage.

• Spraying antibiotics like Streptocycline 15g/300l/ha, Agrimycin 100 750g/500l/Ha.

• Spray fresh cowdung extract for the control of bacterial blight. Dissolve 20 g cowdung in one
litre of water; allow settling and sieving. Use supernatant liquid. (starting from initial
appearance of the disease and another at fortnightly interval).

• Balanced fertilization, avoid excess N - application

3. Root wilt of coconut (KERALA WILT DISEASE)

Root (wilt) disease (RWD) caused by phytoplasma is one of the most devastating diseases of coconut
palms. Root wilt, which was seen mostly in the southern districts of Kerala, is now observed
throughout the State in varying intensities. However, the incidence is more in Alappuzha, Kottayam,
Eranakulam and Pathanamthitta districts.

First observation of the disease was in 1882 in three isolated pockets in Kerala, one at
Erattupetta of Meenachil taluk of Kottayam district and other two at Kaviyoor and
Kalloopara of Thiruvalla taluks in Pathanamthitta district

Causative organism: Phytoplasma

RWD is caused by phytoplasmas, the cell wall-less prokaryotes that are bounded by a “unit”
membrane. In ultrathin sections, they appear as a complex multi-branched, beaded, filamentous or
spheroidal pleomorphic bodies. The disease was transmitted by plant hoppers (Proutista moesta) and
lace wing bug (Stephanitis typica). Phytoplasmas are generally present in the phloem sieve tubes and
in the salivary glands of these insect vectors. Phytoplasmas cannot be cultured in vitro, and hence it is
very difficult to identify them. Using polymerase chain reaction technique, group-specific primers
have been applied to detect mixed-phytoplasma infections in a single host. RWD, is a non-lethal,
debilitating disease.

Symptoms

 The characteristic symptom is the flaccidity of leaflets (loss of turgidity). This is the earliest
visual symptom. Flaccidity is due to impaired stomatal regulation resulting in excessive
transpiration. It is characterised by Wilting and drooping of leaves (Witling means loss of
rigidity of plant parts. Wilted plant parts cannot stand firmly. Drooping is just bending of the
structure due to wilting.).

• Abnormal bending or Ribbing of leaf lets due to flaccidity. The leaflets curve inwardly to
produce ribbing so that the whole frond develops a cup like appearance.

• Yellowing of older leaves, necrosis of leaflets and deterioration and decay of root
system are other salient features of the disease.

• Tapering of terminal portion of the trunk.

• Reduction of leaf size

• Flowering is delayed and also yield is considerably reduced.

• Abnormal shedding of buttons and immature nuts are also noticed.

•
Transmission

• Insect vectors: lace bug, Stephanitis typica and plant hopper Proutista moesta.

Control measures

Efficient management of palms suspected to be affected by coconut root (wilt) disease

demands control of all pests and diseases and imparting natural resistance and health to the
palms through proper manuring and agronomic practices.

 Cut and remove palms that are affected severely by root (wilt), and yielding less than 10
nuts per palm per year.
 Replant with disease tolerant material / high yielding hybrids (Chandrasankara).
 Grow green manure crops - cowpea, sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea), Sesbania, Mimosa invisa,
Calapagonium mucanoides, Pueraria phaseoloides etc. may be sown in coconut basins
during April-May and incorporated during September-October.
  Irrigate coconut palms with at least 250 litre water in a week.
 Raise intercrops in rotation, adopting mixed cropping/mixed farming with recycling of
organic matter.

 Provide adequate drainage facilities.

 In addition to the above, apply 50 kg FYM or green manure and 5 kg of neem cake / palm /
year.
 Growing green manure crops like sunn hemp, sesbania, cowpea and calapagonium in the
coconut basin and their incorporation in situ is beneficial as the practice reduces the intensity
of the root (wilt) and increases the nut yield. The ideal green manure crops for the sandy and
alluvial soils are cowpea and sesbania, respectively.
 Apply balanced doses of fertilizer for coconut palms in average management at the rate of 1.3
kg urea, 2.00 kg super phosphate and 3.5 kg potash (MOP) / palm / year in the form of urea,
rock phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively.
 In addition to the above, apply 50 kg cattle manure or green manure and 1 kg of lime / palm/
year.
 Magnesium may be supplied @ 500 g MgO per palm per year
 To manage the insect vectors, treat the top tow leaf axils with insecticide preparation. This
can be prepared by mixing phorate 10 G with 200 g sand or powdered neem cake 250 g. Mix
equal quantity of sand place around the base of the spindle.
 Apply Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescence at the base to enhance soil health
immediately after incorporating green manure.

 Sequential spraying of Bordeaux mixture 1%, Mancozeb (0.3%) and Copper oxychloride
(0.3%) so as to manage other fungal diseases associated with root wilt.

 Irrigate palms during summer months.

 Control the vectors of the pathogen by spraying 2 % neem oil garlic emulsion, covering both
the surfaces of the leaves based on need.

4. Abnormal leaf fall of rubber

Causative organism: Phytophthora palmivora

Symptoms

• It occurs during June – August, while general leaf fall occurs during December.

• On leaves dull grey, circular spots appear which enlarge and become irregular.
 • The petiole shows water soaked lesions which turns dark brown or black and a drop of
coagulated latex ooze out from the lesion.

• Affected fruits rot.

• Leaves shed prematurely either green or after turning coppery red.

• The affected leaf form a thick carpet of rotting foliage which emits bad smell.

• Oozing out of latex from pods in case of severe attack

• Rotting and death of young twigs.

Disease cycle

Inoculum development starts with the germination of previous season’s oospores, which are resting spores,
present in infected dried pods, leaves and twigs deposited on the soil as well as parts of alternate hosts . The entry
of the pathogen is through stomata.

Green pods that remain on the tree or fallen on the ground show the first signs of disease where water soaked
rotting lesions of dull grey colour, oozing of latex and cheesy coating on the surface occur. The
fungal mycelia penetrate inside the endosperm of the seed and numerous sporangia produced on mycelium gives
a cheesy coating to the pods. The infected fruits do not produce viable seeds. On the leaves, infection is more
common on the petioles with a drop of latex oozing out of it. The petiole shows water soaked lesions which turns
dark brown or black and a drop of coagulated latex ooze out from the lesion. The affected leaves are green even
when they fall off. Water-soaked lesions are also observed on the leaf lamina with a dull green colour which later
turns to black. The fungi also infect growing shoots and young twigs leading to rotting and dieback back of
shoots. Phytophthora also infects pods, petiole, leaves and tender shoots causing heavy defoliation and crop loss .
Under favourable climatic conditions, leaf fall is severe especially in susceptible clones that the fallen leaves cover
the entire ground forming a carpet.

Control measures

• Prophylactic sprays prior to onset of south west monsoon with

• Bordeaux mixture 1%. Addition of ZnSo4 @ 0.2% improves the efficacy, or

• Oil based spray of copper oxychloride

5. Root knot disease of pepper

Causative organism: A nematode-Meloidogyne

Symptoms

All stages of growth are attacked. Aboveground symptoms develop slowly over time and are not
noticed until plants are well developed. Symptoms consist of stunting, yellowing and a general
unhealthy appearance of plants; wilting and death may occur in hot, dry weather. The plant will show
reduced fruit and leaf size with consequent low yield. Below the ground, the primary and secondary
roots will have obvious galls or knot-like swellings of portions of the root tissue. With the aid of a
magnifying lens, light brown egg masses may be visible on the root surface, and the female nematode
may be seen if the root tissue gall is dissected apart. These swellings prevent movement of water and
nutrients to the rest of the plant resulting in stunting. Plants affected by rootknot nematodes are more
easily infected by soil-borne fungi and bacteria. This secondary infection may lead to extensive
discoloration of internal stem and root tissue, and rapid plant death.

6. Leaf mosaic disease of Tapioca

Causative organism: Tapioca Mosaic virus

Viral particles are transmitted through a vector, white fly (Bemisia tabaci)

Symptoms

 Characterised by severe mosaic symptoms on the leaves

 Light green, yellow or white spots on the leaves
 Affected leaves show mottling in the beginning
 Discolouration of the leaf blade.
 Malformation and puckering of leaves.
 Vein clearing, vein banding and vein thickening
 Diseased plants can be recognized from long distance.

Disease cycle

 Disease is spread and transmitted by the sap feeding white fly, Bemisia tabaci- act as the
vector of the disease.
 Vector: an agent which act as the carrier of the pathogen
 Other causes of transmission
o Vegetative propagation (Use of cuttings from infected plant)
o Mechanical transmission through sap/seeds/pollen
o Biological transmission by fungi, nematodes and other insects.

Control measures

 Controlling insect vector (using insecticides)

 Sanitation practices:
o Removing and burning infected plants
 o Proper use of agricultural tools.
o Using disease free planting materials
 Changing planting season
o Tapioca planted after the beginning of the rainy season is less susceptible to
disease
 Use of disease resistant varieties (S-1310, S-2380, H-97 etc.)

Citrus canker

Causative organism: Xanthomonas citri

Symptoms

• Bacterial disease of Citrus

• Canker occurs on leaves, twigs, thorns, older branches and fruits.

• The lesions first appear on leaves-lower surface.

• In the beginning, spots were small, round and watery.

• Spots later become raised an yellowish brown coloured.

• As the disease advances, spots become white or greyish and finally ruptures in the centre,
giving a rough, corky appearance.

• Later, small spots coalesce to form large lesions.

• Rough lesions are sorrounded by yellowbrown or green raised margin and watery yellow halo.

• spots on petioles and midrib causes premature defoliation.

• On larger branches cankers are irregular, rougher and more prominent.

• Canker on fruits

• Yellow halo is absent, but the corky appaerance is more prominent.

• Injury to fruits is only skin-deep and no effect on the pulp or juice is noticed.

Disease cycle

 The bacteria enter into the host through natural openings or wounds.
  The bacteria multiply in the intercellular space of the cortical region.
 Favoured by mild temperature and humid weather.
 Bacteria cannot survive in the soil or dead plant parts.
 Attacked old twigs are the main source of inoculum.
 The bacteria can be spread by rain splash mechanism.
 Some leaf insects also can spread the disease.
 Transfer through infected nursery stocks are also common.

Control measures

It is rather very difficult to control the disease.

 Destruction of all affected trees by burning. Pruning of infected parts, particularly during dry
season reduces source of inoculums
 Spraying of fungicides like Bordeaux mixture and lime-sulphur is often very effective to
protect the fruits against infection. It should be done during the first three months of the
development of fruits.
 Infected fallen canker leaves and fruits are collected and burned.
 Proper irrigation and manure to maintain the health of the plant can also reduce the risk.
 Control of insects using insecticides or bio-control.
 Use of Disease Resistant Varieties can reduce the chance of infection.
 Strict quarantine regulations to prevent the spread