Many areas of fragrant green squash, a specialty of Bac Kan, died due to disease.

According to the People's Committee of Yen Duong commune, this year the commune planted more than 60 hectares of squash, of which about 50% were affected by the disease. People are worried as the disease on squash is spreading more and more.

This year, Ba Be district people planted more than 170 hectares of squash, mainly in Yen Duong, Dia Linh, and Chu Huong communes. However, in the past month, while the plants were still growing, many areas became sick and died en masse.

According to the People's Committee of Ba Be district, the whole district has 10 hectares of dead squash plants, 80 hectares are infected and likely to die, unable to be harvested.

The squash plants died en masse partly due to the weather and partly due to disease, and the damaged area may increase. The district has coordinated with the specialized agencies of the Department of Agriculture and Environment to inspect and instruct people on how to care for them and spray pesticides.

To find the cause, the Department of Cultivation, Plant Protection and Quality Management of Bac Kan province coordinated with Ba Be district to inspect and verify the field where the squash plants were dying.

The results showed that the green squash stems had oval, slightly concave, light yellow spots with oozing sap. Most of the squash plants died due to rotting of the base and roots, wilting of the stems and leaves. The cause was determined to be the fungus that causes stem-sapling disease, yellow wilt disease.

This disease is caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella melonis. The fungus develops and causes severe damage in conditions of humidity, high or low temperature suddenly. The fungus exists in the residue of diseased plants, and when exposed to high temperature and high humidity conditions, it will develop into an epidemic causing widespread damage.

The disease causes the squash plants to rot at the base, leading to their gradual death. (Photo: CONG HAI)

Ba Be District is sending staff to regularly monitor the area, forecast and determine the time of emergence and damage of pests and diseases to proactively guide people in prevention and control.

For areas with severe disease that cannot be recovered, the district recommends and guides people to collect and destroy all plants, and apply lime on a large scale to eliminate the source of the disease in the soil. For areas with mild or no disease, people need to regularly visit the fields, prune off damaged branches and leaves, and keep the garden airy.

People need to use biological products containing antagonistic fungi Trichoderma or Revus opi 440SC, Score 250EC, Aliette 80WP, Ridomil Gold 68WP to spray to control pests. To achieve high efficiency, while using pesticides, spray again after 4 to 5 days.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nhieu-dien-tich-bi-xanh-thom-dac-san-bac-kan-chet-vi-dich-benh-post879304.html