Major turmeric diseases are:-
1.Turmeric Leaf spot: Colletotrichum capsici
Symptom:
- In affected leaves, elliptic or oblong spots with a yellow halo are seen.
- The centre of spots are greyish white and then with numerous black dots in centre
- As the disease advances, the leaves dry up and give a scorched appearance.
Management:
- Field sanitation
- Spray with Mancozeb 0.25% or copper oxy chloride 0.25% immediately after the appearance of symptom and at 15 days interval
2.Turmeric Leaf blotch: Taphrina maculans
Symptom:
- The spots of 1-2mm diameter appear in more numbers, covering both sides of the leaf.
- The attacked leaf presents a reddish brown appearance instead of the normal green colour.
- These spots coalesce to form irregular bigger patches.
Management:
- Field sanitation
- Spray with Mancozeb 0.25% or copper oxy chloride 0.25% immediately after the appearance of symptom and at 15 days interval.
3.Turmeric Rhizome rot: Pythium aphanidermatum
Symptom:
- In infected plants, basal portion of the shoots appears watery and soft.
- The root system is very much reduced
- The leaves exhibit gradual drying along the margin
- Infected rhizomes soft, rotted, colour changes into different shades of brown
Management:
- Use disease free planting material
- Providing good drainage facilities
- Rhizome dip in copper oxy chloride or zineb (0.3%) for 30 minutes before planting
- Soil drenching with copper oxy chloride (0.25%) in and around affected plants
- Soil application of Pseudomonas fluorescens talc formulation (2.5 kg/ha)
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
