Powdery Mildew Disease Management in Okra

Powdery Mildew disease management in Okra

Powdery mildew disease is a devasting disease caused by a fungus that leads to huge economic losses in crops. Among which vegetables are the susceptible ones. Okra is one of the vegetables that are prone to powdery mildew disease. In this post, we will let you know about causes, symptoms, preventive measures, cultural control, biological control and chemical control of Powdery mildew disease.

Causal Organism	Erysiphe cichoracearum
Signs	At the initial stage of the disease, white minute patches on the upper surface of lower or older leaves can be observed and later spread to younger leaves. In severe cases, greyish powdery growth of the fungus appears which leads to necrosis, withering, drying and defoliation of leaves.
Symptoms	Fig A: Initial stage of powdery growth of the fungus. (source: forestry images) Fig B: Rapid spread of powdery growth of the fungus among the leaves. (source: plantwise)
Preventive measures	As the disease spreads in shade and dry areas, prune the overcrowded leaves of the plants to increase sunlight and air circulation.Use resistant varieties.
Natural control	Spray 5-7 days fermented buttermilk on the leaves.
Biological control	Spray Bio-dewcon @0.75 kg/acre that contains Ampelomyces quisqualis 1.15% WP. Spray Azadirachtin 0.030% EC, Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus subtilis also helps in reduction of pathogen.

Brinjal shoot and fruit borer biological control

Chemical control of powdery mildew disease

Spray the following chemicals at respective doses in order to control the powdery mildew disease of Okra.

Conclusion: This is all about powdery mildew disease, symptoms of Okra powdery mildew, chemical and biological control of Okra powdery mildew disease.