Bacterial wilt is an important disease of corn and is caused by a variety of fungi. The disease occurs in the corn filling to the milk ripening period, and the milk ripening to the wax maturity period is the most. The main feature is the infestation of roots and stem bases 1 to 3 knots, browning and rot. Therefore, it is also called stem-based rot or stem rot. Within 1 to 2 days of rapid onset , the whole plant quickly lost water, withered and green, and the ear was drooping and stopped developing. Leaves with slower onset become yellow from bottom to top, with early dryness and sometimes withered leaves. The stem is brown at the beginning of the disease, water-stained, and the water shrinks into a striped depression. The marrow becomes empty and the plant is easy to fall. Cutting the diseased stem with a knife will reveal that the vascular bundle becomes brown, and in the humid environment, white hyphae and pink mildew can be grown.

The bacteria causing the bacterial wilt of corn can be stagnant in the soil for a long time, and the winters are in the form of mycelium, oospores, chlamydospores in plant residues or soil and unripe fertilizer. In some areas, the cultivation of corn and the return of straw to the field are one of the reasons why the bacteria in the soil increase year by year. Increasing the planting density also provides a microclimate for the infection.

To control corn bacterial wilt, the following points should be noted: breeding and planting resistant varieties. China has listed resistance to bacterial wilt as a target for maize breeding. Different inbred lines and resistant varieties can be used in different regions. Remove corn stalks in time after harvesting, or pile up organic fertilizer at high temperature, or concentrate treatment. Try to rotate with the vegetable crop as much as possible. Pay attention to drainage and flood control, rational close planting, and increase the application of zinc fertilizer to improve corn growth potential and disease resistance. Add organic fertilizer and bacterial fertilizer, seed dressing with bio-preservative bacteria, and apply seed or seed dressing with flax nitrile (Sleek) or ricketts.

Source of information: Farmers Daily     Author: Jiaoxiu Fen