| Management |
Activity |
Pre planting*
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| Nutrients |
• Use 20 t/ acre FYM or 8 t / acre at the time of field preparation incorporate in soil at 2 -3 weeks before planting. Use Leguminous green manure crops like pigeon pea, black gram, cowpea, cluster bean and French bean.
• Wood ash can be added in the field as this increases the potash content of the soil
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| Weeds |
• Deep ploughing, solarization during summer (also reduce soil borne diseases, nematodes)
• At the time of field preparation, adopt stale seed bed technique to minimize the weeds menace in field.
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| Resting stages of diseases & pests and nematodes |
Cultural control:
• Deep summer ploughing during summer
• Soil solarization: Cover the beds with polythene sheet of 45 gauge (0.45 mm) thickness for three weeks before sowing for soil solarization which will help in reducing the soil borne pests.
• Apply neem cake @ 8 qt/ acre.
Chemical control:
• Treat rhizomes with mancozeb @ 240 g/acre in 120 liter of water for 4.8-5.6 quintal rhizome for controlling yellow disease.
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| Soft rot/yellows |
Cultural control:
• Use of resistant/tolerant varieties to rhizome wilt/ rot.
• Crop rotation with maize, cotton, soybean.
• Plant disease free seed rhizomes.
• Use raised beds.
• Flooding treatment for 30 days, soil solarization during hottest months for 60 days
• Treat the rhizomes with hot water at 47° C for 30 minutes.
• Use bio-fumigation using cabbage and mustard plant refuses.
Biological control:
• Planting of perennial /seasonal flowering plants like basil, marigold, fennel, sunflower etc. along the border to attract and enhance the population of biocontrol agents for managing pests/disease.
• Application of pine needle or neem cake powder treatments @ 0.8t/acre
Chemical control:
• Drench affected and surrounded beds with mancozeb 0.3% to reduce the spread of the yellow disease.
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| Bacterial wilt |
Cultural control:
• Soil solarisation for 60 days during summer
• Planting of disease-free seed rhizomes.
• Use crop rotation with non-host crops like ragi, paddy, maize, sorghum etc.
• Avoid crop rotation with tomato, potato, chillies, brinjal and peanut, as these plants are hosts for the wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum.
• Rhizome treatment with hot water 47oC for 3 minutes.
• Use bio-fumigation using cabbage and mustard plant refuses.
|
| Rhizome fly** |
Cultural control:
• Use preventive measures like destruction of stray plants in off season, selection of healthy rhizome for planting.
• Removal and destruction of rotting rhizomes along with the maggots from the field after the harvest of the crop may help to check the breeding of the pest.
• Intercropping ginger with paddy or other crops reduces or lessens pest attacks.
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| Leaf roller** |
Cultural control:
• Intercropping ginger with paddy or other crops reduces or lessens pest attacks.
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| Nematodes** |
Cultural control:
• Intercropping of marigold
• Deep ploughing or solarized beds of infested fields during summer.
• Grow repellant plants: Marigold, Gliricidia, Asparagus, Dahelia
|
Sowing*
|
| Nutrients |
· Apply P2O5 @ 24 Kg/acre as basal dose at the time of planting/ sowing. |
| Weeds |
· The beds are mulched immediately after planting. |
Vegetative stage
|
| Nutrients (should be based on soil analysis report) |
• Apply 12 Kg of nitrogen and 12 Kg of potash/ acre near the rhizomes at 40th day after planting.
• Apply 24 Kg nitrogen and 24 Kg potash/ acre at 80th day.
• The final dose of 12 Kg nitrogen and 12 Kg potash/acre should be applied at 120th day.
• As and when micro-nutrient deficiencies like zinc, manganese etc., are observed, it should be corrected by foliar spray.
• Foliar application of 0.05% zinc sulphate (60 and 90 DAP), 0.2% of borax (60 and 90 DAP) and 1.0% of ferrous sulphate (60 and 90 DAP) should be done for correcting deficiency of these micronutrients.
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| Weeds |
• Field is hand weeded three or four times and plants earthed up once or twice.
• The rainfed crop is given second and a third leaf mulch at the time of weeding, hoeing and earthing up.
• Green mulching: The first mulching is done at the time of planting with green leaves (Vitex nigundo etc.) @ 4-4.8 tonnes/acre. Mulching is to be repeated @ 3 tonnes/acre at 45 and 90 days after planting, immediately after weeding, application of fertilizers. Weeding is done just before fertilizer application and each mulching; 2-3 weeding are required depending on the intensity of weed growth
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| Soft rot |
Cultural control:
• Ensure proper drainage. Adopt phytosanitary measures like infected plants should be uprooted and destroyed.
• Mulching with green leaves (Vitex negundo)@ 4-4.8 t/acre is at the time of planting (it is repeated @ 2 t/acre 40 and 90 days after planting).
Biological control:
• Cow dung slurry or liquid manure may be poured on the beds after each mulching to enhance microbial activity and nutrient availability..
|
| Bacterial wilt |
Cultural control:
• Ensure proper drainage.
• Ensure crop rotation with cereal crops
|
| Rhizome scale |
Cultural control:
• Collect and destroy damaged leaves
• Apply well rotten sheep manure @ 4 t/ acre in two splits or poultry manure in 2 splits
|
Rhizome development stage
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| Shoot borer |
Cultural control:
• Use the attractant plant for natural biocontrol conservation.
• Cut open the shoot and pick out the caterpillar and destroy. Spray neem oil (0.5%) at fortnightly intervals if found necessary.
• Mulching with green Vitex negundo leaves @ 2 t/acre at 40 and 90 days after planting.
Biological control:
• Conserve the natural bioagents such as ladybird beetle, spiders, Chrysopids, Trichogrammatids, Bracon sp (larval), myosoma sp (larval), Apanteles sp (larval) , Xanthopimpla sp (larval and pupal) etc.,
• Release Trichogramma chilonis @ 40000/ acre.
|
| Rhizome fly** |
Cultural control:
• Destroy stray plants in off season
• Select and plant healthy rhizomes.
• Remove and destroy rotting rhizomes along with the maggots from the field after the harvest of the crop.
• Ecological engineering in ginger with paddy reduces pest attacks.
Biological control:
• Conserve or inundate the natural bio agents such as ladybird beetle, spiders, Chrysopids, Trichogrammatids etc
|
| Skipper/ leaf roller** |
Cultural control:
• Collect and destroy the larvae, egg masses
• Do not allow the weed host to grow near the field
Biological control:
• Conserve the natural bioagents such as ladybird beetle, spiders, Chrysopids, Trichogrammatids, Bracon sp (larval), myosoma sp (larval), Apanteles sp (larval) , Xanthopimpla sp (larval and pupal) etc.,
• Release of Trichogramma chilonis @ 20,000 per acre.
|
| Shoot borer & rhizome Scale |
· Same as Skipper/leaf roller |
| Leaf spot |
Cultural control:
• Pluck and remove the leaf and or uproot the infected plants and destroy it.
• Use proper green mulching to reduce soil splashes.
• Provide shade 30-40% to minimize the disease
|
| Soft rot |
Cultural control:
• Maintain proper drainage
• Adopt phytosanitary measures like infected plants should be uprooted and destroyed.
• Mulching with green leaves (Vitex negundo)@ 4-4.8 t/acre is at the time of planting. (It is repeated @ 2 t/acre 40 and 90 days after planting).
|
| White grub** |
Cultural methods
• Up root the infested plants, collect and destroy the infected plant along with larva.
• Use well decomposed FYM
• Installing light traps immediately after first monsoon showers
• Tilling of the soil during land preparation and solarisation practices that can reduce the chances of insect pests, particularly in controlling white grubs which get exposed at the time of tilling and are foraged by the birds.
Biological control
• EPN Steinernema sp. can be mixed in the FYM and can be applied in the field
|
| Nematodes** |
Cultural control:
• Uproot and destroy the infested plants.
• Intercropping with marigold
• Deep ploughing or solarized beds of infested fi elds during summer.
• Grow Repellant plants: Marigold, Gliricidia, Asparagus, Dahelia
• Follow crop rotation with cereal crops, marigold, Chrysanthemum, Sesbania, Crotalaria spp., Gaillardia, castor bean and Desmodium spp. (parasitic nematodes)
• Border crops: Strips of rye grass, cover crops and mulch beds (rove beetle)
Biological control:
• An extract of asafoetida, turmeric is effective against several plant pathogens including nematodes.
• Application of neem (Azaradirachta indica) seed cake 0.8 t/acre before planting.
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| Harvesting & storage |
Cultural control:
• Select healthy rhizomes from pest & disease free beds
• Store the harvested rhizomes free from pest/disease in pits dug under shade, the floor of which is lined with sand or saw dust.
• It is advisable to spread layers of leaves of Glycosmis pentaphylla (Panai).
• Cover the pits with coconut fronds.
• Destroy the soft rot/ bacterial rot infected rhizomes.
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Note: The pesticide dosages and spray fluid volumes are based on high volume sprayer.
* Apply Trichoderma spp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens as rhizomes/planting material, nursery treatment and soil application (If Commercial products are used, check for label claim. However, biopesticides produced by farmers for own consumption in their fields, registration is not required).
** Pests of regional significance
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