Introduction:

Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) is also known as ber, desert apple or Indian plum. It belongs to family Rhamnaceae.It is a tropical/ subtropical fruit native to the northern hemisphere (Lyrene, 1979).The genus Ziziphus has 135 to 170 species (Islam and Simmons, 2006), of which 17 are native of India (Watt, 1883; Bailey, 1947; Singh et al., 2000).It is a fast-growing tree with a medium life span that can quickly reach up to 10-40 ft (3 to 12 m) tall.mauritiana is a medium sized tree that grows vigorously and has a rapidly developing taproot, a necessary adaptation to drought condition

 

Common Diseases in BER

Powdery mildew:

Symptoms: The developing young leaves show a white powdery mass causing them to shrink and defoliate.
Affected young fruits drop off prematurely or become corky, cracked, mis-shapen and underdeveloped.
Matured fruits turn rusty. Sometimes the whole crop is rendered unmarketable.

Causal Organism: Oidium erysiphoides f. sp. Zizyphi

Management

Biological control Pseudomonas fluorescens CIAH-196 (1%) was also moderately effective against this disease
Spraying of Trichoderma viride (CIAH-240) @ 5% also reduced the disease.

Black leaf spot-Isariopsis indica var. ziziphi

Symptoms: The disease is characterized by sooty tuft like circular to irregular black spots on lower surface of leaves.
Leaves and twigs are dried rapidly under severe infection

Disease management:Sprays of mancozeb or copper oxychloride (@0.2% at 15 days interval were effective. B) Two sprays of propiconazole (tilt), followed by difenoconazole (score) @0.1% was found to be effective against this disease and also increased fruit yield (Anonymous, 2016 c).

Alternaria leaf spot:

Symptoms: disease is characterized by the formation of small irregular brown spot on the upper surface of the leaves.
On the lower surface dark brown to black spots are formed.

Causal Organism: Alternaria chartarum

Management:Sprays of 0.2% Indofil Z-78 reduced the disease.

 

Rust: Phakopsora zizyphi-vulgaris

Symptoms: On the lower surface of the leaves small, irregular, reddish brown uredopustules appear

 Later they cover the whole area of the leaves. The infected leaves dry and defoliate

Management:Sprays of 0.2% Indofil Z-78 reduced the disease.

Soft rot: Phomopsis natsume

Symptoms: The disease appears as a light russet vinaceous coloured, irregular spot on the fruits.

 It increases in size and make the whole fruit into pulpy, brown to black in colour with soft and loose outer skin.

Management:
Spray of 0.2% Indofil Z-78 reduced the disease.

Fruit rot

Symptoms: Symptoms started from pedicel and in bottom portion of fruits.

 Small, irregular, light brown to dark brown spots appeared on fruit surface.

Causal organism: Alternaria alternata

Disease management:

Removal and destruction of infected leaves, weeds and twigs from orchard.

Spray of 0.2% Indofil Z-78 reduced the disease.

Pseudomonas fluorescens (CIAH-196) inhibited the maximum mycelial growth.

Summary

Ber is growing of rainfed areas only ber is affected for many diseases powdery mildew,rust,soft rot , fruit rot , anthracnose affect for production and pproductivity.
Control for the chemical, biological management are followed.