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Introduction

Vegetables are important to our daily diet, as they are our major source of vitamins, minerals anddietary fiber. The production of vegetables also contributes significantly to regional and nationaleconomies through national and international trade. However, the cultivation of these crops for optimum yield and quality is highly technical and needs improved technological support.Management of vegetables requires further close monitoring especially for the management of diseases which affect production and subsequent post-harvest losses significantly.During the 20th century, plant pathology has witnessed a dramatic advance in management of vegetable diseases through in-depth investigations of host-pathogen interactions, development of molecular diagnostic tools, integration of new concepts, principles and approaches. The newmillennium promises excitement and hope for the future by new advances in eco-friendlytechnologies in integrated disease management of vegetables.Disease is the outcome of an interaction between the host, the disease agent, and their environment. If the cause of infectious disease, the pathogen, is next to the host, nothing willhappen unless environmental factors are favorable for its infection and development within the plant. With foliar pathogens, there is usually a minimal period of leaf wetness required tostimulate spore germination and infection. For some soilborne pathogens, infection occurs in co mbination with high soil moisture and certain critical soil temperatures. Knowledge of conduciveenvironmental factors for the more important vegetable diseases presents an opportunity for more effective management: the disease can prevented by altering some of the environmentalfactors, or, when such factors cannot be altered, steps can be taken to minimize the impact (e.g.fungicides could be applied in advance of a period of sustained rain which would favor foliar diseases).Not all diseases are caused by pathogenic organisms. Determining whether a disease iscaused by a pathogen, or has nonliving (abiotic) causes requires not only the examination of individual plants, but also, noting the pattern of symptom occurrence in a field. Examination of individual plants for unusual symptoms, such as leaf spots, wilts, stunting, fruit rots, misshapenleaves, cankers and stem blight is very important. Roots should be examined for galls, root rotand necrosis (dead areas). Fields should be observed to determine if the problem is widespreadand whether different plants species in and around the field are affected, which could indicate anabiotic cause. Symptoms with a nutritional or physiological cause have a more widespreadoccurrence within a field than infectious diseases. Initially, most disease causing pathogens will be isolated in areas and spread outward from those areas. Also, weeds or nonrelated crops are nottypically affected. Soilborne pathogens are even more restricted within a field than foliar pathogens. For a vegetable to become truly diseased, several conditions must be present: asusceptible host plant, a pathogenic organism, a good method of distributing the organism, andthe proper environment for it to exist, enter the plant, and thrive. When these conditions are met,infection occurs, and a disease agent becomes established. The choice of a proper managementtactic must be based on accurate knowledge of the pathogen causing the disease; its life cycle;time of infection; the part of the plant involved; the method of agent distribution; past, present,and future environmental conditions; and certain economic considerations. Effectivemanagement techniques include: use of resistant varieties; use of noninfested soil or longrotations; sterilization of soil with steam or chemicals; use of clean seed, either certified or grown in disease-free areas; treatment of seed with heat or chemicals; control of insects andweed hosts; monitoring of weather conditions; use of biological control agents; and proper timing and application of fungicides or nematicides.

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Managing diseases is a very important component of production for melons, cucumbers,squashes, pumpkins, and other cucurbit crops. The already extensive list of more than 200cucurbit diseases has expanded recently to include cucurbit yellow vine disease, Acremoniumcollapse, Rhizopycnis root rot, bacterial blight, cucumber root mat,

Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus, Cucurbit leaf crumple virus

, and Cucurbit leaf curl virus. Additionally, diseasesthat have recently increased in importance include the vine declines, bacterial wilt, powderymildew on watermelon, Phytophthora blight, diseases caused by

Fusarium

species, and severaldiseases caused by viruses, including

Melon necrotic spot carmovirus

and several members of the crinivirus genus. Management practices effective for various diseases include rotation, deep plowing, fumigation, solarization, pathogen-free seed, treated seed, host plant resistance,fungicides, sanitation, manipulating the greenhouse environment, improving soil drainage,adjusting soil pH, drip irrigation, plastic mulch or other soil barrier, planting when soil is not toocold, controlling weeds and insects, avoiding moving pathogens on equipment or hands, roguinginfected plants, minimizing injury during harvest, chlorine spray or hot water treatment after harvest, culling symptomatic fruit before storage, and providing proper storage conditionsincluding refrigeration. Forecasting systems have been developed for diseases and insect vectors.Managing some diseases with fungicides has been challenged by development of resistance,which continues to be difficult to predict. Biocompatible materials such as bicarbonates, milk,oil, silicon, phosphate salts, plant extracts, and biological control agents are being developed asalternatives to conventional fungicides predominantly for powdery mildew. Some of theseinduce systemic resistance..Effective management of vegetable diseases requires preventingdisease or, if this is not feasible, slowing the spread of disease once it occurs. Nine proceduresand the current estimated percentage of importance of each toward vegetable disease control,have been recommended for many years: rotating crops (30%), spraying when necessary (20%),treating the seed (15%), using clean seed (10%), planting resistant varieties (5%), controllingweeds (5%), aerating the soil properly (5%), draining and fertilizing the soil (5%), and practicinggood sanitation (5%). It is unlikely that all diseases of a particular crop can be controlled bysimply following these procedures. Nevertheless, the extent of disease and the concomitant costsof controlling them can be significantly reduced by following as many of these procedures as possible. Growers should note that this estimate indicates that spraying is only responsible for 20 percent of disease control. Using the other disease control techniques, which contribute 80 percent of disease control cannot only greatly improve disease control, but also lessen the costsof spray materials and result in better quality crops.The first step in disease management should be accurate diagnosis. It is important to differentiate between infectious diseases (e.g. those caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes that canspread from plant to plant) and noninfectious diseases or disorders (e.g., damage caused by mitesand insects, physiological disorders, air pollutants, nutrient imbalances, and herbicide injury).Growers who have a reasonably good understanding of plant diseases, their symptoms, and theinfectious and noninfectious disorders that can affect a particular crop, are more likely to makethe correct disease control decisions. Numerous fact sheets and bulletins with full-color illustrations have been developed by Cornell faculty to assist growers in making accurate diseasediagnoses.

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Distribution inthe FieldSymptoms observed over a widearea on several cropsSoil ProblemLow FertilityInsect InjuryPhysiological ProblemSymptoms observed over a widearea on a single cropSoil ProblemLow FertilityInsect InjuryVirusFoliage Pathogen (advanced stage of epidemic)Symptoms observed scattered over a field on a single cropSoilborne Root Rot FungiSoilborne Wilt Organisms NematodesVirusFoliar PathogensSoil ProblemInsect InjuryFoliagesymptomsGeneral yellowingWet SoilLow FertilityRoot Rot Pathogens Nematodes Necrotic spots on leavesSpots Generally Round (Fungalleafspot)Spots Generally Angular (Bacterialleafspot)White powdery substance on leaf surfacePowdery Mildew