Pink Disease... A Devastating Threat That Can Wipe Out an Entire Orchard

Pink Disease... A Devastating Threat That Can Wipe Out an Entire Orchard

The main problem growers face during periods of high humidity (the rainy season) is fungal pathogens attacking their trees. During the rainy season, growers cannot spray fungicides effectively because the rain washes the chemicals away, and working conditions during that time are also difficult. Preparing to prevent pink disease in advance is therefore extremely important, before it becomes too late to fix.

Pink disease is caused by the pathogen Corticium salmonicolor. It gets its name "pink disease" because white mycelium is commonly found on the underside of branches, and as it spreads and the mycelium begins producing spores, this mycelium takes on a pale pink colour on the underside of the branch. During the stage when the fungus develops its mycelium, it can grow into the vascular tissue (water-conducting vessels) of the durian tree, causing the affected branches to be destroyed, dry out, and eventually die.

The best prevention steps to keep pink disease out of your orchard are as follows:

Before the rainy season begins, or before creating wounds on the durian tree (such as pruning branches or harvesting fruit), apply a systemic fungicide as a preventive spray. Examples include Ti Plus, Thermosa, Genus, Rifa, Noku, Azoxy, or Topfight.

Also use products from the plant-immunity-boosting group, which help the durian tree build its own resistance against fungal infection, such as Progres.