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Eggplant

General Disease Management in Eggplant

Pepper & Eggplant Disease Guide - A Practical Guide for Seedsmen, Growers and Agricultural Advisors. Published by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc.’s Plant Health Department.

Diseases

Disease: Curly top
Pathogen: Various strains of Beet curly top virus (BCTV), which are vectored by the beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus)
Host crops: Numerous plant species including many vegetables such as bean, beet, carrot, eggplant, coriander, pepper, potato, tomato, various cucurbits such as squash, cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, etc.

Symptoms of curly top on tomato leaves.
Photo Source: E. J. Sorensen	Photo Source: Phil Hamm, Oregon State University

Symptoms of curly top on tomato leaves.
Photo Source: Krishna Mohan, University of Idaho

On-Line Resources:

Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook: Bean, All (Phaseolus vulgaris) – Curly Top
 

Disease: Verticillium wilt
Pathogen: Verticillium species
Host crops: Numerous vegetables including many brassica vegetables (but not broccoli), cucumber, eggplant, pepper, potato, pumpkin, radish, spinach, tomato, watermelon, etc.

		Light brown vascular discoloration in the stem of an eggplant infected with Verticillium dahliae.
Photo Source: Lindsey du Toit

On-Line Resources:

Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook: Eggplant (Solanum melongena) – Verticillium Wilt

Fusarium and Verticillium Wilts of Tomato, Potato, Pepper, and Eggplant. . The Ohio State University Extension.

See Diseases, pests, and other problems common to many vegetables: Verticillium wilt.
 

Insect/Mite Pests

Common name: Spittlebug, (e.g., meadow spittlebug)
Latin binomial: Meadow spittlebug = Philaenus spumarius

Photo Source: Eric Sorensen			Photo Source: Cheryl Moorehead, individual, Bugwood.org

On-Line Resources:

Strawberry Pests. Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. Chapter: Small Fruit, Section: Strawberry.

Seasonal development and life cycle – Spittlebugs. UC IPM Online. University of California.

Meadow spittlebug. Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook.
 

Common name (of damaging stage): Tomato hornworm
Latin binomial: Manduca quinquemaculata
Host crops: Pepper, eggplant, potato, and tomato.

Mature tomato hornworms can reach 3 inches long. They come in various hues of green to gray, but are distinguished from other hornworms by the eight v-shaped stripes running along the length of their bodies and a black horn on their rear end. The coloration allows these large caterpillars to remain cryptic within the canopy of tomato plants.	Tomato hornworm is a plant defoliator feeding on entire leaves, small stems, and even parts of immature fruit. Often this defoliation is first noticed near the end of the growing season (August or early September) when the hornworm is approaching maturity.	The tomato hornworm has one generation per year and overwinters as a pupa in the soil. Adults will emerge in the spring.	The tomato hornworm adult is a large (3.5 to 5.25-inch wingspan) moth known as the five-spotted hawk moth for the five pairs of orange spots on the abdomen. The adult is rarely encountered by growers and home gardeners as it tends to fly around dusk.
Photo Source: Michael Bush, WSU Extension, Yakima, WA

On-Line Resources:

Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook. Washington State Chapter: Vegetables, Section: Tomato Part2: Fleabeetle to Wireworm.

Vegetables: Tomato: Tomato hornworm. Washington State University Hortsense.

UC Pest Management Guidelines: Eggplant Hornworms. UC IPM Online, University of California.