Here’s one topic that would help you familiarize yourself with the different diseases of your pinakbet vegetables and would make you understand how to better take care of your plants for them to grow healthy and eventually provide you a good harvest.

Episode 5 features the webinar titled, “Iwasan ang mga Sakit Upang Pakbet ay Bet na Bet.” Serving as resource speaker was Prof. Bernard O. Budot, faculty at the Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology (IWEP). He presented the diseases, biology, and spread of eight of the popular ingredients of pinakbet, namely: tomato, ampalaya, eggplant, okra, sitao, squash, winged bean, and onion.

Prof. Budot also discussed the characteristic symptom of the diseases and how to manage them. Some examples of these diseases are: black leaf mold of tomato, which is caused by the fungus, Pseudocercospora fuligena; fusarium wilt of ampalaya, which is caused by a fungus called Fusarium oxysporum; phomopsis blight of eggplant, which is caused by the fungus, Phomopsis vexans; root knot of okra, which is caused by the nematode, Meloidogyne incognita; bean rust of pole sitao, which is caused by a fungus called Uromyces appendiculatus; powdery mildew in squash, which is caused by a fungus called Oidium spp.; orange gall in winged bean, which is caused by a fungus called Synchytrium psophocarpi; and anthracnose in onion caused by the fungus, Colletotrichum gloesporioides.

Prof. Budot shared that one important consideration in understanding if our pinakbet plants are infected with the diseases mentioned is to check or observe the plants under field condition. He also provided some tips in controlling the diseases. He recommended using botanicals like kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) and neem (Azadirachta indica) extracts and other organic crop protection products approved by the Bureau of Agriculture and Product Standards.

Access the recorded webinar through this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjfPKXOSmHk

(IMGesmundo)