Yardlong bean (borboti) is one of the most popular vegetables in Bangladesh and is quite profitable to grow. But growers need to be careful, because the crop is attacked by a number of diseases and insect pests.

Among these problems are yellowing and spotting of the leaves. The leaves may also curl up and shrivel. Here is how to deal with leaf yellowing and leaf spot on yardlong bean.

Yardlong bean plants are attacked by various diseases at the growing or seedling stage. The stems and leaves show yellow and dark green patchy, mosaic-like leaves. At this stage, infected plants should be pulled out of the field or the affected branches cut off.

Aphids carry this disease. To control them, spray an imidacloprid-type insecticide (such as Admire or Tido, 7–10 ml, or two caps, mixed in 10 litres of water) two to three times at 10-day intervals. The vegetables remain toxic for 15 days after spraying, so they must not be eaten or sold within 15 days of a spray. Take care when spraying chemicals.

Soapy water can also be sprayed. Alternatively, spraying half-crushed neem seed water (50 g of neem seed crushed and soaked in 1 litre of water for 12 hours, then strained) on affected plants three times at 10-day intervals controls the insects. A mixture of tobacco dust (10 g), soap powder (5 g) and neem leaf juice per litre of water can also be used.

If spots appear on the leaves, spray a carbendazim-type fungicide (Aimcozim or Noin, 20 g mixed in 10 litres of water) two to three times at 10-day intervals. Take care when spraying.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.