1. Post harvest diseases of brinjal
Anthracnose
Colletotrichum melongenae
Fruit rot
Phomopsis vexans
Alternaria solani
Pythium aphanidermatum
Phytophthora nicotianae var nicotianae

2. Fruit rot - Phomopsis vexans
First phase - blight on young seedlings
Stem - girdled slightly above the soil line, plant topples and dies
Stem lesion - dark brown, becoming grey in the centre as pycnidia develops
Leaf - irregular brown spots
Fruits – soft, watery & decays
Finally black, mummified as pycnidia develop abundantly over the surface

3. Pycnidia - with or without beak, brown to black
Fungus
Pycnidia - with or without beak, brown to black
Conidiophores - hyaline, simple or branched,
Conidia - hyaline, one celled and subcylindrical
Stylophores - filiform, curved, hyaline, septate
Mode of spread and survival
Seed borne
Spread by rain splashes, implements and insects
Survives in infected plant debris in soil
Conidia from pycnidium

4. Epidemiology
Temp - 29oC (fungal growth)
Storage rot of fruits is maximum at 25oC
Management
Seed treatment - hot 50oC for 30 min
Nursery % difolatan or captan weekly interval
Field - Zineb 0.2 %
Bordeaux mixture 0.8%

5. Fruit rot - Alternaria solani
Small, concentric dark brown & sunken spots
Spots coalesces & covers entire fruit
Fungus
Hyphae - septate, branched, light brown becoming darker with age
Conidia - single, muriform, beaked and dark in color
Source of infection - infected seeds and plant debris
Pusa purple - moderately resistant
Alternaria solani conidia. Note the transverse and vertical septa and the long "beak

6. Favourable conditions
Temp - 25 to 30oC
Sporulation – abundant when rains are frequent and heavy
Mode of survival and spread
Conidia and mycelium in the soil and debris - remain viable for > 17 months
Conidia are windborne
Control
Spraying of zineb 0.2 % or mancozeb 0.2%

7. Fruit rot - Pythium aphanidermatum
Referred as cottony leak
Decay begins at blossom end
Purple colour of the skin bleaches and turns to tan and wrinkling follows
Fleshy tissue becomes watery
White cottony mycelium of the fungus covers the surface
Fungus
Mycelium - coenocytic, white and measures μm in dia
Produce sporangia, zoospores, and oospores
Oogonia - spherical, smooth walled, terminal on lateral hyphae

8. Mode of spread and survival
Survival: Through oospores present in the soil
Spread: Through irrigation water, implement during cultural operations
Favourable conditions
Excessive soil moisture
High humidity
Over crowding of seedling
Control
Remove affected plants and burn
Avoid water logging condition
Drench the soil with 1% Bordeaux mixture
Fruits should not be allowed to touch the soil
Do not store the infected fruits with healthy fruits

9. Fruit rot - Phytophthora nicotianae var nicotianae
Fruits - Small, water soaked lesions
Skin - discoloration, turns greyish brown, and develop white cottony mycelium in humid weather
Rotten parts become depressed and develops wrinkles
Rotting spread deep into the pulp and turns brown, watery & soft
Rapidly spreads during rainy season

10. Spherical hyphal swellings are common
Fungus
Hyphae - 5 to 6 μm in dia
Spherical hyphal swellings are common
Zoosporangia - sub hyaline, oviod, pyriform borne on short stalk
Control
Removal and destruction of the affected fruits
Spraying the crop with Difolatan (0.3%) thrice at an interval of 10 days effectively controls the disease
A: Sporangia. B: Zoospore. C:Chlamydospore.
D: Oospore.

11. Anthracnose - Colletotrichum melongenae
Sunken lesions on fruits vary in size
Upto 1.3cm wide and may coalesce
Tan colored ooze of fungal spores appear on lesions
Fruit dries & become black – fruit drop
Fungus
Mycelium - septate, branched & light pink to brown
Acervuli - simple globose and dark brown
Conidiophore - erect and hyaline
Conidia - hyaline, one celled, oval or oblong

12. Mode of spread and survival
Survives on crop debris as acervuli
Spores dispersed by rain splash
Epidemiology
RH - 100%
Temp - 21 to29oC
Control
Field sanitation - destruction of infected plant debris
Other host plant - S. torvum
Harvesting of fruits before they over ripe
Zineb or ferbam spray at 10 days interval