LAUSR

Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum), myoga (Zingiber mioga), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and southern star (Oxypetalum caeruleum) are very important cash crops in Kochi Prefecture of Japan. In 2003, a new blight symptom was found on sweet pepper leaves, and in 2004, a new damping-off symptom was found on southern star. In 2010, a new soft rot symptom was found on flower buds of myoga in Kochi Prefecture. Postharvest rot of okra pods caused by Alternaria alternata is also frequently found and leads to severe losses. The purpose of this study was to identify the causal pathogens of these new diseases of sweet pepper, myoga and southern star, study the relationship between postharvest storage conditions and occurrence of Alternaria rot on okra pods and also to establish effective control methods for the diseases.