A Weather-Based Forecast Model for Capsule Rot of Small Cardamom

Small cardamom is an economically important spice crop. However, cardamom is susceptible to several diseases that significantly reduce yield. Proactive prevention of these diseases based on advance warning can enhance the efficiency of disease control and reduce environmental load of pesticides. Many of these diseases are governed by weather variables (for example, through control of fungal growth). This work presents a disease (capsule rot of cardamom) forecast model based on a set of meteorological variables.While no single weather variable provides successful simulation, an optimal combination of weather variables provides sufficient skill for advance warning of the disease.