Powdery Mildew On Vegetables - Methods Of Prevention And Treatment. Photo

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Powdery Mildew On Vegetables - Methods Of Prevention And Treatment. Photo
Powdery Mildew On Vegetables - Methods Of Prevention And Treatment. Photo

Video: Powdery Mildew On Vegetables - Methods Of Prevention And Treatment. Photo

Video: Powdery Mildew On Vegetables - Methods Of Prevention And Treatment. Photo
Video: Prevent & Treat Powdery Mildew and 4 Home Remedies that Work!! 2024, March
Anonim

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that occurs on all plants and is especially rampant when there is an abundance of heat and moisture. Our grandfathers and grandmothers, when they came to the garden and saw an ashen bloom on the leaves, sadly noticed that an ashtray, or linen, as it was called even earlier, had come. The fact is that this very linen, outwardly from a harmless cannon, can turn into a monster capable of destroying most of the crop, or even all of it, if you do not fight it. About what powdery mildew is on vegetable crops, what harm it can cause to tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables, and how to defeat it, we will tell in the article.

Powdery mildew on a pepper leaf
Powdery mildew on a pepper leaf

Content:

  • Powdery mildew - fungal infection
  • Symptoms and effects of powdery mildew
  • When is powdery mildew most active?
  • Powdery Mildew Prevention
  • Common treatments for powdery mildew
  • Treatment of powdery mildew on vegetables
  • List of remedies for powdery mildew (preparations)
  • Traditional methods of dealing with powdery mildew

Powdery mildew - fungal infection

In fact, powdery mildew is a fungal infection that spreads (and then actively develops) not only by the wind or by insects, but also by microscopic fungi that are right under our feet in the soil. They belong to a complex in name, but, in fact, the simplest order of powdery mildew fungi, or erisyphus.

As we already mentioned, powdery mildew is "omnivorous", it can eat your favorite vineyard, beautiful roses, gooseberries (because of it, its areas are significantly reduced), almost any grain crops, peaches, as well as cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkin, sugar beets and other vegetable plants.

Symptoms and effects of powdery mildew

The very first symptom that you should pay close attention to is, of course, powdery mildew, and sometimes it is on the bottom of the leaf (this is downy mildew) and on top (real). And if the children did not run around the site, scattering something mealy on the plants, and besides, the plantings are thickened, the soil is not the first freshness, and it rains more often than we would like, then there is only one verdict - this attack, alas, did not escape you … Sometimes on the whitish bloom, well-visible droplets of moisture can appear, but the bloom may well be without them.

Usually on vegetable crops, powdery mildew shows itself not only on leaf blades, it can also be on the petioles and on young shoots, as well as on fruits and stalks. The very first infection penetrates precisely through the leaf blades, and the more the leaf is pressed closer to the ground, the higher the probability that it will become infected will be. The same applies to the shoot of a vegetable plant - it is pressed to the ground, which means that the probability that it will become infected will be maximum. And then everything is simple - the disease captures the entire vegetable plant as a whole.

If you are a botanist by nature, then, armed with a magnifying glass, you can take a closer look at the place where the mycelium is attached to the leaf and the ulcers formed in this place. It is clear that the plant will begin to wither, because the fungus will draw off most of the nutrition and moisture, and the leaves under the layer of the fungus will not be able to carry out the normal processes of photosynthesis.

Perennial vegetable crops have a reduced ability to winter hardiness and resistance to negative environmental factors. At the same time, quite large cracks are sometimes formed on the affected fruits of vegetable crops, into which the infection penetrates, rot actively develops and the product simply becomes unusable.

When is powdery mildew most active?

On vegetable crops, powdery mildew is most active in excessively humid years (65-75%), accompanying temperature fluctuations from +14 to + 26 ° C. Powdery mildew of vegetable crops is activated with frequent fluctuations in day and night temperatures, as well as as a result of inept actions associated, for example, with incorrect pinching of tomatoes, when hemp (parts of the stepson) or leaves located at the very bottom of the plants are left.

In addition, powdery mildew often attacks vegetable crops, if the gardener applies too large doses of nitrogen fertilizers, this reduces the immunity of plants, and powdery mildew is right there. Naturally, you should not save space and plant many plants in one area, trying to grow a huge harvest, the planting scheme must be strictly observed, otherwise the moisture will not normally evaporate from the soil surface, creating favorable conditions for the development of powdery mildew on vegetable crops.

Usually, the planting density also determines the irrigation regime - the gardener thinks that since he planted the garden so tightly that there is no free space, then the plants are simply experiencing a wildest moisture deficit and they urgently need help. It takes a hose and turns everything into a swamp, thereby creating the prerequisites for the appearance of powdery mildew.

Violation of the watering regime is another reason for the appearance of powdery mildew in the garden. Often at the dacha, appearing once over the weekend, we water our vegetable crops too generously, and then forget about them, literally opening the gates and letting powdery mildew into our site ourselves.

Powdery mildew on sunflower
Powdery mildew on sunflower

Powdery Mildew Prevention

Naturally, powdery mildew can be fought, but prevention is very important, and you should not immediately apply chemistry at the first signs of illness on vegetable crops.

Preventive measures are necessary and effective. For example, it is necessary to water the plants only after the top layer of the soil has completely dried out, and if it was raining and the soil is damp, then you should not moisten it again, because these are not tree crops, and their roots are not so far from the soil surface.

Second measure - it is imperative to observe crop rotation, remove all plant residues from the site immediately after harvesting the entire crop. Another important preventive measure is the cultivation of powdery mildew-resistant varieties and hybrids of vegetable crops. And yet - no overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers, especially during the periods of bud formation.

By the way, about fertilizers: warning you against applying an excess of nitrogen fertilizers, we remind you that you need to apply potash (8-10 grams per square meter) and phosphorus fertilizers (7-9 grams per square meter) for proper nutrition of the plant and increase their immunity.

After harvesting plant residues, the soil must still be treated with fungicides, strictly following the instructions on the packaging and only with those preparations that are allowed. By the way, once, by the way, may not be enough to eradicate the disease entirely and completely, it is better to carry out three, or even four treatments.

Common treatments for powdery mildew

So, we realized that powdery mildew is a very unpleasant infection, and even if we took all precautions, it can still appear on vegetable crops and, at best, deprive us of part of the harvest (or maybe everything). Therefore, let's figure out how you can remove this infection from the site and never let it in there again.

If you are not an adherent of chemistry and notice that the leaves on the vegetables have acquired a characteristic mealy bloom, then as carefully as possible, moistening the scissors in alcohol each time and rubbing the sections with wood ash, remove all affected leaves of vegetable crops from the site and burn them outside.

Minimize the amount of irrigation water, or better - loosen the soil daily and remove harmful weeds from the site. Everything is simple here: the more you remove the leaves affected by powdery mildew, the more you reduce the chances of infecting the rest of the plant organs or neighboring vegetable crops.

After that, it is strongly recommended to treat the plants with a fungicide, so to speak, to consolidate the result. The main thing in this case is to use an approved, fresh fungicide, strictly following the instructions on the package, which, as a rule, indicate the processing time for each crop and the dosage. When treating with fungicide, try to moisten all the organs of the vegetable plant - the upper part and the lower part, so that the fungicide will process everything it can, and there are no corners infected with the infection.

Treatment of powdery mildew on vegetables

Powdery mildew on cucumbers

It is hardly possible to describe protection against powdery mildew on all vegetable crops without exception in one article, a whole book is needed here. Let's talk about the protection from powdery mildew of the main vegetable plants, which, as a rule, everyone has on the site.

If powdery mildew is found on the leaves of a cucumber, first of all, stop watering, then remove all diseased leaves, try to thin out the plants. For example, if one of them is very badly affected, then it is best not to treat it, but simply remove it from the site.

Further, be sure to loosen the soil to increase the evaporation of excess moisture, and you can start treatment. It is known that the banal dusting of the affected cucumber leaf with sulfur powder gives excellent results. To prepare it, you need to take 28-29 g of sulfur, dissolve in a bucket of water, fill it in a spray bottle and try to process all the affected leaves and the soil under them.

A solution of colloidal sulfur also helps, it needs the same amount and for the same volume, only if in the first case it is possible to spray 5-7 square meters of diseased plants, then in the second - all ten. The treatments are best done in the evening. Some gardeners speak well of treating affected cucumber plants with a mullein diluted 10 times, this amount is enough for 10 square meters of the garden.

If you decide to use fungicides, then strictly follow the instructions on the package (terms, doses, take everything into account). Find out if this or that drug is approved. Previously, preparations based on copper such as "Oxychoma" helped to cope well with powdery mildew, now they write that there is little use from them, you can use the fungicide "Topaz".

Powdery mildew on a cucumber leaf
Powdery mildew on a cucumber leaf

Powdery mildew on tomatoes

It is interesting that powdery mildew on tomatoes can manifest itself in two forms, more precisely, infect plants with two types of fungus. The first type is Oidiopsiserysiphoides - mainly in open ground, that is, not in greenhouses and hotbeds. Infection of tomato plants with this type of fungus usually occurs in March. As a rule, already on tomato seedlings, the leaves begin to dry out from the edges, and if you tighten it up to eliminate this problem, the seedlings usually die corny.

The second pathogen is the fungus Oidiopsistaurica, its external signs appear in the form of yellow spots, which are located on the upper side of tomato leaves, but the snow-white bloom, typical of powdery mildew, first appears on the bottom of the leaf.

To minimize the outbreak of these two fungal infections, it is necessary to soak tomato seeds before sowing for a couple of days in a solution of "Epin" or "Heteroauxin", "Zircon" and similar preparations, which somewhat enhance growth and significantly strengthen the immunity of plants.

But what if the tomato infestation has already occurred? The very first method is the treatment of all tomato plants, both healthy and sick, with sodium humate. This drug helps to inhibit, up to a complete stop, the growth of conidia - the causative agent of infection, and, therefore, inhibits the development of the infection itself.

Treatments must be carried out in accordance with the instructions on the package, the doses must be used correctly and the recommended processing times must be followed. In addition, at the initial stages of the development of a fungal infection, biological preparations can also cope with the destruction of powdery mildew, at least the well-known one-percent solution of "Baktofit", which is simply sprayed three times with tomato plants at intervals of a week, naturally, as soon as signs of powdery mildew appear …

According to gardeners, the so-called culture liquid, called "Planriz", gives a good effect, but it is effective at the very first signs of the disease, therefore, tomato plants will need to be carefully monitored in order to identify these very signs.

If the plants are already quite infected, then approved and available fungicides should be used (again, in strict accordance with the instructions on the package). These can be drugs such as Strobi, Topaz, Quadris, Titovit Jet, Baylon and even Privent. Gardeners advise, especially in wet years, when powdery mildew is actually rampant, so that the drug lingers on the plants more, add laundry soap to the solution (usually a half piece per 10 liters of solution).

With a slight lesion of tomato plants with powdery mildew, it is quite possible not to use chemistry. Gardeners note that treatment with 10% milk whey gives a good effect, both for preventive purposes, when it is damp and warm, but powdery mildew has not yet appeared, and for medicinal purposes, when only a few leaves were struck, but it is so pitiful to cut them off.

The main thing is that it does not rain after the treatment with milk whey, otherwise everything will have to be done again. Some note the effectiveness in the fight against powdery mildew and ash solution, for this, about 100 g of wood ash is poured per liter of water and this volume is watered on infected plants, consuming the solution so that it hits the infected parts. At the same time, you can double the frequency of loosening the soil and halve the watering of the soil.

Powdery mildew on tomatoes
Powdery mildew on tomatoes

Powdery mildew on zucchini

Zucchini is another common vegetable crop in our beds, and what a pity when the elegant leaves are suddenly covered with a white powdery bloom. At the first signs of damage, when there are very few affected leaves, they must be carefully cut and burned, and the places of the cuts must be covered with wood ash. If shoots are affected, then they will have to be removed, after which the soil must be loosened.

Their folk remedies for fighting infection can be helped by treatment with a solution of soda ash (10 g per bucket of water) or ten times diluted mullein (at a rate of 50 g per plant). Often, the treatment of the affected areas with an ash solution helps, for this you need to take 50 g of ash, dissolve in a liter of water and spray from a spray bottle in the evening in calm weather on the affected areas.

Do folk remedies fail? We'll have to use chemistry, again - the approved drugs in strict accordance with the instructions previously helped well: "Kefalon", "Carboran" and even phosphoric sodium.

As a prophylaxis against powdery mildew, zucchini can be treated a week after planting the seedlings with a drug called Nitrafen, and medications can be used after flowering.

Powdery mildew on zucchini leaves
Powdery mildew on zucchini leaves

Powdery mildew on eggplant

Experienced gardeners claim that it is possible to lime powdery mildew on eggplants in no time by treating them with a solution of simple soda ash, in exactly the same proportions that we wrote about it in the section on zucchini. Well, those who want a reliable result, let them use fungicides like Fundazol. It needs only 10 grams per bucket of water and this rate is enough for ten square meters of land. By the way, during the growing season eggplants can be processed up to five times with foundationol, the main thing is to strictly follow the instructions on the package.

Powdery mildew on onions

Onions are often struck by a false mealy growth, it seems to be hiding behind the leaves and it is not always possible to find it. Usually on onions, downy mildew manifests itself during a period of excess moisture in the soil and in thickened plantations. The first affected leaves must be pulled out, and then fungicides must be applied.

List of remedies for powdery mildew (preparations)

By the way, since we could not tell about all the vegetable crops that powdery mildew can infect, we will first list fungicides that are effective on literally every vegetable crop (of course, when used in strict accordance with the instructions on the package).

These are "Skor", "Quadris", "Hom", "Vectra", "TiovitJet", "Fundazim", "Fundazol", "Vitaros", "Baylon", "Phtalan", "Tsineb", "Kuprozan", " Topsin-M "," Fitosporin-M "," Previkur "," Switch ", Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate, copper oxychloride, colloidal sulfur and others.

Traditional methods of dealing with powdery mildew

Against this background, it is impossible to bypass, of course, and folk remedies for combating powdery mildew on vegetable crops, let's briefly present them.

So, very effective, especially at the initial stages of the development of the disease, is the treatment of the affected areas of vegetable crops with soap and soda solution. To do this, in a bucket of water, preferably rainwater, dilute 45-55 g of soda ash or ordinary baking soda and add 18-20 g of liquid soap or, finely grated, ordinary soap. Next, you need to shake it all up well, bringing it to a homogeneous composition and process the plants twice with an interval of a couple of weeks.

The second option is a milk whey solution. To do this, about a liter of milk whey can also be poured into a bucket with rainwater, that is, soft, water, stir well and you can carry out this solution up to three treatments in dry weather, taking a break of three days.

Kefir, here you need a liter of well-fermented kefir or yogurt, dilute in a bucket of water and treat the affected plants with the resulting mixture three times with an interval of four days.

It is considered more effective a decoction of horsetail, for this you need to chop a hundred grams of horsetail into small pieces and pour a liter of water, then let it brew under a press for a day, boil for a couple of hours, cool, dilute with water one and a half times and you can carry out up to five treatments of plants at weekly intervals. It is interesting that such an infusion can be safely stored for up to a week without losing its properties.

Mustard solution - you only need a couple of tablespoons diluted in a bucket of water warmed to room temperature, and this solution can be used to treat infected plants every three days.

Gardeners also respond well to the ash solution. To prepare it, you need a kilogram of finely crushed wood ash, dissolved in a bucket of water and well stirred. After that, the solution should be allowed to brew for a week, strain the solution and add a half piece of laundry soap to it. Treatments with this composition of diseased vegetable crops can be carried out in a day.

Mullein infusion - it must be diluted ten times with water, and then insisted for three days. After this, the infusion must be carefully drained and filtered to obtain a liquid that can pass through the spray bottle. It is important to carry out processing with such an infusion before flowering plants, and then they can process the soil, removing all weed residues from it.

Infusion of garlic (hot mixture) - here you need to crush 50 g of cloves, pour a couple of liters of rainwater and let it brew for two days. Then you need to strain and process only the area of vegetable plants affected by powdery mildew with it, without touching healthy ones.

In conclusion, an infusion of onion peel is both a weak fungicide and a source of trace elements that strengthens the immunity of vegetable crops. All you need is to pour 250 g of onion husks with a bucket of boiling water and let it brew for a couple of days, after that it remains to strain the composition and you can spray the plants with it before and after flowering, and also treat the soil to kill the wintering stage of the pest.

Here's everything we wanted to tell you about powdery mildew on vegetable crops and how to deal with it in all possible ways. What methods do you use to combat powdery mildew? Tell us about it in the comments in the article.

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