In the process of growing horticultural and horticultural crops, the gardener annually encounters some diseases that negatively affect the final harvest. Among all the diversity, there is also a sooty fungus. What it is? Control and prevention methods are presented below.
Definition
Soot fungus is a type of mold fungus that develops on the basis of nectar or natural secretions of aphids, scale insects and other pests. Under such conditions, a fungus begins to develop, the spores of which are always in the ground.
Affected leaves look like they are covered with a layer of soot, giving the disease its name. At the same time, gradually developing, the sooty fungus can affect not only the foliage, but even the branches and trunk of the plant.
What is the danger?
Soot fungus on cucumbers or other fruit and vegetable crops is not dangerous in itself, but it clogs the pores of the leaves, thereby disrupting the respiration process, as a result of which the plant develops a lack of oxygen. Also, the fungus negatively affects the immunity of the plant, which in turn contributes to its death. If you do not solve the infection problem in a timely manner, you can soon lose the plant.
Reasons for appearance
Spores of black fungus are always in the soil, they can safely winter under the bark of trees, without causing any harm to the culture. The disease begins to develop due to a large accumulation of waste products and the secretion of parasites such as aphids, larch, mealybugs.
They are a breeding ground for the disease and provoke its awakening. It is for this reason that experienced gardeners recommend fighting not only soot fungus, but also pests that form a breeding ground for it.
Disease development
Fungal disease appears and develops quite quickly. Sooty plaque can be detected already a few weeks after the plant is infected with parasites. In urban plantations, niello develops almost immediately after the leaves bloom in spring. Sooty fungus on tomatoes and other cultivated plants develops rapidly at high ambient temperatures, peaking in the hottest summer months - July and August.
Since the plant's metabolism, respiration and photosynthesis are disturbed due to damage, it soon dries up and dies, especially for annual crops.
Treatment
In gardening, suchsoot fungus control methods:
- Removal of affected leaves. The procedure is effective in the early stages of the development of the disease, when there are not so many affected areas. After removal, they must be burned away from the growth of horticultural crops to prevent the spread of the disease to he althy plants.
- Spraying with Bordeaux liquid at a concentration of 1%. For this, ordinary spray guns can be used if the treatment area is small, and garden sprayers, which are characterized by high productivity.
- Spraying with a 1% solution of copper sulphate also delays and stops the development of black fungus on plants.
- It is impossible to heal an affected plant without destroying the pests that caused the soot fungus to appear. For this, drugs such as Calypso, Fitover, Fitosporin are used.
- Spraying with a copper-soap mixture. To prepare it, you will need 5 g of copper sulfate, 150 g of laundry soap 72% grated on a fine grater, 10 liters of water. Everything must be mixed until the vitriol and soap are completely dissolved, and then treat the plants with a spray gun.
- To kill fungi in the soil, it is recommended to pour hot water around the plant and then cover with a film. Using this method, you must be extremely careful, because you can easily damage the roots and stem of the plant with hot water.
- Spraying with a solution of soda and 72% is allowedlaundry soap.
Timely treatment can save garden plants from inevitable death.
Prevention measures
In order not to have to carry out treatment for soot fungus, it is necessary to engage in disease prevention. The following measures apply for this:
Prophylactic spraying of plants with "Fitosporin", "Calypso" and other antifungal drugs. It is usually carried out in the spring, when the first leaves appear, and also in the middle of summer, when the chances of infection with the fungus are highest
- To prevent the spread of the disease, it is necessary to cut off infected leaves in a timely manner and burn them away from fruits and vegetables.
- In autumn, before planting, you can treat the soil and garden tools with a solution of copper sulfate.
- It is recommended to change places of growth of different crops every year, this has a positive effect not only on subsequent yields, but also reduces the risk of many diseases, including soot fungus.
- To prevent the development of fungal diseases, it is important not to overmoisten the soil, as well as thin out too dense tree crowns.
Soot fungus affects not only garden plants, but also indoor plants, so when buying a new flowerpot, you must place it in a two-week quarantine in another room. This is necessary in case the plant is affected by diseases that can be transmitted to he althyflowers.
Also prevents the development of many diseases, including fungal, frequent inspection of the condition of plants. This helps to identify the problem in a timely manner and solve it at the initial stage of development.
In the garden, weeds that grow between the beds must be carefully removed, as they can cause pests.
For small niello lesions, sometimes it is enough to remove blackened leaves or simply wash off the soot.
Choice variety
In order not to have to take emergency measures to combat soot fungus, it is recommended to pay attention to crop varieties that are resistant to fungal diseases:
- Pears: "early ripening from Michurinsk", "allegro", "morning freshness", "hera", "Yakovlevskaya".
- Cherry: "chocolate girl", "Turgenevka", "minx", "novella", "toy".
- Apple trees: cypress, lungwort, aphrodite, sun, antonovka.
- Tomatoes: Resonance, Dwarf, Perseus, Orange Miracle, Tatyana.
- Peaches: Volcano T-1, Harbinger, Royal Glory, Sweet Ring, Fidelia.
- Grapes: Victoria, White Delight, Arcadia, Laura, Cardinal.
- Strawberry: "torpedo", "Queen Elizabeth II", "Honet", "Tsarskoye Selo".
- Potatoes: Bronitsky, Alena, Snow White, Redus, Temp.
- Blackcurrant: Gulliver, Lazybones, Dashkovskaya, Centaur, Mila.
- Redcurrant: Asya, Valentinovka, Pink Muscat,"commemorative", "cascade", "generous".
- Gooseberries: "non-slukhovsky", "malachite", "spring", "isabella", "Russian red", "Russian yellow", "kazachok".
- Cucumbers: “competitor”, “delicacy”, “Nezhinsky”, “son of the regiment”, “whim”, “bunny”, “tanya”.
If you purchase varieties of fruit and vegetable crops that are resistant to fungal diseases, you can prevent the development of soot fungus on plants.
Conclusion
Soot fungus is a rather dangerous disease for plants, as it greatly complicates their normal life. Despite the fact that the control measures are quite simple, it can be difficult to cure the plant due to the fact that fungal diseases spread very quickly.
