Violation of the rules for caring for violets often leads to various diseases. Fungal infections and viruses infect exactly weakened plants, whose immunity has suffered due to improper conditions or lack of sufficient nutrients in the soil. Saintpaulias rarely get sick, but sometimes the store sells plants already infected or affected by pests.
Powdery mildew: a fungal disease of violets
One of the most dangerous fungal diseases is powdery mildew. It damages the leaves and buds, on which a flour-like coating appears. In the photo, powdery mildew on violets often looks like a speck of dust. If the disease is left untreated, the plant quickly dies. Therefore, it is important for every violet lover to know what causes an infection and how to avoid it.
Causes of powdery mildew
Diseasespread by fungal spores from one plant to another. They can be constantly in the air, but do not infect the violet if it is he althy. But weakened flowers quickly become infected and die. Therefore, when buying new indoor plants, it is necessary to observe a two-week quarantine, wash the leaves of newcomers to get rid of parasites, and spray them with biological preparations to prevent diseases. Another option for how powdery mildew can appear on violets is infection through the soil. New soil, even purchased in a store, must be disinfected by calcining in the oven or spilling a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Mistakes in violet care
But most often the cause of the disease is a violation of the conditions of care:
- Excessive humidity at low air temperature. For example, overflow in winter, when the plant stands on a cold windowsill. Hypothermia of the root system can cause the appearance of various fungal diseases. This is especially dangerous for violets on wick irrigation.
- Low light. With a lack of light, the violet is deformed, stops blooming and spends a lot of energy on active growth. In winter, it is advisable to highlight the flowers with special lamps if the window sill is not light enough. They will also serve as an additional source of heat.
- Dust and dirt around the violet. If you do not regularly clean the shelf with plants, the risk of various diseases increases, including powdery mildew.
- The reason may be an excess of nitrogen in the soil or a lack of phosphorus-potash supplement.
- Burns and wounds on the leaves from excessive sun when spores of the fungus enter them can cause disease. Therefore, burnt leaves should be removed.
- Incorrectly selected soil: if the soil is too heavy, dries out for a long time and is not nutritious enough, the violet can get sick. The soil for the flower is made in such a way that the roots breathe. It should be loose and airy. It is recommended to add baking powder: perlite, vermiculite, sphagnum moss in a small amount. The optimal acidity of the soil is 6.5-7 pH.
- Too big a pot can cause powdery mildew on violets. For plants with a standard size rosette, the diameter of the pot should not exceed 9 cm.
- When using a clay pot for violets, the risk of waterlogging the root system increases. In winter, the clay gets very cold and can cause fungal diseases.
- Excessively abundant watering has a negative effect on the plant and can lead to the appearance of powdery mildew on violets. Before watering a flower, you should always check whether the soil has dried out enough.
Signs of infection
The main symptom of the disease is the appearance of a white powdery coating, first on the leaves, and then on the buds. This is the first stage of the disease. "Flour" may resemble ordinary dust, but is not washed off the foliage, because it is the mycelium of the fungus. If there are other flowers near the infected Saintpaulia, they can become infected from close contact. How to deal with mealydew on violets? It is important to pay attention to the condition of the violet in time and start treatment, otherwise it will be difficult to save the flower later. In the second stage, the leaves become covered with ulcers, spreading to the entire leaf plate, until it completely dies off. The plant stops growing and developing, and as a result, it dies.
Powdery mildew varieties
There are two types of powdery mildew on violets: false and true. Both diseases are caused by fungi and are dangerous for plants, but with a false form, light spots form on all parts of the flower, and the leaf plate is covered with brown dots. Violet can die from any form of powdery mildew if treatment is not started in time.
Antifungals
How to get rid of powdery mildew on violets? To do this, use a fungicide, most often the drug "Topaz", it is considered the most effective at an early stage of the disease. Processing is carried out twice with an interval of 14 days. Popular among amateur flower growers "Fundazol" and "Benlat", but using these tools, you should carefully read the instructions and contraindications for their use in a room. For prevention, you can use "Fitosporin", but it is ineffective in severe forms of the disease.
Powdery mildew on violets: treatment with folk remedies
Chemicals can be replaced with folk remedies.
- Effectively fights fungus solution of 200 mlmilk, water and 1 tsp. s alt. Such a composition has the property of dehydrating spores, as a result of which the fungus dries out. The plant should be treated every 2 days, protecting the soil in the pot from salinity.
- Whey can be mixed with water at a ratio of 1/10 and sprayed on flowers every three days.
- A solution of iodine in water - a few drops per glass. A single treatment with such a composition will be enough to get rid of the spores.
- For the treatment of powdery mildew, solutions of copper sulfate and green soap, a suspension of colloidal sulfur, spraying with soda and mullein infusion are also used. The solutions are sprayed with the topsoil and the plants themselves twice, with a weekly interval.
- You can use this recipe: mix 1 tablespoon of dry mustard in 5 liters of warm water and spray with plant solution.
- Garlic is considered an effective remedy against fungal infections and for the prevention of pest attacks. Use 25 g of garlic per 1 liter of water, the solution is kept for a day, filtered and sprayed with violets.
- 100 g of fresh horsetail grass is poured with a liter of water for a day, after which the composition must be boiled for 2 hours. Then the decoction is diluted in water (1 part of the solution to 5 parts of water) and the flowers are treated 3 times with an interval of 5 days.
Violet treatment process
For effective treatment of the plant, you need to adhere to the following action plan:
- Isolate all diseased plants from he althy ones immediately, remove flower stalks so that the plant does notspent energy on flowering. If some parts of the flower are severely diseased, remove them if possible.
- Rinse the violet under running warm water, trying not to get into the center. Disinfect the tray and pot. After the shower, the plant is left in a dark place until the moisture is completely dry.
- The top layer of soil is removed and thrown away. Clean soil is poured into the pot.
- The drug is diluted according to the instructions and the plant is treated with it. The treatment is repeated after two weeks.
It is important to regularly inspect the collection of plants in order to recognize the danger in time, and remember that he althy plants with strong immunity can cope with many diseases and even rid themselves of pests.
