A serious problem for any gardener is late blight, a fungal disease that affects potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and even strawberries. A rich harvest is the dream of any gardener, both novice and seasoned. But often viral diseases that affect crops cross out all the work. How to deal with phytophthora - one of the most dangerous diseases of many plants - phytophthora?
What is Phytophthora
Phytophthora is one of the most common diseases of cultivated plants, the very name of which is translated from Greek as “destroying, destroying”. It is caused by parasitic fungi that settle on the underground and terrestrial organs of the plant, as well as in the soil. They cause leaf rot and wilt.
The following signs will help you find out that the plant is sick:
- Brown spots appear on the leaves, which begin to grow at a high speed. On the stems, the disease manifests itself by the formation of irregularly shaped brown spots.
- After a short time, a grayish coating appears on the neoplasms - spores thatthe fungus multiplies.
- 3-4 days after infection, the disease covers the entire plant and is transmitted to neighboring bushes.
- When the weather is dry, the leaves dry up and die, when the weather is wet, they rot.
- Affected fruits are covered with dark spots that quickly spread over the entire surface.
The fungus can also infect plant tubers, especially potatoes. They form stains that hide the brown fabric underneath.
Disease risks
Late blight is a real disaster for any gardener for the following reasons:
- Spreading fast. If you do not keep track and do not destroy the affected plants in time, the disease will affect all crops and destroy the crop.
- Reproduction is produced by zoosporangia - asexual spores that are very resistant to adverse environmental factors.
- Rainy summer is an ideal environment for the reproduction of zoosporangia, which, once in a suitable environment, quickly increase in number and infect crop tissues.
- Spores can not only survive on the affected planting material, but also overwinter in the soil.
- If there are signs of fruit infection on tomatoes, then the situation is more difficult with potatoes. It is possible, having dug up a crop in the fall, to find with horror that it has died.
Modern breeders are making every effort to breed varieties of tomatoes and potatoes that are resistant to late blight, but so far only relative results have been achieved: the disease develops in such varietiesmuch slower. However, Phytophthora-resistant plants still get sick.
Given these circumstances, gardeners need to make every effort to prevent contamination of crops. Autumn tillage from phytophthora will help this.
Basic rules
The first stage of disease prevention is digging up the site in the fall. It is very important to choose dump digging - that is, turning over an earthen clod. The depth of digging should be equal to one spade bayonet.
It is necessary to follow the rules of agricultural technology: do not plant potatoes or tomatoes in the same beds for two consecutive seasons, the same applies to strawberries. For best results, beds should only be used after 3 years.
When planting, be sure to plant crops at some distance from each other. "Tightness" in the beds is one of the causes of the disease.
These simple recommendations should be followed, but annual soil treatment with special tools is also necessary to solve the problem.
Effective drugs
Among the popular methods is tillage with copper sulphate in autumn. How to do it? The beds, on which nightshade is planned to be planted next season, must be watered with a solution of 2-3%, then dug up and treated with a fungicide ("Fitosporin-M", "Ordan"). It is easy to prepare the solution: 2 tablespoons of vitriol are added to 10 liters of water.
Chemical achievementsindustry
In particularly difficult cases, the above remedies may not be effective, so soil treatment from phytophthora in the fall should be carried out using chemicals. There are several effective means, information about which will be presented in the table.
| Drug name | hazard class | Short description |
| Ordan | 3 |
The manufacturer is the domestic company "August". The drug is available in the form of a white powder for the preparation of a solution. The active substance is copper oxychloride |
| "Acrobat MC" | 2 | Relates to systemic local fungicides, available in granules. Non-phytotoxic, no danger to bees and earthworms |
| "Ditan M 45" | 2 | Austrian-made powder, compatible with most drugs. It is not dangerous for a person if precautions are observed |
| Kurzat R | 3 | It is an analogue of the "Ordan" |
| Kurzat M | 2 | Produced in granules, the active substances are cymoxanil and mancozeb |
| Hom | 3 | Produced in powder form, used for preventionlate blight |
| Profit | 2 | Is a yellow powder |
These preparations are safe when used correctly and carefully, but it should be remembered that work is being done with poisons, so you must put on gloves and a cotton-gauze bandage in advance, and carry out the treatment in closed clothes.
Application Features
Tillage from phytophthora in the fall should be carried out according to the rules that are indicated in the instructions for a particular preparation. The application of each of them has its own specifics:
- Solution "Ordan" should be prepared immediately before use. For soil treatment, it is necessary to dilute 5 g of the drug per liter of water.
- "Acrobat MC", "Ditan M 45": 20 g of the substance per liter of water is taken to prepare the solution.
- "Hom": dosage - 40 g per 10 liters of liquid.
The work of the gardener will be facilitated by following the instructions exactly. It is very important to remember that you should not smoke, eat or drink while working with drugs. It is unacceptable to prepare the solution in kitchen utensils.
After tomatoes
Treatment in a greenhouse after late blight of tomatoes can be done using the following preparations:
- Planzier.
- Baktofit.
- Alirin B.
- Trichodermin.
- Phytocide M.
These drugs are biologically activefungicides - that is, agents that destroy the fungus. They water the soil in the fall after digging, in the spring the treatment is repeated. It is very important to moisten the soil abundantly so that the water with the fungicide penetrates to a depth of 10 cm - this is where the spores are located.
Effective in the fight against late blight after tomatoes and "Fitosporin-M", which is considered harmless to crops. To prepare a solution for a greenhouse, dilute 6 ml of fungicide in 10 liters of water.
It is very important to process the greenhouse itself - wash it with a solution of laundry soap, both inside and out. It will not be superfluous to remove the top layer of soil, if possible. You can also use the sulfur fumigation method: experienced gardeners who do not want to damage the soil using drugs against phytophthora do just that. For this, cutting sulfur or a sulfur checker is purchased. Sulfur is used as follows: in order to avoid fire, a metal sheet is placed on a basin of water, a sulfur mixture is laid out on it and set on fire. Consumption is quite economical: 1 kg of powder can be used in a room of 10 sq.m.
After potatoes
It is very important to pay due attention to tillage after potato late blight. For this, it is best to use the drug "Shine". One sachet is poured into a jar of warm water with a capacity of ½ liter, after which it is stirred into 10 liters of water. For 5 sq.m. soil will require 1-2 buckets. Fitosporin will also be effective (1 tbsp per 10 liters of water), which is harmless to crops. It will help to treat the soil with Bordeaux liquid, which you can prepare yourself in enameled or glassware, metal is not suitable for this purpose. How to:
- Dissolve 300 g of copper sulfate in the first container in a liter of water.
- In the second container, dilute 400 g of lime in 2 liters of water.
- Add the required amount of cold water to each solution to make 5 liters.
- Strain lime with gauze.
- Mix with vitriol solution.
The resulting liquid should have a beautiful blue color. You can check it with a litmus strip (as a rule, it is attached to purchased blue vitriol). A blue color indicates that everything is done correctly. If the litmus is colored red, then the proportions are violated, you should increase the proportion of lime.
Basic mistakes
Let's consider the main mistakes that gardeners make when cultivating the soil from a fungus:
- Some gardeners believe that chlorine-containing preparations are effective in combating late blight and abundantly moisten the beds with bleach, but this is not so. It will not destroy the spores of the pest, but it will damage the beneficial microflora of the soil. It is better to use a proven method - tillage with copper sulphate in the fall.
- Another common mistake is the unwillingness to carry out prevention if infection was avoided last season. This is wrong, measures must also be taken in this case, because it is always easier to prevent infection thanthen fight the infection spreading at a fantastic pace.
- After thorough tillage from phytophthora in the fall, some stop there. But it is also necessary not to forget about the processing of inventory. This can be done with a solution of potassium permanganate. If cords were used to tie tomatoes in the greenhouse, it is necessary to process them too: place them wound into coils in metal buckets and pour with a solution, wait half an hour.
- In autumn, tops should be destroyed outside the site, especially if there have been cases of phytophthora damage. Some gardeners forget to do this, leaving the grass to rot in the beds as mulch.
Tilling the soil from phytophthora in the fall will be an excellent preventive measure that will help protect your crop from this dangerous disease. Therefore, do not neglect the above tips.
