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Rot is a whole group of diseases that spreads first to parts of plants, and then to the whole plant. The appearance of rot is caused by fungi, but there is also rot of a bacterial nature. Depending on the affected area of the plant, there are rots of the root system, leaves, twigs and trunks, rot also affects fruits and berries. The pathogens that cause rot develop under the snow when there are no plants yet. There are white, black and gray rot. Let’s talk about gray rot, the causative agent of which is the fungus Botrytis cinerea.
What
Gray rot affects indoor and agricultural plants. Tomatoes, grape leaves, strawberries, cucumbers and eggplants are especially susceptible to the disease. Gray rot, which appears when the conditions for storage and transportation of root crops are not observed, is called “hull rot”. Very often, flower crops suffer from gray rot, especially those with white flowers.
The fungus spreads by air, infection is possible when caring for the plant and during harvesting. Fungus spores can be dispersed in water. If you still can’t see the affected areas, this does not mean that the plant does not have sclerotia that cause the disease.
Common rot looks like brown spots, they quickly increase on young shoots and leaves. High humidity contributes to the appearance of gray fluffy spores and mycelium, which are carried by the wind and can infect neighboring plants. Rot spreads from one plant to another, any vegetable and berry crops can succumb to the disease.
Types
Rot is a fairly common problem, the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbits defeat is huge. The list of vegetables includes tomatoes, lettuce, onions and beets, potatoes, cucumbers, beans, radishes and cabbage. In some cases, the fungus of this disease is specially applied to the plant, for example, on grapes for Tokay wine, because the combination of rot on the berries forms a special real taste of Tokay. A favorable condition for the fungus is a rainy cold summer.
Gray rot on tomatoes looks like brown spots, which dry out after a while and the fruit rots. Healthy bushes very quickly become infected with the disease. To protect strawberries from gray rot, it should be removed in early spring, and it is better to burn all damaged and diseased leaves. The disease on strawberry bushes manifests itself in the form of gray-brown mycelium growing on the surface of infected tissues. Healthy bushes from infected berries are rapidly infected with rot.
The grape tissues in the affected areas become dead, their color becomes brown, later a fluffy coating appears. Spores appear on individual berries, they are lilac and brown. The most favorable time for the development of gray rot is hot and humid weather, and violation of the integrity of the peel also contributes to suppuration. If you plan to plant grape seedlings, you need to protect the grafting site. Rot can appear at any time of the year, so medicinal preparations should be applied in advance, before harvest.
On cucumbers, gray rot appears as shapeless gray spots, sometimes they have a yellow-brown tint. At the same time, the fruits are affected, so preventive measures should be taken to remove the diseased leaves of the plant. And also maintain optimal air humidity (in greenhouses).
The defeat of the gooseberry begins with the lower parts of the shoots, then the disease passes to the berries, which rot and fall off. It is necessary to remove and destroy infected stems and berries in a timely manner, in order to avoid crop loss and drying of the bushes. If gray rot gets on lettuce leaves, a gray coating forms on the surface and the plant falls down. Inside the head, the leaves rot.
Gray rot on apple trees leads to the drying of large areas of wood, the fruits affected by rot disappear, the rot is accompanied by an inconspicuous whitish coating. In order to prevent apple trees, it is recommended to feed them with special fertilizers during the growing season. Carrots can also become infected with gray mold, particularly during storage. Root crops begin to rot from the tip, then become covered with a gray felt coating.
Video “Biological preparations”
Methods of struggle
The most common method of dealing with gray mold on strawberries is spraying with an iodine solution. A weak solution of 5 ml per 5 liters of water can destroy the rot pathogen. Also effective are the drugs Boxwood, Horus, Strobi, Falcon. To combat rot on tomatoes, the fungicides Fundazol, Acrobat, Bayleton are used.
From gray rot on grapes, drugs such as Cabrio-top, Fundazol, Topaz, etc. are used. For preventive purposes, fungicides such as Bordeaux mixture, Antrakol and Rex are perfect for cherries and gooseberries. For treatment, Arceride and Bayleton are needed. To combat rot on tomatoes, you need to feed the root system in time with a mixture of phosphorus and potassium. You can also pour a solution of ash under the root (300 grams per 10 liters).
Prevention for plants
So, from the conditions for the spread of rot, it should be said that the plants should be planted at a sufficient distance from each other, for good ventilation of the stems and access to the sun. Do not abuse nitrogen fertilizers, as they make the leaves soft and susceptible to disease.
If you use greenhouses on your site, make sure that the room is well ventilated. When processing plants, removing excess shoots, it is necessary to minimize the place of the wound in order to reduce the possibility of rot. This is done with a sharp knife on a dry sunny day.
If you notice signs of aphids on plants, treat them, most likely the plant will begin to rot. It is necessary to pre-treat the plants with preparations in order to destroy the causative agent of rot. To prevent rot from remaining for the winter, it is necessary to burn the remains of plants on which there were clear signs of rot. Try to prevent the reproduction of snails, ticks and slugs, they carry the causative agent of gray rot.
Video “Rot and methods of dealing with it”
This disease is dangerous for many types of plants and vegetables. To get rid of it once and for all, you just need to read the information in the following video.
