How to get rid of the black leg from pepper seedlings

Spring is the hottest time for gardeners. You need to grow healthy seedlings to get a rich harvest. Pepper lovers, having sowed seeds for seedlings, expect friendly shoots.

But it often happens that hopes are not justified: for no reason, young seedlings of peppers begin to behave strangely: they become weak, the leaves change color. After some time, the seedlings die. If it is possible to save seedlings of peppers, it develops with a large lag, the harvest is minimal.

The reason is most often that the seedlings of only ascended peppers are affected by the black leg. The disease captures not only weak shoots of peppers, many vegetable, flower, and berry crops suffer from it. The disease does not spare adult garden trees and shrubs.

What is the disease “black” leg

Blackleg is a bacterial, fungal disease. Most often, it affects newly born plants. Characteristic features first appear on pepper leaves, but the reason lies in problems with the root system.

Microspores of the disease live in the soil, able to survive severe frosts. Bacteria can be found in any soil; without them, it loses its fertility. But at some point, they begin to process not only the dead remains, but also the living structure. The disease is not capable of infecting healthy plants; it takes into circulation those that have weakened for some reason.

The defeat of the black leg through the root passes to the stem, the bacteria begin to draw the nutritious juices from the plant, wedged into the cell membrane. These microorganisms are not just tenacious, they also have the ability to multiply exponentially at a temperature of + 5 degrees. Humid environment, high temperatures (above +25 degrees) are excellent conditions for the black leg.

How to identify a black leg in seedlings

Since the blackleg pathogen lives in the ground, the disease is not always immediately recognizable. Moreover, not all plants get sick at the same time, since the black leg is a focal disease.

After a while, dark spots appear on the stem, it becomes thinner, becomes soft. Most often, the disease begins in weak shoots of seedlings.

How to deal with the disease

In order for the fight to be effective, it must be borne in mind that the black leg is a lover of acidic soil. Acidity can be reduced by:

• lime;
• dolomite flour;
• furnace ash;
• chalk.

In no case should you use the soil on which peppers, blue tomatoes were planted in the previous year. More suitable would be the soil where they grew:

• seeded herbs;
• garden greens;
• parsley, celery;
• beans, peas, mustard leaf.

Before sowing seeds, the earth is calcined or spilled with a strong dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. It is poured into boiling water.

Watch a video in which an experienced gardener talks about methods of dealing with a serious disease of peppers:

First actions

As soon as signs of the disease appear even on one plant, the fight must be started without delay.

1. First of all, disinfect the soil on healthy plants. It is shed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, stopping watering for a while.
2. Sick peppers are dusted with ash or crushed charcoal. After that, formalin is bred and the soil is watered.

The removal of plants and soil helps to defeat the focal development of pepper disease. It can be used only after thorough disinfection.

preventive measures

Disease, whatever it may be, can be prevented. This also applies to the black leg. Preventive measures taken in a timely manner do not allow bacteria and fungi to develop.

What do we have to do:

1. Use only sterile containers for sowing seeds and picking grown peppers. The dishes are washed with soapy water and disinfected with a solution of thick pink potassium permanganate.
2. Before planting pepper seeds, the ground is specially prepared by spilling disinfectant solutions.
3. It is undesirable, if there is no special soil, to add unripe compost. It is in it that the spores of the black leg settle.
4. It is necessary to reduce the acidity of the soil by adding wood ash.

Pre-planting treatment of black leg pepper seeds is a mandatory procedure. A pale pink solution of potassium permanganate is prepared, seeds are placed in it for at least 3 hours. Slightly dried, you can do sowing.

Creating a microclimate – the possibility of plant disease

1. Water the seedlings as the soil dries up. When working with tiny seedlings, it is advisable to use a pipette so that water does not fall on the stem and leaves.
2. When the first shoots appear, if the seed pots were covered with a film, remove it immediately. Otherwise, dew drops will accumulate around the stems, and this is harmful. In addition, pepper seedlings will not have enough air.
3. For pots with seedlings, choose a bright window with a warm window sill. Any cooling of the soil is fraught with the development of black leg spores, as a favorable environment is created.

In thickened crops, the black leg can develop rapidly. It is enough to get sick with one pepper, as spores will begin to infect neighboring plants. Seedlings should not be watered with nitrogen fertilizers, it turns pale from this, stretches. Her immune system is weakened. Temperature fluctuations are not allowed.

Conclusion

Not always, it turns out, to get rid of the disease overnight. If measures were not taken on time, more serious drugs will have to be used. You can use:

• Batholith;
• Phytosporin;
• Phytolavin.

There is a good folk remedy: shed the soil with an infusion made from onion peel and vodka. For one part of vodka, 10 parts of infusion are taken. Enough, two-time spraying with a weekly interval.