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When growing tomatoes, they often think about what preparations to treat the plants with. Vegetable growers with extensive experience working with tomatoes often use products purchased at a pharmacy: iodine, brilliant green and potassium permanganate. Beginners have a lot of questions about the use of pharmaceutical preparations for processing tomatoes, including potassium permanganate. Firstly, what is potassium permanganate for plants – fertilizer or antiseptic. Secondly, in what doses should it be used. Thirdly, at what stage of vegetative development is the treatment of tomatoes with a solution of potassium permanganate most effective.
We will try to talk about the rules for the use of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) and the role of the substance for plants.
What is potassium permanganate
First, let’s find out what this drug is. Potassium permanganate is an antiseptic. Oxidized in air, it has an effective effect in the destruction of pathogenic bacteria and pathogens of some infectious diseases.
In fact, the substance contains two trace elements necessary for the proper development of plants: potassium and manganese. A small amount of manganese contains manure and wood ash. These trace elements are also found in the soil, but plants cannot obtain them. The combination of two trace elements increases the usefulness of potassium permanganate for the development of tomatoes.
For example, a lack of manganese can lead to interveinal leaf chlorosis on tomatoes. Look at the photo below for what the diseased leaves look like.
Tomatoes treated with potassium permanganate do not harm humans. They can be eaten without fear.
The value of potassium permanganate for tomatoes
Gardeners have long used potassium permanganate when growing cultivated plants, including tomatoes, on their plots. The tool is inexpensive, but the effectiveness in the fight against certain diseases of tomatoes is high.
Let’s find out how useful plant treatment with potassium permanganate is:
- Firstly, since potassium permanganate is an antiseptic, the treatment reduces the number of microorganisms on the leaves and in the soil that inhibit the development of the plant. It is impossible to keep silent about the lack. As a rule, beneficial microflora also dies.
- Secondly, when a substance hits any substrate, a chemical reaction begins. This releases oxygen atoms. Atomic oxygen is highly active. Combining with various substances in the soil, it forms ions necessary for the successful development of the root system.
- Thirdly, manganese and potassium ions have a positive result not only on the soil, but also on the green mass when sprayed with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- Fourthly, the treatment of tomatoes with potassium permanganate allows you to feed and disinfect plants at the same time.
- Before transplanting and during the pinching period, leaves and excess shoots are removed from tomatoes. Spraying with a pink solution of potassium permanganate quickly dries the wounds and protects the plants from infection.
Plants feel oppressed if the soil was treated before sowing seeds or seedlings of tomatoes with a supersaturated solution of potassium permanganate. As a rule, the yield will be reduced.
Presowing treatment of tomato seeds and containers with potassium permanganate
To grow healthy tomatoes, disinfection must be taken care of even at the pre-sowing stage. That is, to process the seeds. There are many means for carrying out preventive treatment of seeds. But we will focus on the use of potassium permanganate.
You will need to prepare a one percent solution of potassium permanganate. One gram of potassium permanganate crystals is taken and dissolved in a liter of warm water (it can be boiled and cooled to room temperature).
Selected tomato seeds, wrapped in gauze or cotton cloth, are dipped in a pink solution for about a third of an hour (longer is not recommended). After that, the seed is washed directly into the tissue under running water, laid out to dry.
Experienced gardeners can determine the concentration of potassium permanganate by eye. But beginners will have to be extremely careful, adhere to the dosage. As a rule, potassium permanganate is sold in packages of 3 or 5 grams. Here you need to focus on the weight and amount of water.
How to easily process seeds:
Processing only tomato seeds is not enough. After all, spores of diseases can be on containers for sowing and in the ground. Therefore, boxes, tools and soil require disinfection. A five-gram bag of potassium permanganate crystals is added to a bucket of almost boiling water (bubbles begin to appear). Thoroughly mix and pour containers and tools. Do the same with soil.
Treatment of seedlings
Processing tomatoes with potassium permanganate is not only seed preparation and spraying, but also watering plants under the root. To grow healthy seedlings, it is necessary to shed the soil twice with a pink solution and spray the plants with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
To prepare the solution, you need 10 liters of water and 5 grams of crystals of the substance. As a rule, tillage and green mass of tomatoes, while they are standing on the window, is carried out every 10 days.
Plant care in the ground
Preventive treatments using potassium permanganate are carried out in open or closed ground three times during the growing season.
After planting
The first time they process tomatoes after planting seedlings in a permanent place after five days. For these purposes, a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate is being prepared to prevent late blight. In a ten-liter bucket of water, dissolve 0,5-1 grams of crystals of the substance.
Under each plant pour half a liter of solution. After that, the sprayer is filled with a pink solution and the tomatoes are sprayed. You can also use a regular watering can. Only in this case you need to act quickly.
It is necessary to process each leaf, shoots and stems of the plant. Work should be carried out early in the morning so that the droplets can dry before sunrise. Otherwise, burns form on the leaves and stems. In this case, plants receive root and foliar fertilizing with manganese and potassium, as well as protection against late blight.
Processing will require a rich pink solution.
June
A second treatment is required when flowers appear on the very first brushes. It is carried out after feeding tomatoes with organic fertilizers or superphosphate. The green mass is sprayed with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. This treatment is usually carried out in mid-June.
When fruits begin to form on tomatoes, plants need manganese and potassium. In addition, it is at this time that phytophthora may most often appear on tomatoes.
Processing with a solution of potassium permanganate is a vital necessity for tomatoes. Spraying with potassium permanganate has a positive effect not only on the health of the tops, but also on the fruits.
It is no secret that phytophthora from leaves is rapidly moving to fruits. Brown spots, rot appear on them. Re-treatment of tomatoes with a solution of potassium permanganate occurs at the end of June, beginning of July.
July August
Closer to mid-July, in addition to late blight, plants can be affected by brown spotting. To spray tomatoes, you can use the recipe, which is always in service with experienced vegetable growers. A solution is used for processing tomatoes from mid-July until the end of fruiting. We offer two recipes:
- With the help of a meat grinder, cloves and arrows of garlic (300 grams) are crushed. The mass is poured with two liters of water and left to infuse in a closed jar for five days. Then the fermented garlic gruel is filtered, poured into 10 liters of water. By adding 1 gram of potassium permanganate crystals, tomatoes are sprayed.
- After chopping 100 grams of garlic and insisting for 3 days in 200 ml of water, you need to strain the gruel and pour the juice into a ten-liter bucket with a solution of potassium permanganate (1 gram).
Spraying tomatoes with such a solution can be fearlessly carried out after 10-12 days. What does it give plants? As you know, there are a lot of phytoncides in garlic, which, together with potassium permanganate, can kill spores of fungal diseases.
Preventive spraying of tomatoes with a light solution of potassium permanganate can prevent fungal diseases.
Spraying with a solution of potassium permanganate is especially important in August, when cold dew falls. It is most often the cause of late blight damage to tomatoes.
Do I need to cultivate the soil and greenhouse
No matter how carefully gardeners handle tomatoes, no matter what means they are processed, fed, the presence of pests and spores of diseases in the soil, on the walls of the greenhouse, all efforts can be nullified. You don’t even have to think about any rich harvest.
Potassium permanganate is appreciated not only by amateur gardeners. Its unique antiseptic properties are recognized by scientists and agronomists. The fight against pests and diseases must be carried out not only before sowing seeds and during the cultivation of seedlings of tomatoes, but also in the preparation of the soil.
It is no secret that even frost does not kill fungal spores in the soil and on the surface of the greenhouse. Potassium permanganate can be used as a preventive measure. You will need a saturated solution to process the walls and ceiling of the greenhouse. Potassium permanganate is diluted in almost boiling water and sprayed over the entire surface of the greenhouse, not ignoring any cracks. The soil is immediately poured with a hot pink solution. After that, the greenhouse is tightly closed.
During the summer, you need to spray a greenhouse with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate outside, a path in the greenhouse itself and in front of the entrance. This preventive measure is necessary to destroy the spores of diseases that get inside on the shoes.
If tomatoes are grown in open ground, then the soil is also shed with boiling water with potassium permanganate before planting.
Conclusion
Potassium permanganate, available in a housewife’s first aid kit, as a rule, is used to disinfect small wounds, scratches, and is widely used by gardeners. This is an effective tool in growing a healthy and rich crop of tomatoes.
Some gardeners process not only plants in the ground, but also the harvested crop of tomatoes, if the slightest signs of phytophthora were noticed on the tops. Such work with green and pinkish tomatoes is especially important if the weather was unfavorable before harvesting.
For preventive purposes, one gram of potassium permanganate is dissolved in 10 liters of warm water (no more than 40 degrees), green tomatoes are laid for 10 minutes. After that, the fruits are washed under running water, wiped dry, laid out for ripening. There is no certainty that all the disputes have died, so the tomatoes are wrapped one by one in a newspaper.
We wish you rich harvests.