Sugar beet cercosporosis: treatment, control measures, description, photo

Beet cercosporosis is a dangerous fungal pathology that affects all varieties of crops. The first signs are noticeable on the leaves – they become covered with spots, then curl and die. The disease leads to a decrease in yield, therefore, if symptoms are detected, several treatments with drugs are necessary. The use of folk remedies is ineffective – only chemical and biological fungicides give the result.

Causes of defeat

Beet cercosporosis is a fungal infection caused by the pathogen Cercospora beticola Sacc. It is found everywhere, affects beets of different types and varieties. The name is associated with the source of infection – cercospora. She hibernates in dead leaves. In the spring, it becomes active and infects plants through stomata. Most often, the penetration of the pest occurs in the morning.

The latent period lasts 7-14 days in summer and 30-40 days in autumn. During this time, no symptoms are noticeable. Over time, the leaves become stained, the tops lie down, and the cercospores overwinter in it again and infect new plants the next spring.

The main cause of infection is the alternation of hot, dry and relatively warm, humid weather. This phenomenon is often observed in different regions of Our Country. Spores successfully spread in the soil, so the risk of damage cannot be completely excluded.

Description of beet cercosporosis with a photo

The causative agent of beet cercosporosis mainly affects the leaves, but can also appear on the stems and petioles of plants. The first symptoms are noticeable on well-developed haulm as early as the end of June. The main signs of the disease are easy to determine visually:

1. Small round spots of a grayish or brown hue appear on the leaves with a bright border of red or brown.
2. A grayish velvety coating forms over the affected areas, it appears especially quickly in wet weather.
3. At the advanced stages, the leaf plates are twisted down along the center. They completely lose their elasticity, dry out and die.
4. The tops lie on the ground. The aisles open, while the young foliage itself in the middle of the outlet remains healthy.

The defeat of the tops with cercosporosis is easy to determine by visual inspection.

Control of sugar beet cercosporosis

There are many ways to treat beet cercosporosis. The main measure is the treatment with chemical and biological fungicides. Particularly well help drugs belonging to the classes of triazoles, strobilurins, benzamidazoles.

Effective fungicides against sugar beet cercosporosis

The first treatment is carried out when spots appear. The second, third and subsequent (if necessary) are repeated at intervals of 7-10 or 14 days, depending on the characteristics of the drug.

For prevention at the beginning of the season, Fitosporin is used. It belongs to biological fungicides. The active ingredient is bacterial strains. The product is completely safe for humans and does not pose a threat to bees.

Also for prevention, you can use the fungicide “Doctor Krop”. This is a chemical fungicide that effectively destroys the causative agent of cercosporosis when growing beets in different climatic conditions.

At the first appearance of symptoms of the disease, Pseudobacterin-2, Gamair (biofungicides) or Zoltan (chemical) are used. All means totally destroy pests, while being spent sparingly. They are not dangerous for humans and bees (class 3).

Subsequent treatments are carried out as needed. For this, other fungicides are used, described below.

Progressive beet cercosporosis affects most of the haulm

For subsequent treatments with an interval of 1-2 weeks, the following preparations are used:

1. “Benazol, SP” is a systemic fungicide against many diseases. Cercosporosis is used for treatment and prevention, it begins to act within three hours after treatment. Compatible with most other drugs, can be used in tank mixes. The dosage of the drug for the treatment of beets is 600-800 g/ha. Processing takes place by spraying until the pest is completely destroyed.

   

2. “Vintage, ME” is a combined drug, characterized by a wide spectrum of action and rapid penetration to the site of the lesion. The product is released in liquid form. The consumption rate is 600-800 ml of pure preparation per hectare. They are used for both ground and aviation processing.

   

3. “ZIM 500, KS” is a systemic chemical fungicide that destroys the causative agent of beet cercosporosis. They are used not only for treatment, but also for prevention. Compatible with most drugs, used in tank mixes. Available as a liquid. The consumption rate of the pure drug is 600-800 ml per 1 hectare. Also used for dressing seeds.

   

4. “Mystery, ME” is a remedy for beet cercosporosis based on three active ingredients. Reduces the sensitivity of plants to hot, dry weather, temperature changes. The protective effect lasts 2-3 weeks, therefore, if necessary, the last treatment of even late varieties can be carried out in early August. The drug is produced in the form of a liquid, the consumption rate is 1,0-1,25 liters per hectare.

   

5. “Title 390, KKR” is a systemic chemical fungicide. It is used for ground and aviation processing. The protective effect lasts for 3-4 weeks, while it begins in a few hours. The consumption rate is 260 ml per 1 ha (in terms of pure solution).

   

6. Bordeaux mixture is a universal fungicide based on copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide. Apply in the form of a solution with a concentration of 1%. It is not recommended for multiple treatments, as copper accumulates in the soil and takes a long time to be eliminated.

   

7. “Abiga-Peak” is a drug based on copper oxychloride. General purpose chemical fungicide. It is used to combat various diseases, including cercosporosis. Often used as an additional remedy when pests have already developed resistance to other drugs.

   

The pest has been developing for a long time without signs of damage, so time has already been lost. Only drugs help to cope with it.

Agricultural practices

Treatment with fungicides is the main means of combating beet cercosporosis. But along with them, other methods should be used:

1. Plant varieties and hybrids resistant to cercosporosis (for example, Incomparable A-463, Kuban polyhybrid 9, Ganusovskaya one-seeded 55, Pervomaisky polyhybrid 10).
2. Carefully destroy all leaves, petioles after harvesting. They need to be carried as far away as possible and burned. It is not worth using such material for mulch.
3. Observe crop rotation – change the landing site every 4-5 years.

disease prevention

Cercosporosis is a dangerous and at the same time common beet disease. Dealing with its consequences is not always easy. Therefore, you should be aware of certain preventive measures:

1. Do not plant beets in low-lying areas where moisture accumulates after heavy rains.
2. Do not plant too densely, do not plant other crops. Maintain a row spacing of 50 cm.
3. Apply fertilizers, especially phosphorus and potash. Two top dressings are given per season, observing the norm per 1 square meter: 30-40 g of superphosphate, 20-30 g of potassium sulfate.
4. Plant beets in the field where onions, potatoes, cucumbers, green manure, carrots used to grow. It should be noted that the worst predecessors are tomatoes, cabbage and other varieties of beets.
5. Finally, plantings should be treated with fungicides in a timely manner at the beginning of the season. For this, such means as “Fitosporin” and “Doctor Krop” are well suited.

Conclusion

Beet cercosporosis affects all plantings, the disease is dangerous, and it is not so easy to deal with it. As a rule, preventive treatments at the beginning of the season solve the problem. You should also use varieties that are resistant to this infection, but so far there are not so many of them. If signs of the disease appear, several treatments should be carried out with an interval of 1-2 weeks.