Contents
Phytophthora is a fungus that infects nightshade plants: potatoes, tomatoes, physalis and eggplant. The greatest aggressiveness of the disease occurs in foggy, wet weather. Phytophthora declares itself with large differences between day and night air temperatures. The risk of disease is high with a heavily thickened planting of crops. The likelihood of late blight increases when placed next to beds with nightshade plants (for example, tomatoes and potatoes).
The disease manifests itself in the form of fuzzy gray-brown spots on the tubers, leaves and stems of the plant. Sick potatoes should not be eaten.
How to treat potatoes before planting from phytophthora, how to protect plants at subsequent stages of development – this is the subject of the article.
How to prepare the soil
In winter, at low temperatures, most phytophthora pathogens in the soil die.
It is undesirable to plant potatoes several times in the same place. A break of 2-3 years is optimal.
A good prevention against late blight is tillage with Baikal EM-1 or EM-5, this allows you to get rid of the rest of the fungus in the soil.
Rules for the selection of planting material
Carefully inspect the tubers intended for planting, discarding those affected by the disease. Before planting, it is necessary to separate the tubers of different varieties in order to place them in different beds. Pay attention to varieties that are immune to late blight infection. These are the following varieties:
- Petersburg;
- Elizabeth;
- Wizard.
If you choose these varieties for planting, you can be calm: fungal infection does not threaten your crops.
How to germinate tubers
Before germinating potatoes for planting, wash and dry the tubers. Do not keep them in water or dampness as they will start to rot. It is desirable to germinate planting material in a lighted room with good ventilation. The temperature in the room is from 10 to 15 degrees. Sprout the tubers by laying them in cardboard boxes or crates in two layers. Turn the tubers periodically to make the sprouts stronger. Also, make sure that the boxes are evenly lit.
Chemical treatment of tubers
Disinfection of planting material reduces the likelihood of potato disease, including late blight. However, safety measures must be observed so that, having protected potatoes from infection, they do not turn it into a product dangerous to health, “stuffed” with chemistry. Therefore, before processing, you need to carefully study the instructions and strictly follow it.
In addition, it is a good protection against potato scab and Colorado potato beetles. Their disadvantage is the high percentage of toxic substances.
Good results are obtained by means of Fitosporin of complex action. Among the diseases of fungal and bacterial origin, which the drug suppresses, there is late blight. An important point, in addition to efficiency, is the safety of the drug and the possibility of its use at all stages of plant development. Powder dosage – 20 g per 10-liter bucket. The frequency of spraying is 2 weeks.
For the prevention of phytophthora, planting tubers are sprayed during the germination period and immediately before planting potatoes.
Folk methods for processing planting material
- Add 10 kg of ash to a 1-liter bucket of water, stir. After placing the potatoes in a string bag, dip them into the solution. We process immediately before landing.
- Dissolve 10 g of potassium permanganate and a matchbox of copper sulfate in 1 liters of water. Spraying tubers before planting protects against fungal infections.
Disinfectant mixture based on mineral fertilizers
For 10 liters of hot water.
- Urea – 40 g.
- Copper sulfate – 5 g.
- Potassium permanganate – 1 g.
- Boric acid – 10 g.
- Superphosphate – 60 years
Mix all ingredients. After cooling, soak the planting tubers in the solution for half an hour. After that, you can dry the potatoes and put them in boxes for sprouting.
If phytophthora is found: folk methods for plant protection
Despite their simplicity, these tools help to effectively deal with late blight.
- Garlic infusion. Grind 100 g of garlic and insist in 10 liters of water for 24 hours. Strain the solution before use. Spray potatoes every week until late blight is gone.
- Kefir solution. Dissolve 1 liter of peroxide kefir in a 10-liter bucket of water. Strain the solution. Spray weekly until the fungus is completely eliminated.
- Bordeaux mixture. Dissolve 200 g of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water. The effectiveness of the solution increases if boric acid and potassium permanganate are added to the solution.
- Iodine solution. This antiseptic is useful not only to people, but also to plants. For a 10-liter bucket of water, 20-30 drops of iodine are enough. Processing frequency – every week.
- Ash. Mix 0,5 buckets of wood ash with 10 liters of water. Steep the mixture for 4 days, stirring occasionally. All this time, wood ash saturates the water with useful substances. On the 5th day, dilute the mixture to 30 liters, dissolve 50 g of laundry soap in it and go to save the crop.
- yeast solution. Dissolve 100 g of yeast in 10 liters of slightly warmed water and leave the mixture to ferment for a day. When symptoms of phytophthora appear on the bushes, spray the plant with a yeast solution.
Compliance with crop rotation and planting rules, treatment of plants before sowing and at different stages of their development will help to avoid potato damage by a fungus. It is up to you to decide whether to process or not, but, as practice shows, processed tubers give a better harvest, and the likelihood of disease decreases.