What is the best way to treat the land from late blight?

The most common disease of garden nightshade crops is late blight. He does not disregard other vegetables, fruits and berries. The fight against him is difficult and long, often not leading to complete victory. Preventive measures help to improve the situation, therefore it is important to know how to cultivate the land from late blight long before the signs of damage appear on the plants.

Features of the disease and its signs

Late blight refers to fungal diseases, pathogens - oomycetes, currently isolated in a special group of parasites. Parasites hibernate without loss on plant residues that were not harvested before the onset of winter - in open beds and in greenhouses, on garden tools. Oomycetes spread at a depressing rate with water, through the air, and upon contact of affected fruits with healthy ones.

Late blight manifests itself in brown or brown spots on leaf plates, stems, petioles. The underside of the leaves is covered with a whitish bloom, similar to a thin cobweb, causing them to deform and dry out. If the phytophthora rampant fell on the period of budding, flowering or fruit setting, there is no chance of harvesting - the disease in a short time destroys delicate flowers, fragile ovary.

Parasites feel most at ease if high humidity is combined with sharp temperature changes. Prolonged rains, frequent fogs create favorable conditions for the development of late blight.

One of the ways to prevent damage to crops by late blight is the use of varieties resistant to the disease on the site.

The risk of an outbreak at the site increases in the following cases:

• increased content of alkalis in the soil (over-lime content);
• deficiency of potassium, iodine, manganese.

Spring prevention of late blight

Spores of the pathogen begin their activity already at the first signs of heat - a temperature of + 1 ° C is enough for them to start destructive activity. Therefore, the first processing of the soil on the site begins immediately after the snow melts.

1. Spilling the soil with hot water. The beds are subject to processing, where nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes), strawberry fields will be planted. Experienced summer residents recommend adding potassium permanganate to the water (1 g per bucket).
2. Steaming the soil. Usually the last days of April - early May are suitable for this procedure, when the air warms up enough. The beds are covered with several layers of dense polyethylene and well fixed at the edges. Under the hot spring sun, the temperature under such a shelter reaches 70-80 ° C. This is enough to dramatically reduce the number of phytophthora spores.

Folk remedies

Grandma's secrets are more effective for prevention than for treating a disease. Spores of fungi do not tolerate an acidic environment, therefore, for prevention, the soil is treated with suitable organic matter before planting seedlings:

• fermented kefir (1 liter per 10 liters of water) - 0.5 liters of solution is poured into each well;
• milk whey diluted with water 1: 1, with the addition of 2-3 drops of iodine on a bucket of mixture, abundantly water the soil;
• infusion of rotted hay (or straw) with urea (1 teaspoon per bucket of infusion) is sprayed on the soil prepared for planting);
• decoction of needles (half of the container is filled with needles, water is added, brought to a boil and simmered over low heat for 15-20 minutes) abundantly moisten the soil;
• the ash infusion prepared according to the standard recipe is poured over the beds.

Biological preparations

Their effectiveness is higher than that of folk remedies, but they work at a higher - from + 15 ° C - temperature.

• "Baktofit", bacterial fungicide, during the first days after treatment significantly reduces the number of pathogens in the soil. For spring processing, use a typical working solution prepared according to the instructions.
• "Trichodermin" ("Glyocladin") - a complex biological product that fights against parasitic fungi and at the same time increases soil fertility. Spill the soil with a solution prepared according to the manufacturer's recommendations, then loosen it. The effectiveness of the drug increases if part of the water in the solution is replaced with kefir or milk whey.
• "Planriz" - a highly effective preparation containing live bacteria. Soil processing is carried out immediately before planting seedlings with a solution prepared at the rate of 50 ml of the product per 10 liters of water.
• "Alirin B" - fungicide, the action of which is complemented by an increase in plant immunity. For the prevention of phytophthora, soil is shed before planting (sowing) the main crops. The suspension solution is prepared from 2 tablets per 10 l of water.
• Fitosporin is a widely used drug. For spring processing 1 m² soil solution is prepared from 6 ml of the product and a bucket of water.
• "Baikal EM-1", "Baikal EM-5" - means loved by summer residents, capable of anything. In the spring, the soil is watered with 100 ml of the product dissolved in 10 liters of water. Consumption rate - 2.5 l / m²... Processing time - 2 weeks before planting crops.

Use of chemicals

Chemicals are "heavy artillery", they are used in difficult situations.

• Bordeaux liquid - the most common remedy. The soil is cultivated immediately after the snow cover disappears. The working solution is prepared from 250 ml of concentrate and 10 liters of water. For soil disinfection, Bordeaux liquid is used no more than once every 5 years.
• Copper sulfate - no less popular remedy against diseases. For spring (after snow melting) processing, the working solution is prepared from 2-5 g of the substance dissolved in 10 liters of water.
• Copper oxychloride - the soil is treated with a 4% solution in the first warm days.
• "Oxyhom" - for the soil, the solution is prepared at a 2% concentration.
• "Quadris" used when planting potatoes. The wells are sprayed with a 0.3% solution, the consumption rate is 10 liters per 100 m².
• "Pharmayod" intended for soil cultivation before planting seedlings or sowing seeds. Dissolve 100 ml of the drug in 10 l of water, this amount treats an area of ​​about 5 m²... If in the past season late blight acted especially actively, the concentration can be increased by 3 times. Plants can be planted after 2 days. "Pharmayod" does not have a selective effect - it destroys all microorganisms, therefore, after 7-10 days, the soil is spilled with EM preparations ("Baikal", "Vostok") according to a typical recipe.

Sometimes summer residents treat the soil with bleach. It is an effective but highly toxic agent. It can be used only before winter, so that there is enough time to neutralize the effects of chlorine on the soil.

When using chemicals, it should be borne in mind that pathogens develop addiction to them, so they must be alternated.

Siderates against late blight

Proponents of organic farming who use green manure to heal the soil and increase its fertility recommend using their special properties. Disinfectant plants that help to deal with fungal spores in the soil include oil radish, white mustard, calendula and phacelia. Oil radish sown in autumn, the rest - in spring.

The sowing time is determined by counting: 30 days - for seed germination and the growth of root and green mass, 10-15 days - for decay of mowed greenery and roots. With an imminent warm spring, the formation of buds in green manure often begins earlier than the expected date, this is closely monitored.At the stage of budding, the disinfecting properties of herbs are reduced, therefore, the grass is cut off earlier.

Calendula is a well-known medicinal plant. For its use for medicinal purposes, including for soil, hybrid varieties are not used, since they are of little use.

The fight against late blight should not stop for a minute. From the first warm days of spring to harvest, summer residents need to keep a close eye on the plantings of nightshades and strawberries. It is not enough to cultivate the soil in the spring, because a means has not yet been invented that can kill oomycetes once and for all. Whatever drugs are used, they can only reduce the number of pathogens. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the garden from the disease in a comprehensive manner, using all available means and possibilities - from preventive soil cultivation in spring to pre-winter harvesting of plant residues and their disposal, as well as strictly observing the rules of crop rotation and agrotechnical subtleties of growing crops.