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Tomatoes or tomatoes are grown by all vegetable growers. This vegetable is valued for its taste and beneficial properties. They are grown in open ground and greenhouses. Unfortunately, gardeners' hopes for a rich tomato harvest are not always justified. The reason for this is plant diseases. One of the most insidious is late blight of tomatoes. If you do not start fighting the disease in a timely manner, you can forget about the harvest. Not only beginners, but also experienced gardeners are interested in how to properly carry out tomato processing from late blight and by what means.
Gardeners about late blight
Before talking about treating tomatoes for late blight, you must first find out what kind of disease it is and what signs can be used to distinguish it.
What is late blight
Late blight (late blight) is a fungal disease that can most often be seen on nightshade crops such as potatoes and tomatoes. There are a huge number of varieties of the disease. Phytophthora fully corresponds to its Greek translation, destroys and destroys plants.The soil of your garden may not necessarily be contaminated with late blight: it may fly from a neighboring plot.
Developing disease rapidly, if not prevented, it can destroy the entire tomato crop. It appears on all parts of the plant. Brown spots similar to burn.
Causes
Why does late blight develop on tomatoes and other nightshade crops?
- Summer residents deoxidize the soil by adding lime. The late blight fungus likes to settle and multiply on limed soils.
- The reason for the development is the thickening of plantings. In this case, air circulation is difficult, moisture accumulates in large quantities. Phytophthora spores love high air humidity.
- Another reason is temperature changes. As a rule, the peak development of late blight occurs at the end of summer. Tomatoes growing in open ground are especially affected. During the day the sun burns them, and at night cold dew falls.
- Plants that have good immunity rarely get sick. But weakened plants rarely manage to avoid late blight.
Signs of the disease
Even a novice gardener can determine the presence of the disease, because the symptoms are clearly pronounced. The main thing is to appreciate your work and inspect the tomato plantings from time to time.
How to diagnose late blight:
- Whitish or brownish spots appear on the bottom of the leaves. Very quickly the leaves turn brown and begin to dry out.
- The stems are also covered with dark spots.Blackened shoots are not able to nourish the plant, it becomes weak.
- If late blight is not combated, the fungus will spread to the fruit and continue to multiply.
Preventive measures
It is necessary to prevent the appearance of late blight at the stage of growing seedlings when processing soil, containers and seeds. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to completely eliminate the fungus.
The soil needs to be treated with Fitosporin-M. The best option is to completely replace the substrate. The remaining seedlings, even if there are no spots on them, are treated with the same Fitosporin or other means.
The second time, as a preventative measure, tomato seedlings are treated against late blight after planting in the ground. It is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the plants.
Even if the plants are not sick, preventive measures will not hurt.
How are tomatoes processed?
Today the market is represented by a large number of drugs to combat late blight. Every year the range of chemicals expands. Unfortunately, coping with the scourge is not so easy. Phytophthora quickly gets used to treatment products if they are used constantly. At the slightest sign of disease, it is necessary to urgently begin treating tomatoes against late blight.
Chemicals
Treatment of tomatoes against late blight is carried out with chemicals, since they are the most effective.
What means can you use:
- Previkur and Fundazol;
- Fitosporin and Quadris;
- Ridomilos and Switcham;
- Soon and Topaz;
- Horus and Fundazim;
- Tiovit Jet and Hom;
- Bordeaux mixture and copper sulfate;
- Copper oxychloride, Trichopolum and other means.
As you can see, the list is quite large. Before choosing a remedy for late blight, you should carefully read the instructions. In addition, processing must be carried out using protective equipment. We will not discuss chemicals. Let's talk about those that are safe for humans.
Trichopolum for processing
Many gardeners use drugs that can be purchased at the pharmacy. One of the pharmaceutical antimicrobial agents Trichopolum (Metronidazole). They began to use it not so long ago, but it has found its place in the arsenal of the fight against late blight. Why be surprised, since it helps a person, it means it will help a plant, after all, it is also a living being.
What are the advantages of the medicine:
- Trichopolum is inexpensive, but its effectiveness in treating tomatoes against late blight has been tested by experienced gardeners: the drug has been highly praised.
- This is not a chemical preparation, therefore, while destroying late blight spores, it does not remain in the fruits and is safe for humans.
- Tomatoes can be processed before harvesting. Vegetables are washed with running water and can be eaten.
Now let's figure out how to use Trichopolum. A package of tablets (20 pieces) must be crushed and dissolved in 10 liters of water. Pour into the sprayer and thoroughly process the tomatoes on all sides, without missing a single centimeter. This treatment of plants must be repeated after ten days.
Iodine is a faithful assistant
No matter how good Trichopolum is for treating tomatoes against late blight, but, as already noted, one remedy is not so effective due to the addictive nature of the fungus.What other medications can be used?
Many vegetable growers do not forget about iodine when growing tomatoes. This may seem strange to beginners, but iodine is an excellent antiseptic, tested by many summer residents. Any putrefactive processes stop after treatment with iodine. In addition, it stimulates fruit set if you spray tomatoes with this composition: add 7 drops of solution to a ten-liter bucket.
There are many recipes using this substance to treat tomatoes against late blight:
- For prevention: dilute two liters of serum with water to 10 liters. Add 25 drops of iodine.
- At the first signs of fungus, you need to prepare the following composition: add 40 drops of iodine and a tablespoon of peroxide to one liter of serum. Such a strong antiseptic will cope with tomato disease.
- Spraying tomatoes with a solution containing milk and iodine, helps cope not only with late blight, but also with many harmful insects and diseases. Phytophthora spores cannot penetrate the plant through the resulting thin milky film.
Take a liter of skim milk, 4 liters of water and 15 drops of iodine. It is difficult to find natural milk in the city; you can use sterilized milk. Milk-iodine treatment of tomatoes can be alternated with whey.
The older the composition, the better the fight against late blight.
Tips for treating tomatoes against late blight in the video:
Green or brilliant green
Brilliant greens are used to treat wounds. It has found its use among gardeners to combat late blight of tomatoes.After all, this is also an infection, only in plants.
Forty drops are enough for a ten-liter bucket of water. You can spray tomatoes against late blight several times a season. This safe product works effectively. It can be used not only during fungal outbreaks, but also as a preventive measure. You can also add whey, kefir, skim milk to the solution.
Potassium permanganate
By using potassium permanganate the fight against late blight of tomatoes can begin at the stage of preparing seeds for sowing. Seeds, soil, tools, and boxes are treated with a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
The greatest effect is obtained if you add boric acid.
To treat tomatoes against late blight, a pink solution of potassium permanganate is prepared. They spray the plants from bottom to top.
Treat tomatoes against late blight You can safely use pharmaceutical drugs without worrying about the quality of the fruit. Iodine solutions, brilliant green, potassium permanganate and boric acid For greater effect you need to alternate. Treatment of tomatoes against late blight can be carried out after a week or ten days. In addition to destroying fungal spores, this treatment increases the taste of tomatoes and their keeping quality.
Soil and greenhouse treatment
Spraying only tomatoes against late blight, will not give the desired effect, since the spores of the fungal disease quietly overwinter in the open ground, in a greenhouse. To be sure that late blight does not cause the death of the tomato crop, a global attack on the fungus is necessary.
What needs to be done to get rid of late blight? First of all, before planting tomato seedlings, treat the soil in prepared beds in the garden or in the greenhouse.For this purpose you can use copper sulfate, Fitosporin-M or Arilin. If there are no such means, you can spill the soil with hot water and potassium permanganate and close the greenhouse.
Secondly, you will need to wash the surface of the greenhouse with any detergent.
Some gardeners fumigate the greenhouse with pieces of natural wool: they place it on the coals and close the room for a day. You can use smoke bombs. They also destroy fungal spores. They are afraid of late blight spores and the smell of iodine. You can place points at a distance of 50 cm throughout the greenhouse. You can spray with Baikal EM or Fitosporin.
After work, wash exposed parts of the body with warm water and soap.
Rules for processing tomatoes
Tomatoes growing in greenhouses and open ground are subject to treatment against late blight using selected agents. The rules are almost the same:
- Treatment is carried out early in the morning before sunset.
- Plants are sprayed from all sides.
- The solution must be diluted exactly according to the instructions.
But there is also a difference in air humidity: in the greenhouse it is much higher, and this is a favorable environment for late blight, so treatment is carried out more often in the greenhouse.
You need to choose windless weather so that drops of the product do not fly around, but fall on the tomatoes.
Features of treating tomatoes against late blight in greenhouses:
Useful tips
- Do not plant tomatoes in the same area where potatoes or other nightshades were grown last year. And it is not recommended to plant tomatoes next to potatoes.
- If there is a lot of lime in the soil, add peat, compost, sand.
- Sow green manure in autumn or early spring in place of future tomato plantings.
- Follow agrotechnical standards when planting and growing vegetables.
- Do not neglect the rules of crop rotation.
- Water the plants in the morning, then most of the water will have time to go into the soil, and evaporation will be less.
- If tomatoes are grown indoors, do not forget to ventilate the greenhouse.
- The lower leaves on tomatoes need to be torn off so that there is no thickening and air can circulate freely.
- If the weather is cloudy, keep watering to a minimum. In this case, perform “dry” watering - loosening. The drip irrigation system has proven itself well in the fight against late blight of tomatoes.
- Spraying with preparations, as well as fertilizing, should be regular.
- Buy tomato seeds that are practically free from late blight.
- Do not try to immediately use chemicals to process vegetables, try it first folk remedies.
Let's sum it up
Growing a good crop of tomatoes for beginners is simple and difficult at the same time. You need to know a lot of secrets in caring for crops. There is no need to be shy about asking advice from people with extensive experience. At one time they also encountered tomato diseases, including late blight.
If you follow our recommendations and carefully monitor the plantings, we assure you that you will get healthy and tasty tomatoes. You shouldn’t despair if you haven’t completely managed to defeat late blight. Next year you can try other methods.The main thing is to influence the disease from the first minutes of its occurrence. Perhaps you yourself will be able to invent your own methods of combating late blight spores. Don't forget to report them.
