Content
Late blight is a fungus that attacks nightshade plants: potatoes, tomatoes, physalis and eggplants. The disease is most aggressive in foggy, humid weather. Late blight manifests itself when there are large differences between day and night air temperatures. There is a high risk of disease when crops are planted very densely. The likelihood of late blight increases when placing beds of nightshade plants (such as tomatoes and potatoes) next to each other.
The disease appears as vague gray-brown spots on the tubers, leaves and stems of the plant. Diseased potatoes should not be eaten.
How to treat potatoes before planting against late blight, how to protect plants at subsequent stages of development - this article is devoted to this.
How to prepare the soil
In winter, at low temperatures, most of the pathogens of late blight found in the soil die.
It is not advisable to plant potatoes several times in the same place. A break of 2-3 years is optimal.
A good prevention against late blight is treating the soil with Baikal EM-1 or EM-5, this allows you to get rid of the remaining fungus in the soil.
Rules for selecting 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 to place them in different beds. Pay attention to varieties that are immune to late blight infection. These are the following varieties:
- Petersburg;
- Elizabeth;
- Sorcerer.
If you choose these varieties for planting, you can rest assured that your crops will not be affected by fungi.
How to properly germinate tubers
Before how to sprout potatoes To plant, wash and dry the tubers. Do not keep them in water or damp as they will begin to rot. It is advisable 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 placing them in cardboard boxes or boxes in two layers. Turn the tubers over periodically to make the sprouts stronger. Also make sure that the boxes are illuminated evenly.
Chemical treatment of tubers
Disinfection of planting material reduces the likelihood of potato disease, including late blight. However, it is necessary to observe safety measures so that, while protecting potatoes from infection, they do not turn them into a product hazardous to health, “stuffed” with chemicals. Therefore, before processing, you need to carefully study the instructions and strictly follow them.
In addition, it is good protection against potato scab and Colorado potato beetles. Their disadvantage is a high percentage of toxic substances.
Fitosporin complex action product gives good results. Among the diseases of fungal and bacterial origin that the drug suppresses is late blight. An important point, in addition to effectiveness, 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. Spraying frequency is 2 weeks.
To prevent late blight, planting tubers are sprayed during the germination period and immediately before planting potatoes.
Traditional methods of processing planting material
- Add 1 kg of ash to a 10-liter bucket of water and stir. After placing the potatoes in a string bag, dip them in the solution. We process immediately before planting.
- Dissolve 1 g of potassium permanganate and a matchbox in 10 liters of water copper sulfate. 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 g.
Mix all ingredients. After cooling, soak the planting tubers in the solution for half an hour. After this, you can dry the potatoes and place them in boxes for germination.
If late blight is detected: traditional methods for plant protection
Despite their simplicity, these remedies help effectively combat late blight.
- Garlic infusion. Grind 100 g of garlic and leave in 10 liters of water for 24 hours. Strain the solution before use.Spray the potatoes every week until the late blight is completely gone.
- Kefir solution. Dissolve 1 liter of peroxided 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 for people, but also for 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. Leave 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 save the harvest.
- Yeast solution. Dissolve 100 g of yeast in 10 liters of slightly warmed water and leave the mixture to ferment for a day. When late blight symptoms 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 avoid fungal damage to potatoes. Whether to treat or not is up to you to decide, but, as practice shows, treated tubers give a better harvest, and the likelihood of disease decreases.
