Why and what to do if garlic rots in the ground: what to water and feed

Garlic rots in the garden due to a wide variety of reasons: from “traditional” fungal diseases to violations of agricultural practices. In some cases, the situation can be corrected by using the necessary means. In others, it’s easier to dig up the ridge, destroy all the plants and plant the spice in another place.

Why does garlic rot in the garden?

It is usually believed that garlic on the root rots due to disease. And they take appropriate measures. Very often this is true. But we must also take into account the impact of pests and very subtle factors that are often not paid attention to.“Non-contagious” reasons why garlic rots:

1. High acidity of the soil, onions prefer alkaline or neutral soil.
2. The proximity of groundwater, in this case, garlic planted before winter rots in the spring. Groundwater rises during snow melting and “picks up” to the planted cloves.
3. Formation of an airtight crust on the surface of the earth. Plants love loose soil. If loosening is not done after each watering, the garlic heads often rot.
4. Already spoiled segments were planted; there is no point in saving on seed material.
5. Conflict with neighboring plants.
6. Lack of nitrogen in the soil, due to which the root system does not develop.

Sometimes winter garlic rots in the spring right in the garden due to severe frosts. If it was planted shallowly or not well covered. Frozen slices begin to rot immediately after warming.

The most striking sign of garlic disease with any type of rot is yellowed leaves

Diseases

Garlic rot is in any case caused by microorganisms. Even if the slice died due to frost, its further decomposition occurs due to bacteria. Infectious reasons why garlic rots in the ground:

• fusarium;
• sclerotinia;
• aspergillosis;
• gray rot;
• bacteriosis

The main cause of diseases is fungi. Bacteria infect already ripe heads stored for storage. Because of bacteria, garlic rarely rots in the soil and only in very warm weather.

Fusarium

The popular name is bottom rot. At the initial stage it is difficult to notice, since garlic begins to rot from the roots. Next, the infection spreads to the bulb. The bases, the bottoms, become light pink or yellow. The cloves dry out and become mummified.

Leaves with fusarium begin to turn yellow even at the stage of death of the roots

In garlic, the main cause of root rot is waterlogged soil at high air temperatures. These are ideal conditions for the proliferation of most microorganisms. Healthy bulbs become infected with rot when stored with diseased bulbs or directly in the ground. If the latter is not disinfected.

Sclerotinia

Or white rot. Infection occurs through the soil during the growing season. Disease may also occur during storage. White rot is a fungus that is quite capable of moving from an infected head of garlic to a healthy one.

The first sign of the appearance of fungus during the growing season is yellowing of the upper part of the leaves, which die off as the disease develops. Then the bulb begins to rot. The lobules become watery. A white dense mycelium forms on the roots.

Factors predisposing to the disease are high humidity and low soil temperature, no more than 20 °C. Due to such conditions, garlic planted in the fall has the greatest chance of rotting from sclerotinia.

White rot affects not only the roots and surface husks, it also penetrates directly into the pulp of the bulb

Aspergillosis

More commonly known as "black mold". Mature heads of garlic stored for storage rot. The spread begins with one slice and then moves to the entire bulb. When it comes into contact with other bulbs, the mold spreads to them.

When infected with aspergillosis, the lobules soften. Gradually, the mold replaces the garlic clove and only black dust remains in the peel.

Black rot can sometimes be seen on the husks, but more often it “eats away” the cloves from the inside

Gray rot

The disease is caused by a fungus of the species Botrytis allii. In garlic, gray rot primarily affects the root collar at soil level. Signs of fungal infection appear in spring or early summer. The appearance of rot looks like a watery lesion on the stem.

Next, the fungus begins to grow down towards the bulb. Initially, gray rot leaves the outer wall of the stem intact. It affects the internal part, so the disease of garlic with this fungus goes unnoticed. At the mature head of a diseased plant, the outer husk often becomes an intense purple color, which then turns into brown or black.

Predisposing factors for the development of gray mold are cool air and damp soil in spring or early summer. When the heat rises above 30 °C, the development of the fungus stops naturally.

When affected by gray mold, the outer cover of the garlic head dries out and becomes very tough.

Bacteriosis

Usually affects already mature bulbs during storage. Individual cloves begin to rot. Externally, the disease may only look like a small brown spot. But when cut, it turns out that the core is almost completely rotten. In advanced cases, bacteria “eat away” all the soft tissue of the garlic under the hard peel. The pulp of the cloves becomes glassy.

The reason is insufficient drying of the harvested crop. High humidity and air temperature promote the spread of putrefactive bacteria.

Bacterial rot is not noticeable until the segment is peeled

Pests

The heads can also rot due to pests, although this cannot be done without bacteria.Microorganisms penetrate the damaged plant and it rots. But the root cause is pests:

• onion fly;
• stem nematode;
• onion moth;
• mole cricket;
• May beetle larva.

The last three insects “specialize” on roots. They live in the ground, which makes them very difficult to destroy.

Onion fly

The damage is caused by the larvae. The female lays eggs at the base of leaves or under clods of soil near the plant. The hatched larvae drill passages down to the bottom of the head. They feed on the pulp of the onion. Damaged garlic becomes infected with bacteria and begins to rot.

Visually detected eggs at the base of the rosette can be considered a sign of infection. But usually this moment is missed. The owner of the garden notices the attack of the pest already when the garlic has completely rotted.

Onion fly larvae should be looked for near the bottom of the garlic head.

Onion moth

This is a night moth. Emerges in mid-spring and ends activity in early autumn. It lays eggs not only at the base of the rosette, but also on the underside of leaves and flower stalks. The larvae are not interested in the heads; they damage the inflorescences, stems and leaves that have not yet opened. Due to the activity of pests, the underground part of the garlic does not receive enough nutrients, stops developing and begins to rot.

This is what the above-ground part of garlic looks like, damaged by an onion moth larva.

Stem nematode

This is a parasite that feeds only on living plant tissue. It does not touch the roots, but damages the bulbs, stems and leaves.Garlic cloves affected by the nematode soften and rot.

External signs of damage by nematodes and onion moths are similar: deformation, yellowing, death. Although garlic only shows yellowing and dying leaves. You can determine that a nematode is to blame if you carefully examine the bulbs. No rot is observed with onion moths.

Result of stem nematode activity

Mole cricket and Khrushchev larva

These pests live underground and damage roots and bulbs. Regardless of which insect “worked” on the plant, the garlic head will rot. Khrushchev feeds on roots. The mole cricket gnaws out underground parts of plants when digging underground passages. Putrefactive bacteria penetrate into the bulb through damage.

In the photo below, on the left is a bulb damaged by a mole cricket; on the right are garlic roots eaten by a cockchafer larva

In any case, the rootless garlic head dies and rots.

Why did the garlic rot after harvesting?

Most often the reason is poor drying. Only garlic dug out of the ground has very soft and moist outer covers. It must be dried until the top layer of the husk looks like parchment paper.

Another reason is early cleaning. If the heads have not had time to ripen, the inner covers of each clove will remain wet and cause rotting. It is better to use such young garlic immediately for preparing summer dishes.

Garlic also rots if stored improperly. For example, if you pour it into a box. The lower heads may “suffocate” without air and begin to rot. The best way to store them at home is in bunches suspended on a rope. With this method, the heads are ventilated.If you have a dry and cool cellar, garlic can be stored in boxes. But it needs to be covered with straw.

Before storing, it is necessary to trim the roots to minimize the risk of rot development.

What to do if garlic rots in the ground

If the garlic has already begun to rot, there is no need to do anything. Just dig it up and destroy it. Garlic must be treated for rot before planting. Not only the cloves are processed, but also the soil.

How to treat and how to treat garlic against white rot

Measures to combat white rot on garlic can be:

• chemical;
• biological;
• thermal.

The first is the treatment of planting material and plants during the growing season with fungicides. The dosage and method of use depend on the brand of the drug and are indicated in the instructions. Before planting, seed material is soaked in a fungicide solution. During the growing season, plants are watered with the drug when signs of disease appear.

The biological method allows you to destroy the mycelium even before planting the segments in the soil. The use of a growth stimulator for the fungus “Diallyl disulfide” is justified. This substance is spilled on the soil in which they plan to plant garlic. The stimulant provokes mold growth. But since the rot does not find a “host”, it dies. Diallyl disulfide is used at soil temperatures above 9 °C and air temperatures below 27 °C.

The thermal method involves raising the soil temperature to a level at which the fungi die. If the garlic is going to be planted before winter, the selected area can be “roasted” in the summer. The method is well suited for hot regions. The ground is covered with black film and kept for 1.5 months.

Thermally, you can warm up the soil well to get rid of the fungus that causes rot.

How to treat root rot in garlic

While other fungal diseases of garlic are treatable, bottom rot is not. The only way to control fusarium is to immediately dig up and destroy the infected plants. You can prevent rot or use air seeds for planting.

Fighting aspergillosis

Black mold is not dealt with, since it appears during storage. To get rid of it, inspect the heads of garlic and remove the spoiled ones.

How to get rid of gray rot on garlic

Considering that the main process of development of gray rot is invisible and occurs in the internal tissues of garlic, you can only get rid of it in a radical way:

• remove diseased plants;
• create good air circulation by loosening for the remaining healthy specimens;
• speed up drying during harvest.

The latter is produced by cutting the stems from the heads right during harvest. After which the garlic heads are laid out in trays in one layer.

Fighting bacteriosis

During the growing season, the plantings are inspected and, if necessary, sprayed with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. The last treatment is carried out 20 days before harvesting. During harvest, diseased heads are inspected and removed.

Fighting onion fly

The easiest way to use industrial insecticides. In stores you can buy a drug for every taste. The most popular drug is "Aktara". Among the folk remedies, plants that repel pests are suitable:

• wormwood spread between the beds and plants;
• carrots planted interspersed with garlic.

Wormwood needs to be replaced as it wilts. Since this is a wild weed, it cannot be planted in the garden. Carrots should not be planted mixed. Garlic requires a dry period of two weeks before harvesting, and carrots need to be watered more often. Therefore, these two crops are planted in strips so that the latter can be watered without touching the garlic.

Crops planted nearby in strips mutually protect each other from onion and carrot flies

Methods against onion moth

Chemical insecticides are the same as those used against onion flies. You can reduce the number of butterflies using agrotechnical methods:

• deep plowing after harvesting;
• the use of crop rotation with the return of crops to their original place after 3-6 years;
• destruction of dry tops after harvesting;
• planting garlic in a well-ventilated area.

You can also reduce the damage caused by moths using a purely mechanical method: cover the garlic with non-woven material at night. During the day it is removed.

Control of stem nematode

To combat the nematode, urea, ammonia water or the ameliorant percalcite are added to the soil before planting garlic. Only healthy seed material is used. Observe the correct temperature when storing garlic heads: below + 4 ° C or above + 30 ° C with low air humidity. A crop rotation period of 3-4 years is observed.

Fighting mole crickets and Khrushchev

It is useless to fight beetleworm with insecticides; the larvae burrow too deeply into the ground. Grizzly, Medvetox, Zolon, Grom, and Medvednik are used against mole crickets. These are industrial insecticides designed specifically to kill mole crickets.

But you can also use traditional methods: ash and tobacco dust. These substances may be the best options.They must be applied to moist soil, that is, this can be done after watering. Next, the substances are carefully incorporated into the soil. Garlic loves loose soil. To protect it from rot, it is necessary to loosen the soil after watering. Therefore, at the same time you can add substances that repel underground pests.

Ash added when loosening the bed will protect against pests and replenish nitrogen reserves in the soil

What to do to prevent garlic from rotting in the garden

Preventive measures include:

• selection of healthy seed material;
• insulation of beds with winter garlic before cold weather;
• providing garlic with sufficient nitrogen;
• loosening the soil in the beds and weeding;
• garlic is harvested only after the above-ground parts have dried and fallen to the ground;
• The heads are dried before storage.

The likelihood of gray mold disease is reduced by avoiding waterlogging of the soil.

The best prevention of white rot is maintaining sanitary conditions. Fungus can persist on dry surfaces for many years. Therefore, everything that was in contact with diseased plants, right down to the walls of storage rooms and personnel shoes, is disinfected.

What folk remedies can treat garlic from rot?

Among the folk remedies for most types of rot, the most popular is soaking the seed material before planting in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. Also, this composition is spilled on the soil in the selected area.

Another way to destroy rot in the soil: an infusion of poisonous herbs. Use fresh calendula or yarrow. 50 g of crushed green mass is poured into a liter of water and infused for a week.The resulting liquid is poured into a 10-liter bucket, topped up until it is full and the beds are watered. Treatment is carried out before planting. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated during the growing season.

A 1% solution of potassium permanganate should be saturated in color

Conclusion

If garlic rots in the garden, in most cases the harvest cannot be saved. The fight against fungi and bacteria must begin before planting the spice in the ground.

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