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Disease control is the most important process in the pre-winter preparation of greenhouse soil. It is very important to treat the greenhouse against late blight in the fall in order to get a full harvest next year that is not damaged by disease. This processing can be done in several ways, but there are basic rules that must be followed.
Signs of the appearance of late blight in a greenhouse
Late blight - a dangerous disease that affects many cultivated plants, most often nightshades. Caring for a greenhouse in the fall after late blight requires serious effort to prevent serious complications for the future harvest. After harvesting, late blight spores remain in the upper parts of the soil, where they can successfully overwinter until the next season. The first signs of this fungal disease are the appearance of brown spots on the leaves of cultivated plants, as well as a white coating at high humidity indoors.
If you do not fight the disease, late blight can completely harvest tomato, potatoes and many other plants. Therefore, treating the greenhouse after late blight in the fall is very important in order to destroy all the spores that are in the enclosed space, as well as on its structure and in the soil.
Why is this disease dangerous?
Late blight fungus spreads over time to the entire crop. The leaves gradually turn brown, dry out and curl up. If a gardener is going to save the harvest, he often removes green tomatoes from the bush and places them to ripen. This doesn't really help, since the tomatoes in the box are just as susceptible to fungus as other fruits. If you do not treat the area in the fall, then the mycelium of the fungus will also spread to the next harvest and the yield will decrease significantly, even to the point of complete destruction.
How to treat a greenhouse after late blight in the fall
Preparation for the new season occurs immediately after harvesting. It can be treated with special chemicals, as well as biological agents and temperature conditions. You can use both the proposed means individually and apply a complex effect. Soil treatment against late blight in the fall in the greenhouse it is necessary in the form of a number of measures both to combat and prevent the disease.
How to fight late blight in a greenhouse in the fall using chemicals
First of all, it is necessary to properly prepare the enclosed space after harvesting. Only after preparation can chemicals be used to combat the fungus. For chemical treatment the following should be used:
- slaked lime;
- bleach;
- concentrated solution of copper sulfate;
- sulfur bombs;
- chemical fungicide.
Each of the presented preparations is recommended to be used correctly to treat late blight in a greenhouse for the winter:
- Sulfur fumigation. It is carried out with special checkers “Climate”, “Face”, and also “Volcano”. The instructions describe in detail exactly how to use these checkers.
- Copper sulfate It is required to dilute in a ratio of 100–150 grams per 10 liters of water. Then use the composition to whiten all places where pathogenic microflora is observed and there is a danger of infection.
- Slaked lime. Mix 4 kg of freshly slaked lime with 0.5 kg of copper sulfate and 10 liters of water. Whitewash the entire greenhouse, including brickwork and all places where pathogenic flora can form.
- Bleaching powder. A solution is made from 1 kg of dry matter per 10 liters of water. Leave for an hour and spray the entire room.
In addition to well-known solutions, various universal fungicides are successfully used. They are used strictly according to the instructions that are included with the fungicide upon sale. The most common method is treating the soil in a greenhouse in the fall with phytosporin.
How to treat a greenhouse after late blight in the fall with biological preparations
Biological fungicides can be used to treat small spaces. These drugs are based on the natural ability to suppress pathogenic microflora. But these drugs have their own condition - they work only at a temperature of 12–14 °C above zero.
The most commonly used drugs are:
- "Trichodermin";
- "Baktophyton";
- "Fitosporin".
The treatment consists of dissolving the drug, according to the instructions, in water and spraying the entire room with this solution. After 14 days, repeat spraying.
Tilling the soil in a greenhouse in the fall against late blight
The best option for soil treatment is to change it. This is a troublesome task, but it gets rid of the fungus completely and for several years. Great for small spaces.
To carry out this procedure, 20 cm of soil is removed annually, sometimes twice a year, and transported to a specially prepared site. On it, soil is mixed with dry leaves, and compost is also added. Each layer of this workpiece should be sprayed with special solutions, for example, “Trichoplant”. This soil can be used again in the greenhouse after just 2 years. Only it will give a much larger harvest and will not contain pathogenic microflora.
Sowing green manure, for example, white mustard in the fall before winter, also helps a lot. In the spring, mustard will sprout and in one season will disinfect all the soil in the greenhouse, since it will suppress all pathogenic microflora.
Treatment of a polycarbonate greenhouse in the fall against late blight includes watering with a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate, followed by digging up the soil with a spade and sowing green manure.
Temperature method of combating late blight in a greenhouse
Like many other biological species, the late blight fungus is able to live only in strictly defined temperature conditions. Therefore, to get rid of pathogenic microflora, it is necessary to radically change the temperature regime in the greenhouse.
After harvesting, when frosts and cold weather set in, it is recommended to clean the greenhouse of spores using the freezing method. To do this, it is necessary to open the greenhouse space for several days at the lowest possible temperatures. If snow falls, it is recommended to remove it from the soil surface, since zoospores can survive under a layer of snow and become active again in the spring.
Also, pathogenic microflora does not tolerate temperatures above 35 °C. In the fall, such a temperature cannot be created for a greenhouse, and therefore it is a good idea to treat it with boiling water.
How to get rid of late blight in a greenhouse in the fall: a set of measures
In order to fully protect your harvest for next year, experts recommend treating the greenhouse in the fall with a set of measures. First of all, after harvesting, prepare the soil. First, you need to remove all the tops, old foliage, as well as broken structures, remnants of the twines on which the plants were tied.
After this, depending on the material from which the room is made, disinfection is carried out. You can use sulfur bombs, slaked lime and other disinfection methods.
It won’t hurt to treat the greenhouse with phytosporin in the fall, especially if the infection was large-scale.
Caring for a greenhouse in the fall after late blight can be done well if you add store-bought fungicides to the soil, but you must strictly follow the instructions and all proportions so as not to harm humans. All spraying procedures should be carried out wearing a respiratory mask to prevent toxic chemicals from entering the respiratory tract.
Preventative measures against late blight in the greenhouse
There are several rules by following which you can avoid late blight infection of crops in a greenhouse:
- Do not plant cultivated plants too densely;
- It is recommended to mulch the soil;
- bushes must be tied up;
- remove shoots and excess leaves.
If all necessary preventive measures are observed, as well as by creating the right microclimate, the gardener will be able to avoid the occurrence of pathology and damage to the crop.
Conclusion
Treating a greenhouse for late blight in the fall is an important and necessary task, especially if there are signs of infestation in the greenhouse this season. Treatment can be carried out using chemicals, biological fungicides, and temperature conditions. Treatment of a greenhouse against late blight in the fall is clearly shown in the video, so even a novice gardener can handle it.
