In July, hard-working summer residents begin to prepare for the first harvest, but often on tomatoes, instead of ripe fruits, dark areas appear, shriveled ovaries and seemingly "rotten" branches and leaves, fluffy bloom - these are the primary signs of blight.
Insidious mushroom
Phytophthora is a plant disease caused by the fungus Phitophthoriainfestans, whose spores successfully tolerate wintering in infected parts of the plant (tubers, roots, etc.) underground, and with the onset of thaws begin to multiply, accelerates the process of spreading warm and humid environment. Spores of the fungus are well transferred from the root system of the infected plant to a healthy one, and they can also be moved between the plants by a wind that moves them tens of kilometers from the source of infection.
Identify the cause
In plantain tomatoes affect parts of the plant, located above the ground, the first sign is the darkening of parts of the plant, and with high humidity on the resulting spots appear fluffy plaque.
Treatment of tomatoes
Detecting herbivores, it is necessary to start treatment of the plant immediately. You must first remove any damaged leaves. You can then process the bushes with a solution of copper sulfate and lime (in a bucket of water at room temperature, stir 200 g of lime and add 1 tbsp., copper sulfate), spray the plants better in the evening. An alternative treatment is spraying with a mixture of household soap and soda ash (dissolve a piece of household soap and 50 grams of soda in a bucket of water, mix thoroughly and process the planting thoroughly).
Spot defeat of the bushes can also be sprayed with a mixture of crushed garlic and manganese (in a bucket of water stir 1-1.5 grams of manganese, add two cups of garlic cloves, mix the mixture carefully, strain and treat the affected plants), this way further penetration of the fungus on adjacent plants. When mass contamination with plant protection treat the entire bed of tomatoes using a solution of calcium chloride (2 liters of warm water add 200 ml of 10% calcium chloride, the resulting mixture is necessary to spray only the fruits of the plant).
However, it is possible to use plant protection products, which will qualitatively and safely fight not only the blight but also other diseases. The following fungicides can be used for tomatoes: Revus Top, 62.5 Sg Switches, Skor, Healer, Garth, Rydomil Gold, Quadris, Anthracol, Protection, Samshit, and others.
Prophylaxis of blight
To avoid blight, it is necessary to use varieties of tomatoes resistant to this disease. Each year in June greenhouse tomatoes need to be treated using fungicides, they effectively fight the fungus and do not allow it to spread throughout the planting area. By watering the soil with special solutions, it is possible to achieve complete disappearance of the herbivores on tomatoes, to carry out such watering not necessarily regularly, but at least once a week. In order for the fungus to have no chance of emergence and reproduction, the seeds of tomato vegetables are better planted in the most illuminated areas of the country, where there will be no damp and humid environment.
In rainy weather, it is better not to water the tomatoes, only to loosen the soil. By planting tomatoes, such as onion or garlic, cabbage, lettuce, radish, basil, or beans, next to the bushes, a natural barrier to the plant blossoms is formed. It is also necessary to make fertilizers for tomatoes. They will allow the plant not only to get all the necessary nutrients but also to increase immunity to fungal diseases.
In conclusion, it is also worth noting that after the end of the summer season it is necessary to carry out careful cleaning of the suburban area, burning of dry leaves and branches, digging and deep loosening of the land, cultivation of beds and land with ash or ash solution - all these measures will prevent the development of harmful diseases of plants in the following seasons.