Most summer residents are well aware that the process of growing garlic in a personal plot is quite time-consuming. It is very important to provide the plant with solar heat, prepare the soil, observe the planting dates. Otherwise, garlic diseases will be felt very soon, and the yield may be low. So, what ailments can kill garlic?
They include, first of all, the stem nematode. This is a small worm that lays hundreds of eggs in garlic tissues. The microorganism affects the plant to such an extent that the bulb simply crumbles into cloves, and the leaves become sick. To minimize such diseases of garlic, seedlings are pre-treated with a special saline solution, and then soaked in water, cooled and dried.
Insects are also harmful to the plant, and the onion fly is a particular threat . She places her future offspring under lumps of earth near the garlic or on the bottom of the bulb. After ten days, larvae emerge from the eggs, which enter the bulb through the base of the leaves or the bottom. Similar diseases of garlic are necessarily accompanied by yellowing and drying of the leaves. Twenty-one days later, the larvae move to the ground and wait for pupation. In early August, flies again fly out, which will also lay eggs.
To reduce the risk of harming the onion fly, the soil is dug up, and early seedlings are treated with ash or tobacco ash.
Considering the main diseases of garlic, it is impossible not to mention the downy mildew. Its first sign is the formation on the leaves of blurry spots of a pale green hue, which subsequently acquire a gray color. Ill leaves turn yellow and die over time. From them, the ailment moves to the bulb, garlic suffers from downy mildew all winter, and when spring comes, it again affects the leaves, as well as the arrows. The disease progresses strongly in sunny and humid weather.
In order to combat downy mildew, seedlings are heated before being placed in the ground, and after twenty-one days, the seedlings are treated with a solution of copper oxychloride.
It should also be noted that the stem nematode and downy mildew are also diseases of winter garlic.
Garlic is also susceptible to diseases such as black mold. Its cause is a fungus that appears under storage conditions at high air temperature. The microorganism affects the head of garlic, on which a dark coating forms. In the event that the disease progresses, the garlic dries completely. Poorly dried and immature plants are especially susceptible.
To exclude the possibility of black mold, it is necessary to ensure proper storage and quality drying of the plant. If the disease has damaged the head, additional drying should be done, and the plant should be treated with crushed chalk.
Thus, pests and diseases of garlic can seriously affect the quality of the crop. To prevent this, it is necessary to provide the plant with appropriate care.