Each gardener, planting certain crops on a personal plot, longs as a result of his work to get an unprecedented harvest that would compensate not only for money costs, but also for the time and effort spent. However, there are situations in which healthy plants are affected by various diseases, for example, verticillin wilt. This problem can occur when growing strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers. Verticillin wilt is one of the most harmful diseases, which most often affects greenhouse plants.
How is the infection going?
The causative agent of this disease is a special imperfect mushroom that is in the soil. This pathogenic microorganism enters the plant through the roots, in which there may be microtrauma. Also, the presence of a large number of root hairs contributes to its penetration. Further, the fungus lives in the root neck or in the conducting processes of the stem, where it exerts its negative effect on the whole plant.
Features of the defeat of tomatoes
The first symptoms, which indicate that verticillaceous withering of the tomatoes begins, appear during the period of active flowering. In this case, the lower leaves begin to turn yellow, most of them become dry and as a result fall. The upper leaves remain green, but curl at the same time.
In the early stages of the development of the disease, the root system looks healthy, but the first impression is misleading. The roots die with the course of the disease, and this leads to the appearance of secondary phytopathogens.
When examining a section of the stem, even with the naked eye, you can see the ring of vessels that are affected. They have a brown color. Over time, when verticillaceous wilting of tomatoes progresses, vascular necrosis spreads further along the stem, reaching a height of 1 m. It is this feature that distinguishes this disease from similar root rot.
Strawberry Verticillus
The first symptoms appear, as a rule, on new plantings during the formation of a mustache. If the disease affects old plantings, then most often problems begin at a time when the time for harvesting is right.
Symptoms may be different, because they depend on whether a particular variety of strawberries is susceptible to the causative agent of verticillosis or not. However, it is precisely the withering of the aerial part of the plant that this disease differs from other similar fungal ones that affect the roots. But it’s still better to go to a specialized laboratory to make the correct diagnosis, and then to choose a treatment.
The infected strawberry leaves look droopy, wilted, devoid of moisture. Their color at the edges changes and becomes red-yellow or dark brown. Although new leaves are formed on such a plant, they are, however, in small quantities, and almost immediately curl along the veins. If the plant is too badly affected, it stops growing, on the mustache and petioles, brown or bluish-black streaks or spots may form. Slowing growth affects the roots of strawberries, in addition, they can blacken at the tips.
With a severe defeat, withering and death of plants is massive, if only some parts of the plantations die, then the defeat is not too serious and proper treatment will help get rid of the pathogen.
Methods of struggle
If the diagnosis is "verticillic wilting", treatment will help only if you start it in the early stages of the development of the disease. But it’s better to simply destroy the infected plant. Soil disinfection is also necessary. To do this, fumigation (fumigation, destruction by toxic fumes or gases) and solarization (biocidal treatment) are carried out.
Prevention Methods
Popular agrotechnical methods that can protect plants from the effects of the causative agent of verticillosis:
- the use of varieties and hybrids that are resistant to this genus of fungi;
- when growing crops in a greenhouse, before planting new plants, the old substrate must be sterilized or steamed, and not only the surface layer;
- during the growing season, if the plant is still affected by verticillosis, it must be removed together with the root system, then a container with soil must be installed in this place so that the new land does not come into contact with the infected one.
And one more tip: in open ground conditions, the soil needs to be healed, for which crops such as rye, vetch, and white mustard should be planted periodically in different areas. It is recommended to sow them almost at the very end of the season, and in the fall carefully plow the garden. The resulting plant debris will rot over time, as a result of which saprotrophic organisms will accumulate in the soil, which, in turn, inhibit the growth of pathogenic microflora.