One of the most common diseases in plants is the black leg. How to deal with it and what to do to prevent the defeat of seedlings (namely, it is susceptible to infection in the first place)?
Disease Description
The black leg is considered a dangerous disease that affects vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage and many others. It is caused by parasitic fungi that can persist in the soil for several years. Basically, the disease is found in the black leg of seedlings grown in greenhouses and greenhouses.
When this disease is affected, the plant observes a darkening of the root part of the stem, which subsequently leads to thinning, forming a constriction, decay, and then death. Infected stems can survive, but they will be significantly behind in growth, they will not be sick and will not be able to give a good harvest.
Causes of the disease
The causative agent of the disease is the black leg bacteria and fungi located in the soil, which for the time being do not manifest themselves until factors appear that provoke their activity. This can be increased soil moisture, lack of lighting, overly thickened planting, poor ventilation, excessive fertilizer application or sudden changes in temperature. Under such conditions, the pathogens quickly accumulate in the soil, pathogens first cover small areas, and then all the seedlings are affected by the black leg disease. How to deal with it when the first signs appear, you need to know in advance in order to suspend and prevent the spread of the disease in time.
Better yet, take care of preventative measures that will help to avoid such troubles.
Prevention
The most effective method in the fight against this disease is soil treatment before planting. The soil mixture, located in the boxes for planting, is carefully watered with boiling water with manganese grains dissolved in it . The solution should be a strong concentration, dark pink. After 3 days, the land is treated with a soda solution (5 tablespoons of soda per bucket of water). Seeds are sown in slightly dry soil, because when it is waterlogged, the risk of developing a black leg disease increases significantly.
After sowing the seeds, the box must be covered with glass or film and put in a room where the temperature is maintained at 18-20 ° C. After seedlings appear, young seedlings should be thinned out where plantings are too dense. Watering is moderate, do not allow excess moisture in the soil.
In the early stages of seedling development, a very effective method is to sprinkle it with wood ash.
How to get rid of a black leg
If infection could not be avoided, and, despite preventive measures, a black leg was found in seedlings, what should I do? First of all, it is necessary to carefully remove the damaged plant along with part of the adjacent land in order to prevent the spread of infection to nearby seedlings.
After that, pour the remaining seedlings with ash solution (2 cups per 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 6 hours and dilute in a bucket of water). Many gardeners recommend dressing with a mixture of slurry, chicken droppings and mullein. This will help increase plant resistance.
There are many examples of seedling affliction with a blackleg disease. How to deal with it? Water with special solutions. To do this, use 1% Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate (5 grams per bucket of water) or a solution of potassium permanganate. Watering is carried out at the rate of 1 liter per 1 square meter.
In order to dry the soil, you can pour a mixture of sand and ash. It also contributes to the formation of new roots above the affected area.
Hole protection against black legs
There is another very effective way to deal with the black leg in seedlings. It consists in the most ordinary hilling. As soon as the first shoots appear, watering for 2-3 days should be stopped. After the soil dries slightly, you need to carefully hatch the sprouted sprouts and only then water. To exclude conditions for the manifestation of activity of pathogenic fungi, water must be poured into the grooves between the plants so that the stems remain dry. Such care must be carried out during the entire initial period of growing seedlings. When thinning it, you should not pull out the extra plants, it is best to cut them off with scissors, then the root system is less injured.
This method, along with well-prepared and balanced soil gives a very high percentage of healthy seedlings.
Remedies
All sorts of remedies that gardeners use to fight the black leg help. These are various drugs purchased in specialized stores. For example, Fitosporin. It is available in various forms: paste, powder, liquid. With this composition, it is recommended to process the seeds before sowing and spray the diseased seedlings. "Fitosporin" capable of destroying different types of fungi is also effective for the prevention of other diseases: late blight, root rot, powdery mildew, peronosporosis. In addition, Bactofit, Fitolavin-300, and Plariz biological preparations are used.
Fundazole is known for its effectiveness against the black leg. However, its toxic substances can harm not only plants, but also people. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it in the house, especially if there are small children and pets.
A lot is known of absolutely safe health products that help to cope with the disease of the black leg. How to deal with it using wood ash has already been described above. They also use egg shells for this. It is dried, thoroughly crushed in a mortar and the infected areas are sprinkled with the resulting powder. Baking soda, diluted at the rate of 1 teaspoon per half a glass of water, watered seedlings affected by a black leg.
Observing all agricultural rules, you can grow healthy seedlings without using chemicals, and get a good harvest.