Violation of the rules for the care of violets often leads to the appearance of various diseases. Fungal infections and viruses affect precisely weakened plants, the immunity of which was damaged due to improper conditions or lack of sufficient nutrients in the soil. Senpolias rarely get sick, but sometimes plants already infected or infected by pests are sold in the store.
Powdery Mildew: Violet Fungal Disease
One of the most dangerous fungal diseases is powdery mildew. It damages leaves and buds on which a flour-like coating appears. In the photo, powdery mildew on violets often looks like a speck of dust. If left untreated, the plant dies quickly. Therefore, it is important for every lover of violets to know what causes can cause an infection and how to avoid it.
Powdery Mildew Causes
The disease spreads by spores of fungi from one plant to another. They can be constantly in the air, but not infect the violet if it is healthy. But weakened flowers quickly become infected and die. Therefore, when buying new indoor plants, it is necessary to observe two-week quarantine, wash the leaves of beginners in order to get rid of parasites, and spray them with biological preparations to prevent diseases. Another option, how powdery mildew may appear on violets, is infection through the soil. New soil, even purchased in a store, must be disinfected by calcining in the oven or spilling a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Mistakes in Violet Care
But most often the cause of the disease is a violation of the conditions of care:
- Excessive humidity at low air temperature. For example, overflow in the winter, when the plant stands on a cold windowsill. Hypothermia of the root system can cause the appearance of various fungal diseases. This is especially dangerous for violets in wick irrigation.
- Low light. With a lack of light, the violet deforms, ceases to bloom and spends a lot of energy on active growth. In winter, it is advisable to highlight flowers with special lamps if the windowsill is not light enough. They will serve as an additional source of heat.
- Dust and dirt around the violet. If you do not conduct regular cleaning on a shelf with plants, the risk of various diseases, including powdery mildew, increases.
- The reason may be an excess of nitrogen in the soil or a lack of phosphorus-potassium fertilizing.
- Burns and wounds on the leaves from excess sun when spore fungus enters them can cause the disease. Therefore, burnt leaves should be removed.
- Incorrectly selected soil: if the soil is too heavy, dries for a long time and is not nutritious enough, the violet can become sick. Soil for the flower is made in such a way that the roots breathe. It should be loose and airy. It is recommended to add baking powder: perlite, vermiculite, sphagnum moss in a small amount. The optimum acidity of the soil is 6.5-7 pH.
- Too large a pot can lead to powdery mildew on violets. For plants with a standard size socket, the diameter of the pot should not exceed 9 cm.
- Using a clay pot for violets increases the risk of waterlogging the root system. In winter, clay cools very much and can cause fungal diseases.
- Excessively plentiful watering negatively affects the plant and can lead to the appearance of powdery mildew on violets. Before watering a flower, you should always check if the soil is dry enough.
Signs of infection
The main symptom of the disease is the appearance of a white powdery coating, first on the leaves, and then on the buds. This is the first stage of the disease. “Flour” may resemble ordinary dust, but it is not washed off from the foliage, because it is the mycelium of the fungus. If other flowers are near the infected Saintpaulia, they may become infected by close contact. How to deal with powdery mildew on violets? It is important to pay attention to the state of the violet in time and begin treatment, otherwise it will be difficult to save the flower later. In the second stage, the leaves are covered with ulcers that extend to the entire leaf plate until it completely dies. The plant stops growing and developing, as a result, dies.
Powdery Mildew Varieties
There are two types of powdery mildew on violets: false and real. Both diseases are caused by fungi and are dangerous for plants, but with a false form, bright spots form on all parts of the flower, and the leaf plate is covered with brown spots. Violet can die from any form of powdery mildew if treatment is not started in time.
Antifungal drugs
How to get rid of powdery mildew on violets? To do this, use a fungicide, most often the drug "Topaz", it is considered the most effective in the early stages of the disease. Processing is carried out twice with an interval of 14 days. Popular among amateur gardeners Fundazol and Benlat, but using these funds, you should carefully read the instructions and contraindications for their use in a room. For prevention, you can use "Fitosporin", but it is ineffective in severe forms of the disease.
Powdery mildew on violets: treatment with folk remedies
Chemicals can be replaced with folk remedies.
- A solution of 200 ml of milk, water and 1 tsp is effectively fighting the fungus. salt. This composition has the ability to dehydrate spores, as a result of which the fungus dries. The plant should be treated every 2 days, protecting the soil in the pot from salinization.
- Whey can be mixed with water in a ratio of 1/10 and this composition is sprayed with flowers every three days.
- A solution of iodine in water - a few drops per glass. A single treatment with such a composition will be enough to get rid of the spores.
- For the treatment of powdery mildew, solutions of copper sulfate and green soap, a suspension of colloidal sulfur, spraying with soda and mullein infusion are also used. The topsoil is sprayed with solutions and the plants themselves twice, with a weekly interval.
- You can use this recipe: mix 1 teaspoon of dry mustard in 5 liters of warm water and spray with a solution of the plant.
- Garlic is considered effective against fungal infections and to prevent pest attacks. Use 25 g of garlic per 1 liter of water, the solution is kept for a day, filtered and sprayed with violets.
- 100 g of fresh horsetail grass is poured with a liter of water per day, after which the composition needs to be boiled for 2 hours. Then the broth is diluted in water (1 part of the solution into 5 parts of water) and the flowers are treated 3 times with an interval of 5 days.
Violet treatment process
For effective treatment of plants, you must adhere to the following plan of action:
- Immediately isolate all diseased plants from healthy ones, remove peduncles so that the plant does not waste energy on flowering. If some parts of the flower are severely affected by the disease, remove them if possible.
- Rinse the violet under a stream of warm water, being careful not to get into the center. Sanitize the pan and pot. After a shower, the plant is left in a dark place until the moisture has completely dried.
- The topsoil is removed and discarded. Pour clean soil into the pot.
- The drug is diluted according to the instructions and treated with a plant. The treatment is repeated after two weeks.
It is important to regularly inspect the collection of plants in order to recognize the danger in time, and remember that healthy plants with strong immunity can cope with many diseases themselves and even rid themselves of pests.