The most common disease of garden nightshade crops is late blight. He does not ignore other vegetables, fruits and berries. The fight against it is difficult and long, often not leading to complete victory. Preventive measures help improve the situation, so it is important to know how to treat the soil against late blight long before signs of damage appear on plants.

Features of the disease and its signs

Late blight manifests itself as brown or brown spots on leaf blades, stems, and petioles. The underside of the leaves becomes covered with a whitish coating, similar to a thin cobweb, causing them to deform and dry out. If late blight occurs during the period of budding, flowering or fruit set, there is no chance for a harvest - the disease quickly destroys delicate flowers and fragile ovaries.

One of the ways to prevent crop damage from late blight is to use disease-resistant varieties on the site.

The risk of a disease outbreak at a site increases in the following cases:

• increased content of alkalis in the soil (over-liming);
• deficiency of potassium, iodine, manganese.

Spring prevention of late blight

The spores of the pathogen begin their activity at the first signs of heat - a temperature of +1°C is enough for them to begin destructive activity. Therefore, the first soil treatment on the site begins immediately after the snow melts.

1. Spilling the soil with hot water. The beds where nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes) and strawberry areas will be planted are subject to treatment. Experienced summer residents recommend adding potassium permanganate to the water (1 g per bucket).
2. Steaming the soil. Usually the last days of April - the beginning of May, when the air warms up enough, are suitable for this procedure. The beds are covered with several layers of dense polyethylene and secured well around the edges. Under the hot spring sun, the temperature under such a shelter reaches 70-80°C. This is enough to sharply reduce the number of late blight spores.

Folk remedies

Grandmother's secrets are more effective for prevention than for treating the disease. Fungal spores cannot tolerate an acidic environment, so for prevention, the soil is treated with suitable organic matter before planting seedlings:

• fermented kefir (1 liter per 10 liters of water) - 0.5 liters of solution is poured into each well;
• whey diluted with water 1:1, with the addition of 2-3 drops of iodine per bucket of the mixture, water the soil generously;
• spray the soil prepared for planting with an infusion of rotted hay (or straw) with urea (1 teaspoon per bucket of infusion);
• moisten the soil with a decoction of pine needles (fill half the container with needles, add water, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes);
• The beds are watered with ash infusion prepared according to the standard recipe.

Biological drugs

Their effectiveness is higher than that of folk remedies, but they act at a higher temperature – from +15°C.

Use of chemicals

Chemicals are the “heavy artillery” and are used in difficult situations.

• Bordeaux mixture- the most common remedy. Till the soil immediately after the snow cover melts. The working solution is prepared from 250 ml of concentrate and 10 liters of water. To disinfect soil, Bordeaux mixture is used no more than once every 5 years.
• Copper sulfate is an equally popular means of protection against diseases. For spring (after the snow melts) treatment, the working solution is prepared from 2-5 g of the substance dissolved in 10 liters of water.
• Copper oxychloride - the soil is treated with a 4% solution in the first warm days.
• “Oxychom” - a solution for soil is prepared at a 2% concentration.
• "Quadris" is used when planting potatoes. The wells are sprayed with a 0.3% solution, the consumption rate is 10 l per 100 m 2.
• "Farmayod" is intended for soil treatment before planting seedlings or sowing seeds. 100 ml of the drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water; an area of ​​about 5 m2 is treated with this amount. If late blight was particularly active last season, the concentration can be increased 3 times. Plants can be planted within 2 days. “Farmayod” does not have a selective effect - it destroys all microorganisms, so after 7-10 days the soil is spilled with EM preparations (Baikal, Vostok) according to the standard recipe.

Sometimes gardeners treat the soil with bleach. This is an effective but highly toxic remedy. It can be used only before winter, so that there is enough time to neutralize the effects of chlorine on the soil.

When using chemicals, you should keep in mind that pathogens develop an addiction to them, so they must be alternated.

Green manure against late blight

Proponents of organic farming, who use green manure to improve soil health and increase its fertility, recommend using their special properties. Disinfectant plants that help cope with fungal spores in the soil include oilseed radish, white mustard, calendula and phacelia. sown in autumn, the rest in spring.

The sowing time is determined by counting: 30 days for seed germination and growth of root and green mass, 10-15 days for rotting of cut greenery and roots. When a warm spring is imminent, the formation of green manure buds often begins earlier than expected; this is closely monitored. At the budding stage, the disinfectant properties of herbs are reduced, so the grass is cut off earlier.

Calendula is a well-known medicinal plant. To use it for medicinal purposes, including for soil, hybrid varieties are not used, since they are of little use.

The fight against late blight should not stop for a minute. From the first warm days of spring until harvest, summer residents need to vigilantly monitor the planting of nightshades and strawberries. It is not enough to cultivate the soil in the spring, because no means have yet been invented that can kill oomycetes once and for all. Whatever drugs are used, they can only reduce the number of pathogens. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the garden from the disease in a comprehensive manner, using all available means and possibilities - from preventive tillage in the spring to pre-winter harvesting of plant residues and their disposal - as well as strictly observing the rules of crop rotation and agrotechnical subtleties of growing crops.

Late blight occurs not only on potatoes and other nightshades, but also on strawberries and grapes. If you don't fight it, you can destroy up to 50-70% of the crop.

Why does she appear?

How to shed the soil from late blight?

In summer cottages, substances of hazard class 3 are permitted for use, which include copper-containing preparations that have proven themselves in the fight against late blight. The soil for nightshades can be treated in the spring with a 1-3% solution of copper sulfate as an antifungal agent, then dug up, and then spilled with the microbiological preparation phytosporin-m (1 tbsp per 10 liters of water per 1 sq.m), which is already classified as less dangerous hazard class 4. For the soil where strawberries or flowers will grow, alirin, which is similar in composition and properties to phytosporin, is recommended. You can also use a copper-containing broad-spectrum fungicide - ordan, which is also suitable for the prevention of grape diseases.

The waiting time for the chemical to decompose in the soil and vegetables to be eaten is about a month, which is why copper-containing substances are used in early spring. And biological preparations can be used at any time, except during flowering, otherwise they can harm the bees. In greenhouses and cellars it is recommended to light special sulfur bombs in the fall and spring. It is necessary to strictly follow the safety precautions and during disinfection not to be too close to the burning smoke protection.

Prevention of late blight

1. Since the development of the disease in plants occurs at positive temperatures, from 1 to 30 degrees, and spreads quickly, it is not easy to stop late blight. Therefore, special attention is paid to prevention.
2. In autumn, all tops must be destroyed; it is best to burn them outside the garden.
3. After harvesting in greenhouses, the top layer, 5 centimeters deep, is removed.
4. Nightshade seedlings and potato tubers are treated with phytosporin-m or oxychome before planting. During the growing season it is also possible.
5. Observe
6. Don't plant thickly. If you notice affected leaves or fruits, remove and burn immediately. It is easy to recognize the sore - gray-brown oblong spots appear on the leaves, the fruits themselves are also damaged, slightly wrinkled areas appear on the potato peel, and if you cut it, you definitely can’t go wrong.
7. There is no need to overfeed the plants with fresh manure or other fertilizers.
8. Mulch the soil. This will reduce the humidity in the greenhouse. After each rain, shake off any drops from open ground tomatoes by tapping the bushes. Do not splash water on greenhouse tomatoes when watering. Pick off the lower leaves of tomatoes in a timely manner, especially those touching the ground.
9. Also remove fruits that are not fully ripe, along with red or brown ones. For better preservation, harvested late tomatoes can be rinsed with hot water, dried and put to ripening.
10. Seed potatoes need to be greened in the fall.
11. If you adhere to the principles of organic farming, where digging and the use of chemicals are prohibited, then use green manure (sowing in both autumn and spring), mulching and spraying with a five-day strong infusion of garlic, strained and diluted with 3 tbsp soapy water. l. infusion in 10 liters of water. I also have an old grandmother’s recipe: watering tomatoes when the night temperature drops below +8 with a mixture of 10 liters of water, 1 liter of skim milk or kefir or whey with the addition of 10-15 drops of iodine and 1 tbsp. salt. This solution is poured 1 liter under each bush.
12. Choose varieties that are resistant to late blight. For example, my favorite tomato variety, grown both outdoors and indoors, is Yablonka Rossii.

Late blight is a common fungal disease that affects potatoes, tomatoes and other garden crops. Without proper treatment, this disease can destroy the entire crop. The difficulty of fighting this fungus is that there are no universal ways to get rid of the disease.

In this case, a set of measures is needed that will allow the gardener to save the plantings and get an excellent harvest. In this article we will tell you how to deal with and how to properly loosen the soil to prevent this disease.

Origin of late blight

This disease is caused by Phytophthora infestans, a microscopic fungus that can infect root crops and above-ground parts of plants. The disease develops quickly, and under favorable conditions it can affect various crops in the garden, quickly destroying the crop.

Initially, scientists believed that this fungus infects the area exclusively through potato tubers, but recent studies have shown that Phytophthora infestans is able to remain active for many years, and it can be transmitted by seeds or seedlings of various garden crops. Fungal spores are highly active, and the high resistance of the fungus to chemicals complicates the fight against this disease.

It is extremely difficult to protect plantings from late blight. A vegetable grower can use high-quality seed material, properly prepare the land for planting, and also properly loosen and cultivate the land, but the plantings are affected by this disease. When creating optimal conditions in the beds for the development of this fungus, even a few spores that were carried by the wind will be enough for the first signs of late blight to appear on the plants and the plantings will be destroyed.

Favorable conditions for the development of late blight are high humidity and temperatures below plus 15 degrees. That is why the fungus becomes active already in August, when the air temperature begins to gradually drop, and the first autumn rains are also observed.

The difficulty of treating late blight, especially at the end of summer, is that it is difficult to fully spray garden crops with chemicals. Most of them have already ripened crops, and the use of various chemicals can worsen the taste of grown vegetables and fruits.

Symptoms of the disease

This fungal disease has clear, pronounced symptoms. Characteristic black dots appear on the leaves and fruits, which quickly grow, destroying the crop and the plants themselves. Black dots that have increased in size are nothing more than colonies of a mold fungus, which, under suitable conditions, multiplies quickly and then moves from bed to bed, destroying the crop.

At the first signs of late blight, the vegetable grower needs to begin treating the plantings, which will help cope with this problem. It is necessary to use appropriate chemicals, specifically destroy affected plants, and also work with the soil, which will increase the natural protection of plants.

Preventative treatment

Most of the fungal spores are found in the contaminated soil, so pre-sowing soil treatment is carried out in the fall and spring, as well as appropriate soil disinfection. You can also use a soil loosener to reduce the risk of this harmful disease.

Disinfection and pre-sowing tillage of the soil are carried out both with special chemicals and various folk remedies. For example, you can use wood ash or potassium permanganate.

Just remember that it is prohibited to carry out such preparation of the land immediately before planting vegetables or fruits.

It is necessary to wait several weeks after disinfecting the soil, after which you can plant seeds or seedlings. It is necessary to use the appropriate tools for cultivating the soil, including Tornado, which will simplify the care of the garden.

Loosening the soil reduces the likelihood of this disease occurring. A special soil loosener is used for this work. With such timely loosening of the soil, the roots of the plantings receive the oxygen they need, soil aeration also improves, soil moisture decreases, which prevents the development of late blight.

At the same time as loosening the soil, it is necessary to provide the plantings with proper care. Proper pre-sowing tillage will be the key to obtaining an excellent harvest. The stronger the crop being grown, the less likely it is that fungus will develop on the site.

In the fall, immediately after harvesting, it is recommended to carry out appropriate loosening of the soil, including milling the soil, which is done using special mechanical devices or a motor cultivator; the vegetable grower can also use a soil cultivator.

Soil milling involves crumbling and mixing the soil to a depth of 25 centimeters. Special knives and teeth of the motor-cultivator produce high-quality milling of the soil, crushing it, eliminating the large lumps of soil that have formed. After milling, the soil in the dacha becomes loosened, which means soil aeration improves.

It is recommended to carry out similar soil milling immediately before the spring planting of vegetable crops. This pre-sowing soil treatment is especially necessary for cultivating the soil in greenhouses and when peat predominates in the garden plot.

We use the Tornado ripper

The Tornado soil cultivator appeared relatively recently; it quickly gained popularity among numerous summer residents and gardeners. The Tornado is a soil loosening tool that is easy to use and extremely effective.

Thanks to its shape, the Tornado soil ripper does not require the use of physical effort when loosening the soil, which allows even elderly vegetable growers to carry out high-quality milling of the soil. The speed of soil cultivation when using Tornado increases three times compared to classical digging of soil.

When using Tornado, the soil is loosened to a depth of 20 centimeters, while there is no soil turnover, which preserves the soil microflora. As a result, soil aeration improves and the consumption of micronutrients from applied fertilizers improves. Tornado allows you to loosen the soil in the near-trunk zone of trees and various shrubs. This soil loosening tool has a special geometry, and thanks to the use of a durable steel alloy of teeth, the Tornado is strong and durable.

We use fertilizers correctly

Experienced vegetable growers note that one of the reasons for the appearance of late blight on the site is the excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers. Many summer residents do not comply with the dosage of applied fertilizers, which leads to excess nitrogen content in the soil. As a result of this, already at the first drop in temperature, the first signs of fungal infection of the vegetable crop appear. This is why use nitrogen fertilizers with caution.

Remember that it is better to underfeed the plant than to overfertilize it. In the latter case, a variety of infectious and fungal diseases can be activated. You need to determine what kind of soil is on your site, and then apply fertilizer to it.

We rehabilitate the land on the site

After 5 - 7 years of active farming in the garden, the need arises to improve the health of the land on the site, which involves applying appropriate fertilizers and growing green manure crops.

Ideally, in order to improve the health of the land, a gardener should sow the garden with green manure for a year or two, and not grow any garden or vegetable crops on the plot. However, this is not possible in most cases. Therefore, most gardeners limit themselves to simplified health improvement, which involves planting green manure after early harvest and appropriate crop rotation of garden crops on the site.

Remember the need to completely dig up the site in the fall and add humus and other organic fertilizers accordingly. It is not recommended to apply mineral fertilizers during digging in the fall, since most of the useful microelements will be washed away by groundwater and melt water. Remember the need for high-quality cultivation of the land, which will be the key to high-quality improvement of the soil on the site.
The improvement of the soil, including from late blight infection, is also facilitated by soil spills with such preparations as Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B, microbiological fertilizers of the EM series, including Baikal EM1, Vostok EM1, Siyanie EM1. Taking into account the freezing of the soil during the winter, it is more useful to water it with the above preparations in the spring, at least 7-10 days before planting potatoes and tomatoes.

Conclusion

The fight against late blight in the garden involves a set of measures, which includes preliminary disinfection and treatment of the soil, proper application of fertilizers and the use of special chemicals to combat this fungus.

Tested by scientist - agronomist Alexander Zharavin

Plants living in a greenhouse are susceptible to attack by various pests and often suffer from all kinds of diseases. One of them is late blight. This disease is very dangerous; it can ruin all your painstaking work in growing plants and obtaining a rich harvest.

However, this can be avoided - it is necessary to prepare the greenhouse in the fall. How to treat a greenhouse against late blight in the fall? Let's look at the main methods.

Late blight is a serious fungal plant disease caused by late blight, a fungus-like protist of the oomycete division. Translating its Latin name Phytophthora, we get the phrase “destroying plants.” And it fully corresponds to the nature of the impact of this pathogen.

On a note! Plants of the Solanaceae family suffer from late blight more than other crops. These are potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums. Strawberries, buckwheat and other representatives of the flora are also susceptible to late blight.

Phytophthora reproduces by zoospores, which easily overwinter on old tubers, tops, other plant debris and even in soil. And as soon as favorable conditions are created, late blight wakes up, becomes active and begins to spread throughout the plants.

It is greenhouse conditions, that is, humid and warm conditions, that are most favorable for the rapid development and subsequent reproduction of this fungus. Phytophthora spores begin to develop on plant foliage at air temperatures above +10 degrees and humidity around 75%.

By the way, late blight will live not only on plants - it will happily nest for the winter on the greenhouse itself - its covering, frame.

On a note! Spores enter the soil when rain washes them off plant leaves, and infection can also occur with the help of wind - light spores are easily carried by air currents for many kilometers.

The main signs of crop damage by late blight.

Late blight is a disease that is not to be trifled with. If you don’t fight it and don’t take preventative measures to protect your favorite garden, then it can cause significant damage to your entire green farm, including your greenhouse.

Fighting methods and popular remedies

One of the main methods of combating late blight is. Proper treatment will not only help cope with this scourge and protect your harvest in the future, but will also prepare a home for plants for spring, and you will not have to improve it before the start of the summer season.

The greenhouse is disinfected in various ways:

• chemical;
• biological;
• temperature

On a note! The greatest effect comes from the integrated use of all types of greenhouse treatment in the fall, and not just one.

To treat soil in a greenhouse, chemical or temperature methods are most often used. The structure itself must be treated with chemicals.

Table. Anti-late blight preparations suitable for treating greenhouse structures.

Means

Description

As they say, cheap and cheerful. Bleach is the best option for treating wood-framed greenhouses because it protects the wood from rot and woodworms. It is enough to dilute just 400 g of the substance in a 10-liter bucket of water and let it brew for about 4 hours, and the terrible poison for late blight is ready. Coat the entire surface of the greenhouse with liquid, and then the wooden frame. After treatment, the structure is closed for 2-3 days.

But not only the greenhouse structure itself needs to be treated if you want to get rid of late blight with a 100% guarantee. Remember that spores can also overwinter in the ground, so treat that too in the fall.

Basic methods of soil treatment against late blight.

The process of treating a greenhouse against late blight

How to prepare a greenhouse for winter and treat it against late blight? Everything is very simple. And we will use several methods in combination for reliability.

Step 1. After harvesting, remove plant remains from the greenhouse: tops, pieces of fruit, and, if possible, all roots. It is especially important to remove all tomatoes, peppers, that is, nightshades. And it is extremely important to do this if you find the first signs of late blight on plants. Also throw away any old garters and pegs.

Step 2. Burn everything you collected and took out of the greenhouse.

Step 3. Prepare a soap solution: dissolve grated laundry soap in warm water and rinse the entire greenhouse with the resulting preparation. This will remove external dirt and, partially, late blight spores.

Step 4. If possible, remove the top layer of soil by about 5-10 cm.

Step 5. If it is not possible to remove the soil, proceed to processing the greenhouse structure and soil. First, treat the greenhouse itself with a chlorine-lime solution, preparing it as indicated in the table above.

Step 6. 2-3 days after working with bleach, prepare a solution of copper sulfate for treating the soil. Sprinkle it thoroughly over the entire soil.

Step 7 Use a smoke bomb as well. Light the sulfur, close the greenhouse, “smoke” it thoroughly and leave it closed for 3-4 days.

Step 8 If you removed soil, place fresh soil in the greenhouse at this point.

Step 9 When cold weather sets in, open the greenhouse and let the soil freeze well for a few days.

Step 10 Cover the soil in the greenhouse with a layer of snow.

Video - Greenhouse treatment against late blight

Prevention

To protect your greenhouse as much as possible from the appearance of late blight, you should also prevent this disease. There is nothing complicated about these activities, but they will provide maximum protection against the terrible fungus.

The main thing is not to plant potatoes and tomatoes next to each other. The crops belong to the same family, both of these plants are Solanaceae, which means that infection of one will easily lead to infection of the other if they grow close to each other. And even if spatial isolation has been observed, be sure to burn all tops from both tomatoes and potatoes without leaving any residue.

One of the best preventive measures is the possibility of creating two greenhouses. The crops grown in them should be rotated annually. For example, this year tomatoes are growing in greenhouse No. 1, but next year it is better to plant them in greenhouse No. 2, and let there be cucumbers in the first one. However, this method can only be implemented if there is a sufficiently spacious dacha plot.

The best preventive measure is the arrangement of two greenhouses

Do not forget to disinfect the greenhouse annually using chemical and biological methods. By the way, if your plants have not been affected by late blight, then simply washing the structure with copper sulfate, fumigating with sulfur, or treating with bleach will be sufficient. It is not necessary to remove or spill the soil; it is better to add beneficial microflora to it. The main thing is to do this in the summer, while it is still warm outside, since biological drugs do not work at sub-zero temperatures. In general, treatment with Fitosporin is recommended every 15 days.

Pay attention to what you plant too. As for tomatoes, choose seeds that were obtained at least two years ago. Late blight has definitely died on them, even if it existed, and will not infect other crops.

On a note! “Epidemics” of late blight begin towards the end of summer, which means it is advisable to grow those varieties that will finish bearing fruit as early as possible.

Also, look at how you plant - do not place tomato bushes in the greenhouse close to each other, so that it is more difficult for late blight to move from one plant to another and spread throughout the greenhouse. Be sure to remove and burn old and dying leaves.

To avoid late blight, feed your tomatoes regularly. Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are excellent for these purposes.

Late blight or late blight, as this scourge is popularly called, is a very dangerous disease that, without exaggeration, in a few days can nullify all the efforts spent on growing a crop.

Late blight is the worst enemy of nightshades, especially tomatoes and potatoes. And if, when potatoes are damaged, the yield is simply significantly reduced, then tomatoes can die completely literally overnight. But this does not mean that the disease came so quickly.

Late blight fungus spores previously accumulated in plant debris and soil, awaiting their finest hour. To prevent the disease from spreading, special attention should be paid to soil treatment after harvesting plants damaged by late blight.

This is a disease caused by the harmful fungus Phytophthora infestans. Plants are infected by fungal spores through the pores of the integumentary epidermis of leaves, where they enter with drops of water. The disease spreads quickly inside the vegetative organs of plants, and it is very difficult to fight it at this stage.

The spores of the fungus are incredibly mobile, mobile, and are carried over long distances with the help of the wind. The spores of the pathogen are very resistant to difficult conditions and overwinter in plant debris, garbage, on tools and structural elements of greenhouses, as well as in the soil.

How to treat soil against late blight in spring and autumn

The disease is insidious; in the fight against it, all means are good in their own way. And in this battle the result is important. Which methods to use depends on the current situation.

Agrotechnical methods

1. Crop rotation.

The late blight fungus most often affects all types of nightshade crops, especially potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers. To prevent infection, these crops cannot be used as predecessors of each other. Plants of the nightshade family can be returned to their original place no earlier than after three years.

1. Compatibility of crops during planting.

Spores of the late blight fungus migrate easily under the influence of even a weak wind, so nightshade crops are not recommended to be planted in neighboring areas.

1. Distance between bushes.

Dense plantings contribute to poor ventilation and high humidity, which creates favorable conditions for the accumulation of fungal colonies and the development of disease. Do not allow the beds to thicken.

1. Digging the earth in the fall.

Careful cleaning of plant debris, fruits and tubers with signs of disease is one of the main measures for the prevention of late blight. The subsequent deep digging of the soil in the fall solves two problems:

• Prevents the spread of fungal spores remaining on the soil surface after harvesting plant residues.
• The turnover of the soil layer makes the conditions for wintering of the pathogen unfavorable, and some of the spores die.

1. Treating the soil with boiling water in the spring before planting.

Fungal spores die in dry, hot weather, as well as under the influence of high water temperatures when watering the soil.

Thus, by scalding the soil with boiling water, you can reduce the risk of late blight infection through the soil, but this method is difficult to apply over a large area.

Biological drugs

• Baikal EM-1.

The drug not only contains beneficial microorganisms that destroy spores of pathogens, but also heals the soil and also improves plant immunity. Baikal EM-1 is used in the fall 2-3 weeks before the first frost or in early spring, but after the soil has warmed up.

• Baikal EM-5.

The principle of operation is the same as that of Baikal EM-1. It is safe for humans and animals, effective in the warm season, used in early autumn and spring, during soil preparation. Consumption rates for the drug are in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

• Baktofit and Trichodermin.

The principle of action of the drugs is based on the settlement of a fungus in the soil - an antagonist that blocks the vital activity of the fungus Trichoderma lignorum and eats it. For the effective use of drugs, certain conditions are required: they are applied under digging or mulch. The preparations are sold in the form of a liquid or peat substrate and act at temperatures from +5 to +30°C.

The preparations are most effective on acidic soils; they do not work well after liming the soil and adding ash.

• Planzir and Alirin B.

The action of the drugs is similar to the more common fungicide Fitosporin. Used as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. They are safe for people and the environment and increase plant immunity. After digging the soil in the fall, the preparations are applied to the top layer to a depth of 10 cm. The treatment is repeated in the spring, with the onset of consistently warm weather.

• Fitosporin, Phytocid M.

The preparations also belong to the group of microbiological ones, which contain useful spore cultures that destroy late blight fungi. The products have a general strengthening effect on plants, increase immunity and improve growth. Used for treating plants during the growing season and pre-sowing soil preparation.

Soil disinfection is carried out before spring digging in different ways:

• The powder is scattered over the surface of the ridge, moistened by watering and dug up. The consumption rate is set in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
• Water the soil with a solution of the drug (on average from 1.5 to 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

Chemical substances

Important! When using chemicals, you must strictly follow the consumption rates in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and remember that these drugs destroy not only harmful, but also necessary microflora.

• Bordeaux liquid.

A very common means for disinfecting contaminated soil. Add 100-200 g of Bordeaux mixture (1-2% solution) to 10 liters of water. Spend from 1 to 1.5 liters of solution per 1 m² of area. It is used more often for autumn tillage after harvesting plant residues.

• Copper sulfate.

You can treat the soil for preventive purposes after growing nightshade crops, if no severe late blight damage has been detected, in the autumn with a solution of copper sulfate 0.2-0.3% (20-30 g per 10 l), and in infected areas - 0.5 -1.0% (100-200 g per 10 l).

Other copper-containing preparations are used less frequently for soil treatment, but they are much more expensive, although their effectiveness is the same as copper sulfate. They are also recommended for treating plants.

To destroy foci of infection you can use:

• Copper oxychloride solution (CHOM).

This is a contact action drug, that is, it kills fungal spores only through direct contact. To prepare the solution, 40 g of the drug is stirred in 10 liters of water. Mainly used for treating plants during the growing season.

• Oksikhom solution.

The drug is two-component. Copper oxychloride kills contact pathogenic flora and fungal mycelium within the first hours after treatment. The period of this action is about 3 days. Oxadixil works systemically and for a long time (10-14 days), penetrating into the culture, gradually destroying spores. For treatment, dilute 20 g of the drug in 10 liters of water. Spray plants during the growing season.

• Bravo.

It is a contact fungicide that instantly attacks the spores of germinating harmful fungi and protects the vegetable crop for 7-10 days. Resistant to being washed away by rain. It is often used to treat plants and the soil underneath them before flowering, and is also added to holes when planting.

Attention! All chemicals are recommended for soil treatment before plants enter the flowering phase or after harvesting.

Traditional methods

• Zelenka (brilliant green).

For treatment, prepare a solution of 40 drops of the drug and 10 liters of water.

The antifungal properties of iodine are well known. To protect plants, it is used in solution: water (10 l), skim milk (1 l), iodine (20 drops). Most often used during the growing season on plants and soil.

• Serum

Mixed with water in equal parts, the solution is used to spray the soil and plants. To increase the effectiveness of the composition, add a few drops of iodine.

• Kefir.

Add 1 liter of kefir to 10 liters of water, mix thoroughly and leave to ferment in a warm place for two days. The solution is used for spraying soil, seedlings and adult plants at intervals of 7 to 14 days.

• Wood ash.

Used to prepare a solution. First, 3-4 liters of ash are infused in 10 liters of water for 3 days, then the resulting extract is diluted to a volume of 30 liters. Water the soil with the solution, and when spraying plants, add 40 g of laundry soap to make it stick better. To cultivate the soil, dry ash is often scattered over pre-moistened soil. The work can be carried out both during the growing season of plants and during soil preparation.

• Rotten straw.

Rotten straw or hay is poured with water and left for 5-6 days, then 1 tbsp is added. spoon of urea per 10 liters of water and water the soil. Can be used before planting and during the growing season.

How to treat soil in a greenhouse

To get rid of late blight in a greenhouse, the approach must be comprehensive:

• carefully treat all structures with a solution of Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate or potassium permanganate;
• use Fitosporin solution to disinfect the surface of the greenhouse;
• fumigate the greenhouse with sulfur;
• dig up the soil and treat it with a fungicide.

Prevention of late blight in tomatoes

• We remove the leftovers.

Due to the fact that plant debris is a favorite place for spores of the late blight fungus, it is necessary to immediately destroy both plants affected by the disease and potential carriers of the spores.

Such residues should be burned or buried at the edge of the site, where no one will open them, but under no circumstances should they be used when laying compost heaps.

• We disinfect.

Immediately after harvesting plant residues, tubers and fruits, the soil is treated with one of the fungicidal preparations and dug up so that the spores remaining on the surface are not spread to neighboring areas.

• Let's get healthy.

Effective methods for improving the quality of soil and preventing the development of the disease are:

• the use of rye and other green manure crops, which are sown in the affected area and the green mass is plowed into the soil;
• avoidance of excess nitrogen and lime fertilizers;
• maintaining sufficient levels of potassium and phosphorus.

Timely implementation of preventive, agrotechnical measures, removal of plants with signs of disease and disinfection of the soil will not only ensure a good harvest, but also improve its quality characteristics, and minimize the use of chemicals in the fight against late blight.