Causes of potato diseases, their description and treatment, control measures
Potatoes are one of the most common crops grown in the suburban areas of gardeners. Novice vegetable growers think that it is enough to plant this plant and forget about it until the very harvest. However, without proper care, serious potato diseases can appear, which sometimes lead to the death of the plant.
To cure potato diseases, you need to read the description of some of them and choose the most effective remedy for treatment.
Fungal diseases
This type of potato leaf disease is very dangerous as it can spread harmful spores. Thanks to this, pathogens can be found not only on potatoes, but also on planting material and even inventory. Fungal-type diseases begin to actively develop in conditions of high temperature and too humid air. There are several of the most common fungal diseases that can appear on potatoes.
Late blight
This disease is considered the most dangerous and common. After infection of seedlings with late blight, small spots appear on the stems and on the tops of potatoes. Most often, this disease of potatoes appears during the growing season, when all the bushes begin to bloom. The most common signs of illness include:
- brown spots on potato leaves, which may darken in the future;
- the appearance of a small white bloom on the inside of the leaves;
- potato tubers begin to gradually become covered with gray specks.
To prevent the appearance of such a potato disease, you can use a set of special measures. They will help not only get rid of the source of the fungus, but also improve the immunity of the seedlings. For the prevention of late blight, you should:
- periodically use potash fertilizers;
- regularly fertilize plants with solutions made from copper, manganese and bromine;
- once a week spray potato stalks a weak solution of copper sulfate.
If the above measures did not help prevent the onset of potato disease, then you will have to deal with its treatment. You can treat potato bushes using the following tools:
- Bordeaux liquid. To combat the disease, it is recommended to use a 1% concentration of the solution. To prepare the liquid, you must mix the same amount of quicklime and copper sulfate. To treat dark spots, it is necessary to process seedlings every 10 days.
- Oxyhom. This chemical solution will help you quickly cope with late blight. To create a working solution, ten liters of water must be mixed with 50 grams of the substance. It is necessary to process the bushes with the resulting liquid twice a week.
Scab
Another potato disease that gardeners often encounter is black scab. It is quite difficult not to notice this disease, since it has pronounced symptoms. Almost immediately after infection of plants, black spots form on their tubers. A feature of black scab is that it harms the tubers selected for planting.
Dark spots appear at low temperatures and high humidity. That is why black scab is actively developing in the first half of spring. Because of the scab, the tubers grow more slowly and ulcers gradually appear on them. If you do not take any measures, then over time they rot. At the same time, not only the planted tubers rot, but also the root system of young bushes.
Protecting seedlings from this disease of potato tubers is not so easy. To do this, you will have to periodically change the place for planting the plant. Also, to prevent the appearance of black scab, it is necessary to properly plant the tubers. Planting should be done only after the soil has warmed up. Harvesting also needs to be done on sunny days so that there is no high humidity.
Some do not know what to do if small dark spots have already appeared. In this case, you will have to use such means:
- Boric acid. A weak 1% solution should be used to spray the bushes. You need to handle seedlings twice a month.
- Ditan M-45. The drug is intended for processing tubers before planting. During the preparation of the mixture, add 300 grams of the substance to the bucket of water. Then the tubers are soaked for about 10 minutes in the prepared liquid.
Dry rot
In the eastern and southern parts of the country, a disease such as dry rot of potatoes is common. If nothing is done to treat it, then half of the crop may die because of this. The disease begins to develop after the appearance of a fungus on the tubers, which is initially in the ground. The disease begins to spread from below and gradually moves upward. First, the root crop rots at the base, and then rot appears on the top of the seedlings. The disease can appear at any stage of potato growth, but most often rot develops during the growing season.
The most common signs of rot include:
- gradual wilting of the upper part of the bushes;
- darkening of the lower half of the stem;
- in conditions of high humidity, a bloom with an orange tint forms on the bushes;
- the vessels of the plant begin to appear on the stems.
Sometimes small grayish specks appear on the surface of the leaves of potatoes with dry rot. In the last stages of the development of the disease, cavities are formed in the tubers where the mycelium is located.
It is impossible to completely cure the bushes from dry rot, and therefore it is better to think in advance about their protection from this disease. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to spray all tubers with Fitosporin before planting. They can also be soaked in a solution prepared from the Maxim KS preparation. This will help stop the spread of the disease.
Fusarium
Fusarium is one of the most rapidly developing diseases. Fusarium potato wilt can lead to the complete death of the bushes five days after the onset of the disease. First, the fungus begins to damage the root system and eventually appears on the stems. When potatoes are sick with fusarium, their leaves begin to curl and turn yellow. After a few days, they dry out completely and fall off. In parallel with this, black dots appear on the stems, which indicate the spread of rot.
It is impossible to completely get rid of Fusarium and therefore everything must be done to protect plants from it.To do this, greening the potatoes should be carried out, during which the tubers must be kept in the light for about 15 days. They can also be treated with boric acid or copper sulfate.
Verticillosis
Quite often during the growing season, verticillary wilting appears in potatoes. Distinguishing wilt from other diseases is quite simple. After infection, some of the leaf slices from below begin to gradually turn yellow. Over time, their surface becomes covered with light specks. In summer, due to verticillosis, a pinkish bloom may appear on the leaves. Within a week, the stalks of the potato cover with dark small spots, and the plant begins to dry out gradually.
To prevent verticillary wilting, you need to feed the plants with potassium and phosphorus. Also, experienced gardeners recommend periodically fertilizing the soil with wood ash in order to increase the immunity of the seedlings.
Anthracnose
Potato anthracnose is a serious fungal disease that quickly spreads to nearby plants. This is facilitated by rain, wind and even insects. Most often, bushes that have previously suffered from mechanical damage suffer from anthracnose. The main sources of the disease are the remains of infected seedlings and infected seeds.
The ways to fight the disease are very simple. Since it is impossible to cure an already infected plant, you will have to take care of protecting healthy bushes. To do this, you need to get rid of all the seedlings with anthracnose so that it does not move to neighboring bushes. Then all the potatoes are sprayed with a copper solution made from 10 liters of water and 50 grams of the substance.
Viral diseases
Potato viral diseases are more common than fungal diseases. After the appearance of such diseases, the tops begin to deform and change their color. Also, the appearance of viral diseases of potatoes significantly slows down the growth of cultivated seedlings. Diseases of this type are dangerous in that they do not manifest themselves in the initial stages of development. To protect potatoes from viral infections, you need to familiarize yourself with the most famous of them in advance.
Striped mosaic
Plants with banded stem mosaics are easy to distinguish from healthy bushes. Small brown spots or streaks may be seen on the leaves of infected seedlings. Also, such stripes appear on the back of the sheets. Because of this, the leaves become brittle and fall off quickly. In the last stage of the development of the banded mosaic, dark rings can be seen gradually appearing on the tubers.
The appearance of this disease can cause aphids and therefore it is necessary to protect plants from these pests. For protection, you can use a soap solution, which is prepared from 10 liters of water and 250 grams of laundry soap.
Twisting
Potatoes with emerging curling of the leaves must be treated so that they do not die. The main reason why this disease appears is a virus in the planting material. Sometimes pests such as bedbugs or aphids cause leaf curl. The disease spreads rapidly at high ground and air temperatures. Also, its development can accelerate in the absence of irrigation during periods of drying out of the soil. If you do not take any measures to combat the problem, then some of the bushes can rot and because of this, the yield will seriously deteriorate.
Before dealing with rotten and twisted leaves, you need to familiarize yourself with the main signs of the manifestation of the disease. These include:
- white bloom on most of the upper leaves;
- twisting of the lower leaves at the initial stage of the development of the disease and the gradual deformation of the leaves from above;
- the tops begin to turn yellow, and its back is covered with a bloom with a pink tint;
- the sheet of sheets becomes more fragile and breaks even with the slightest contact.
Plants become infected by curling rather slowly.Sometimes this process is delayed for several months. If the potato bushes are infected with this infection, then they will not be cured. The only thing that can be done with them is to completely remove them from the site and burn them.
Phytoplasmosis
Phytoplasmosis or stolbur often infects vegetables such as eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes and peppers. After the appearance of the potato column, the growth of bushes slows down several times, their leaves become smaller and gradually dry. Over time, black-gray dots appear on the leaves. Two weeks after infection, a lot of anthocyanin accumulates in the leaves and because of this they turn purple. All these changes can be seen in pictures depicting plants with phytoplasmosis.
To get rid of phytoplasmosis, many recommend immediately burning all infected plants. However, before that, you should try to cure them with a solution made from karbofos. To create it, you need to stir 40 grams of the substance in a ten-liter container with water. It is necessary to spray the bushes twice a week.
Gothic
Gothic tubers, like many other diseases caused by a viral infection, are accompanied by deformation of the leaves and decaying roots. Infected potato tubers gradually elongate and become cylindrical. The main carriers of this infection are grasshoppers, Colorado potato beetle and bed bugs.
Gothic appears at all stages of plant development. Over time, it spreads from the tubers to the rest of the bushes. The following signs appear on the seedlings:
- the tops turn yellowish after flowering;
- the number of eyes on potato tubers is rapidly increasing;
- infected plants have practically no inflorescences;
- in summer, the roots become speckled and begin to crack.
To prevent the occurrence of this disease, it is necessary:
- water the plants regularly during the formation of root crops;
- periodically treat the bushes with insecticides;
- Before planting, make sure that the seed is not infected with viral infections.
Conclusion
Quite often, viral or fungal diseases begin to appear on potatoes. The fight against them is of interest to many gardeners who have recently started growing potatoes. To quickly get rid of various diseases, you should study their description and methods of their treatment in more detail.
