The use of copper and iron sulfate for the processing of cucumbers
Cucumbers are treated with copper sulfate for soil disinfection, plant nutrition, to combat late blight, rust, scab, mold, fusarium. Fungicide is used to fertilize poor sandy soils and peat bogs, and prevents water bloom in artificial ponds.
Why is a fungicide dangerous?
Copper sulfate should be used with extreme caution, in large doses it can damage flowers and cucumbers, and burn leaves. Even a few milligrams of blue powder, once ingested by an animal or human:
- Itching and burning.
- Lead to the appearance of a rash.
- Irritating to mucous membranes.
Fine dust of copper sulfate, penetrating into the respiratory tract, provokes a strong cough, which often ends in nosebleeds. After using a fungicide, sometimes a person vomits.
What does copper sulfate fight against?
Ions of the substance destroy lipoproteins and enzymes that make up the cells of fungi and bacteria. These microorganisms cause various diseases in plants. Almost all summer residents know how to spray cucumbers. Copper sulfate solutions do an excellent job:
- with root rot;
- fusarium;
- black leg;
- melon aphid;
- anthracnose.
Ordinary mosaic affects the leaves of plants, they acquire a light shade and curl. After watering with cold water, ulcers often form on the fruits of the culture, which is typical for olive spot. To save cucumbers from such a disease, you need to spray them with a fungicide or Bordeaux mixture.
Treat the bushes with copper sulfate for anthracnose, when the leaves are covered with brown spots, and ulcers form in their place. Such a disease develops when fungal spores enter the ground.
Sometimes a gray fluffy bloom appears on the fruits, and the bush begins to wither. This phenomenon occurs when, due to excessive watering, the soil becomes waterlogged. To prevent this from happening, you do not need to densely plant crops in the greenhouse. Airing and spraying with fungicides helps in the fight against gray mold.
With strong jumps in temperature and excess moisture, brown spots are formed on the stem, quickly spread, which leads to the death of the rhizome. To prevent the appearance of such rot, the earth must be treated with ash, mixing it with chalk. The use of copper sulfate prevents the infection of other plants. You can soak cucumber seeds in its 2% solution.
In a liter jar of water, you need to pour 2 tablespoons of powder and 6 ash. After infusion, the agent is used to process the stems. This method allows you to defeat root rot.
How are solutions prepared?
Bordeaux liquid is obtained from copper sulfate. To do this, pour 100 blue powder into a glass or plastic container. Dilute it in 3 liters of hot water, then add 7 liters of cold water.
So that the composition sticks well to the leaves, it is combined with slaked lime, which covers a quarter of a bucket, pour water and close. After a while, the solution is mixed and settled for three days.
When using copper sulfate for cucumbers, it is important to maintain the correct proportion. To cope with fusarium and root leg, you need to take a teaspoon of this powder, superphosphate and zinc sulfate and dilute in a 10-liter bucket. You need to water the bushes with this solution several times.
Iron vitriol effectively fights against fungal infections and mold on plants, it differs in composition from copper and otherwise affects the growing season. The use of a fungicide allows:
- Destroy insect pests.
- Improve the formation of chlorophyll in the leaves.
- Get rid of scab, phytophthora, rot.
Ferrous sulfate is sold in stores as a coarse greenish powder. To prepare the composition, the product must be diluted in water. The capacity cannot be a metal bucket, only plastic or glass dishes are suitable. To spray plants from gray rot, 30 g of powder is dissolved in a liter of liquid. 5% ferrous sulfate is used to destroy pests.
Chlorosis can kill cucumbers. The infection is carried by insects, pollen during flowering. The diseased bush loses the ability to photosynthesize, yellow stripes appear on the leaves, and they die.
To combat chlorosis, 50 g of ferrous sulfate is dissolved in a bucket of water and used to protect plants. The culture is processed at least 5 times, and the signs of chlorosis disappear.
Elimination of peronosporosis
The most dangerous diseases of cucumbers include powdery mildew. With a sharp drop in air temperature, the leaves become covered with oily spots. A violet bloom forms on their inner side. After rain and watering, the spores of the fungus germinate, and the bush dries up in a week or two. When the first spots appear, 6 grams of copper sulfate must be diluted in half a bucket of water and add 3 liters of milk whey. This remedy must be sprayed on every sick bush.
When the first flowers are formed on the culture, no chemical treatment should be carried out. For this purpose, a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid is used. Severely affected leaves are removed, soaked in a bucket of water, tsp. copper sulfate, mix the composition with 50 g of colloidal sulfur. The plant is sprayed several times.
Fertilizer application
Soils are processed with copper sulfate, which lack this trace element - sandy, clayey, podzolic, peat. No more than 2 g of powder is taken per bucket of water. With a shortage of iron in the soil:
- The growth of crops is slowing down.
- Young shoots perish.
- Leaves change color;
- The fruits are falling.
Before preparing the beds, vitriol is introduced into the ground along with compost in a ratio of 1 to 100. Spraying also improves the composition of the soil. The first time treatment with iron sulfate is performed when the cucumber seedlings are moved into open ground. In cool and rainy summers, the culture is fed every 2 weeks.
Precautions
When using both ferrous sulfate and copper sulfate, it is necessary to protect the eyes and respiratory tract, wear rubber gloves on your hands. Fungicides can burn the skin and cause irritation. In case of contact with the face area, you must immediately wash. The solution must be prepared in a respirator. Funds from vitriol are dangerous for bees when insects fly out in large quantities to collect nectar. Store such preparations away from food, in a place inaccessible to children.
Copper is not absorbed into fruits, cucumbers and melons can be consumed 5 days after processing the leaves. They just need to be rinsed with running water.
Iron vitriol copes with most diseases affecting vegetables and fruit plants.
Can you please tell me what kind of disease a cucumber has?