How to deal with late blight on tomatoes in a greenhouse and open field
Phytophthora appears most often on tomatoes. This disease affects young and adult plants. In order for the cultivation to be without problems, and the crop to please with quality, you need to know the preventive measures and methods of struggle when the disease has already begun to spread.
Signs of infection
Late blight is also called brown rot; it affects the vegetable crop, which belongs to the nightshade. It is difficult to fight it, since it is impossible to cope with the fungus in simple ways. Therefore, it is better to focus on prevention. The spores that cause the disease live in the soil, on the tops of the last crop, in garden tools, all year round.
To know how to deal with late blight on tomatoes, you need to find out what caused its development. The likelihood that late blight of tomatoes will appear on the beds depends on some features:
- the climate that prevails in the region;
- weather conditions at the time of plant growing;
- the timing of the appearance of the fungus (the younger the bush is, the more destructive the disease is);
- the degree of resistance of the selected variety to diseases;
- carrying out protective measures at various stages: treatment of seeds, soil, seedlings, adult seedlings.
The first symptoms of late blight on tomatoes are manifested by a white bloom on the inside of the leaves. Therefore, the problem is difficult to detect at the first stage. Spores spread quickly and in three days the entire plant becomes infected. Signs of late blight look like black spots on the leaves, stem, and fruits.
Identifying the cause
Often late blight on tomatoes develops due to improper care. The provoking factors include:
- long rains, foggy weather;
- excessive watering that does not allow the soil to dry out;
- excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers;
- lack of trace elements in the soil;
- dense plantings, not keeping the distance between the planted bushes.
For greenhouse tomatoes, late blight is also terrible. In a confined space, infection appears more often, since the composition of the soil remains constant. It is necessary to regularly ventilate the room, and reduce the humidity in the air if a problem occurs.
How to protect tomatoes, you need to properly care for vegetables. Fertilize, loosen the soil and remove weeds on time. Water as the soil dries up. If the beds are planted with seeds, then thinning must be carried out at least twice. When transplanting seedlings, you need to maintain a distance of 50 cm.
Spores do not like sunny, hot weather. Therefore, at this time, their activities cease. But as soon as the rains begin to pour, their distribution reaches a maximum.
How to deal with late blight on tomatoes, you need to consider several points.The plant should be watered in the morning, so that in the remaining time of the day the moisture is absorbed by the roots, and the excess evaporates. It is necessary to pour water under the root, avoiding contact with the green part of the seedling.
The spread of the disease is observed in the second half of August, when the weather becomes cool and damp. Early varieties of tomatoes, which have time to ripen by the end of August, are most protected from late blight in open ground. They are less susceptible to late blight.
Under unfavorable conditions, spores begin their activity and fall on greenery along with streams of moist air. How to protect tomatoes from phytophthora, mulching will help. Straw, chopped grass, peat, sawdust are well suited as mulch.
To prevent black spots from appearing on tomatoes in the open field, they must be planted at a great distance from each other. In this case, air and light will hit any areas in sufficient quantities.
Preventive actions
To prevent the infection from destroying the crop, it is better to start fighting it in advance. How to cultivate the land as a preventive measure?
- Prevention of late blight of tomatoes begins to be taken in the fall, when the crop is harvested. The tops, which remain from vegetable crops, must be removed from the garden plot.
- If there is an excess of lime in the ground, it is recommended to add sand.
- For three years, seedlings should not be planted in the area where eggplants, potatoes or peppers used to grow.
- Before planting seeds or seedlings, the soil must be watered with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- To prevent diseases, next to tomatoes it is useful to plant garlic and onions.
- Spraying young sprouts with an infusion of garlic helps. For cooking, cloves of garlic and plant tops are suitable, which are crushed and poured with water. Leave to infuse for two days.
- Fitosporin can be bought at a specialized store. The composition contains only natural ingredients that do not harm plants. Spraying with a diluted solution is carried out after 1.5 weeks.
If tomatoes are supposed to be grown in a greenhouse, then the whole room must be processed, including the ground. Prevention of late blight on tomatoes in a greenhouse involves the following activities:
- the top layer is removed, approximately 18 cm, and a new layer of fresh soil is filled in;
- it is useful to plant dill, calendula, mustard, as they fertilize the soil and disinfect it;
- phytosporin or copper sulfate can be used as a treatment for open ground (the activity of the fungus is suppressed in the cultivated land).
The fight against late blight on tomatoes in a greenhouse or in an open area can be carried out using copper wire. Copper contains many trace elements, it also participates in the synthesis of chlorophyll, in the respiratory and metabolic processes. With a lack of copper, plant growth stops and immunity decreases. Description and treatment using this method is not difficult.
Copper wire from late blight on tomatoes will increase the plant's resistance to this disease. The usual cable is freed from the outer sheath and the wire is cut into strips of 4 cm. This copper strip is pierced through the stem of each seedling.
From late blight in a greenhouse, you can use a piece of copper, which is placed under an adult plant. In this case, with each watering, components important for the plant will enter the soil.
Ready-made products from the store
When phytophthora is found on tomatoes, how to deal with it? You can use purchased drugs for phytophthora based on chemical components. Tomato processing can be carried out using tools such as Quadris, Boric acid, Hom, Bordeaux liquid. After processing with these drugs, it is impossible to pluck the fruits for about three weeks.
How to save a plant from late blight comes to the rescue with biological preparations. They include beneficial microorganisms that fight disease-causing flora. After them, vegetables can be eaten, but only after washing thoroughly. Tomato protection can be carried out with Fitosporin, Trichophyte, Guapsin.
Hom does not cope with the large area of phytophthora distribution, but it perfectly prevents the problem. After processing, a film is created on the leaves, which prevents the penetration of bacteria inside. The active substance is copper oxychloride. Dissolve 40 g of the drug in a bucket of water. You need to spray in calm, dry weather. After spraying, the vegetable crop will be protected for two weeks.
Reviews about these preparations for processing tomatoes in the open field are mostly positive: “I always process vegetable crops at the beginning of summer with Hom. I have never encountered late blight. Now I advise my neighbors in the country to use this remedy, it will definitely save you from many diseases. "
Healing actions using folk recipes
If it was not possible to prevent late blight on tomatoes, and black spots were noticed on the leaves, then you need to start the fight as soon as possible, otherwise the risk of losing the crop will increase every day.
Treatment of late blight of tomatoes begins with getting rid of infected bushes. It is recommended to uproot the affected plants and remove them away from the garden. If the bushes grow in a greenhouse, then after cleaning it must be ventilated. The remaining bushes must be treated with chemical or natural compounds.
Folk remedies for late blight on tomatoes help to fight this type of fungus. At home, you can independently prepare healing solutions from natural products. Than to spray tomatoes from late blight, the components that every housewife in the house has are suitable.
- Treatment of tomatoes from late blight can be carried out with table salt, which suppresses the activity of bacteria. It is necessary to dissolve a glass of salt in water. Spraying the green part of the plant is carried out after removing the infected parts. The salt film prevents bacteria from spreading.
- Iodine solutions with milk whey are popular. Iodine from phytophthora helps to disinfect the surface, stop spore multiplication and prevent re-infection. A liter of whey is diluted in a bucket of water and mixed with 20 drops of iodine. The components are able to saturate the plant with trace elements and prevent the growth of bacteria. Spraying is shown once a week.
- If it is decided to fight late blight on tomatoes with folk remedies, then you cannot do without a recipe based on live or dry yeast. Thanks to yeast, not only the fungus disappears, but also the development of the vegetable improves. You need to water the solution weekly.
- How to get rid of phytophthora on tomatoes, an infusion based on wood ash helps. The ash is poured with water and insisted for three days. Before watering, the solution is diluted with water and crushed soap is added.
Many people advise using wood ash: “Get rid of rot and other infections by sprinkling with a dry protective compound or infusion of wood ash. After it, the plant begins to develop better and does not get sick. "
The fight against late blight on tomatoes with folk remedies is absolutely safe, and the components that make up the most popular recipes can get rid of the problem for a long time.
You need to know how to fight folk remedies against infection. It is imperative to follow the recommended dosages. Overdose or improper preparation of many components can lead to rotting of the root system.
Other ways to fight
How to treat tomatoes from late blight? Treatment of late blight on tomatoes can be carried out with time-tested fungicides.
- Furacilin from late blight on tomatoes has been used for a long time. The solution has proven to be effective. Take one tablet for one liter of water. The first time it should be sprayed before flowering, then during the period of ovary formation and the last time during the formation of the first fruits.
- Protection of tomatoes from late blight is carried out with a composition based on copper sulfate (60 g) or calcium nitrate (30 g). The selected component is poured with water and the bushes are treated before flowering.
- How can you deal with late blight on tomatoes in a greenhouse? You can process tomatoes with Trichopolum. The medicine is an antibiotic that is capable of fighting many numbers of disease-causing bacteria. Take one tablet per liter of water. It is recommended to use the resulting composition every two weeks.
- Metronidazole is used against late blight. It is better to spray the plant in early summer. Two weeks before the harvest, the procedure is performed again. Dissolve 15 tablets of Metronidazole in a liter of water. The prepared solution is poured over the soil, you can lubricate the tomato leaves.
The earth after phytophthora must be treated. To kill phytophthora spores, fungicides and biological products are used. Chemicals need to be applied in spring, biologicals are allowed to be added to the soil at any time, except for the beginning of flowering. At this time, insects fly to the plants, and the composition of the preparations can be harmful to them.
