Experienced potato growers and gardeners, amateurs try to make every effort to obtain an abundant harvest of potatoes. They carry out a set of measures for caring for plants, including watering, feeding, and the fight against insects and diseases. If all the work is done competently, then you should not be afraid for the quality of tubers. Sometimes the weather violates the plans for plant care and a blackened potato top may appear, which indicates that the plants need to be urgently treated.
- When the tops change color
- Phytophthora <
- Alternariosis
- Fusarioz
- Rhizoctoniosis <
- Black leg
- Fight against diseases potato
- Folk methods
- Prevention <
- Processing of the potato plot
- Conclusion <
Causes of blackening the tops of potatoes
When the tops change color
Natural see on the color of foliage occurs in technical ripeness of potatoes ready for harvest. In the late summer, the bushes dry out, the leaves turn yellow-brown and may fall. This is a sign of healthy plants and quality tubers.
If the potato tops wilted and turned black at the height of the growing season, then we can assume that the plants are affected by the disease. Pathogenic changes can be caused by diseases such as:
- late blight and tubers;
- fungal alternariosis;
- dry rot;
- black scab;
- black leg.
Black tops and potato leaves turn black, then they dry or rot. The formation of chlorophyll is disrupted in the cells, and nutrients do not enter the tubers.
late blight
The most dangerous among all diseases is late blight.
The disease begins by the penetration of oomycete (a microscopic organism), plant cells. The rapid multiplication of this parasitic organism leads to rapid infection of the entire area with potatoes.
The first, with the disease, the leaves suffer and its signs can be easily detected. A fluffy whitish coating appears at the bottom of each leaf blade, gradually expanding and turning into brown wet spots. If the weather is wet, the bush rots completely, and in dry and hot weather the plant dries up.
Hitting the aerial part of the plant, oomycete, moving through the capillaries of the tops, moves into the root system and infects the tubers. They are also stained, rot and smell unpleasant. The disease spreads by getting infected meltwater or sporangia on the site and is carried on shoes and tools.
Alternaria
This fungal disease begins a couple of weeks before the buds form when the potato grows vigorously.
Necrotic black spots occur on the lower leaves and spread up the stems.
Fungal diseases
Save the crop practically impossible because, penetrating into the tubers, the fungus destroys the structure of the pulp. Fruits rot and cause soil infection by pathogenic fungi. Disputes reach the site as well as the causative agent of late blight.
Fusarium
The cause of this disease is a fungus that invades the plant tissue during the period of mass opening buds.
The leaves dry from the bottom up, twist and fall off.
The infected tubers, when stored, are covered with dry rot, black spots appear on them. The period of intense damage falls in the middle of winter.
Rhizoctoniosis
The fungus of the black scab penetrates the vessels and capillaries of the plant.
The veins on the stems and leaves become brown. A young plant can completely rot, and lignified shoots thicken and dry.
On tubers, it is difficult to notice a lesion by the fungus. His sclerotia are like small clumps of mud. But if the dirt is easy to wash off, the spore colonies are firmly attached to the peel.
Blackleg
In rainy weather this disease most often develops.
It strikes young shoots at the base of the bush.The tops and leaves turn black, become covered with fluffy rot and die, becoming a source of a new wave of disease.
The plant begins to rot from below, black damp spots appear and the nutrition of tubers that have started to stop is stopped. Therefore, the fruits rot, barely appearing. If the stolons do not have time to form, then the aerial part and the root system decay completely.
Fight against potato diseases
When the first signs of disease are detected, it is necessary to immediately begin to treat the plants. Various methods of saving potatoes are suitable for this.
- Spray with a solution of Bordeaux mixture.
- Apply copper chloride for foliar treatment.
- They treat plants with folk methods.
- Protect planting with chemicals.
In a small area, you can remove the affected parts of plants and then process the tops of potatoes. It is not possible to do such work on the industrial areas of potatoes.
Solutions of Bordeaux mixture and copper chloroxide are prepared according to the instructions. Spray the leaves very carefully, capturing both sides of the leaf blade. Repeat the procedure every 7 days.
Alternative methods
The alternative methods of treatment include treating the bushes with such substances as:
- milk;
- whey;
- water infusion of garlic;
- iodine solution;
- tincture of trichopolum on superphosphate.
Dairy products are diluted with warm water 1: 1 and sprayed on the plot, covering all surfaces of the bush and leaves.
Chopped garlic is poured with water 1: 1 and infused at room temperature 2 days Filter and dilute with water 1:10. After this, the plants are sprayed.
Sometimes iodine treatment is combined with the spraying of milk or whey solutions. When using one iodine and when combining it with other drugs, it is necessary to introduce 15 drops per 1 liter of liquid, which will be enough not to burn young leaves and shoots.
A weak superphosphate solution is insisted for 1 day and 1 tablet is added to it Trichopolum on 1l. Mix and process plants well.
Prevention
Copper kuparos
will help. How to treat plants, it is better to prevent the development of pathogenic fungi and viruses. To do this, you must follow the rules for preparing the site and seed material.
To disinfect the soil, Fitosporin-M is used, it is prepared according to the instructions on the packages. You can shed the soil with a solution of copper sulfate, a concentration of not more than 1%.
Before planting potatoes, it is advisable to plant green manure in the fall. The best predecessors of potatoes are legumes such as beans, beans and peas. You can also sow winter cereals or white mustard.
When planting tubers, they are pretreated with copper sulfate. For 1 liter of water, 0.3 g of substance is needed. You can use the chemical drug Maxim, and for disinfection with organic biofungicides, choose Agat-25K. It disinfects tubers and stimulates the formation of sprouts.
Processing a potato plot
After emergence, you can begin to work on protecting plants from viruses and fungi. Prevention from diseases, by any of the preparations, must be carried out during the growing season of potatoes, with interruptions of 2 weeks.
A good result is the mulching of ridges with chopped straw or hay. In this case, a hay stick develops in the mulch, which can destroy sporangia of fungi of any kind.
After harvesting, tubers should not be left to dry directly on the site. It is better to pre-prepare the shaded place and transfer the potatoes there. The entire tops and root system of plants needs to be burned, even if you know that there are no pathogens in your area.
Conclusion
When examining methods to combat such dangerous diseases, we found out that it’s best to do By following all the recommendations for caring for potato plantings, protecting young bushes during the budding period, you can save the tops and prevent the development of viruses. Healthy bushes will give a full crop of tasty and healthy vegetables, which can be prepared in different ways.
