The main diseases of squash and their treatment

When cultivated, gardeners often lose crops due to damage by bacteria and fungi, as well as as a result of parasite attacks. in and their treatment depends on the pathogen that affects the planting. To combat the disease use chemical drugs and folk remedies.

Bacterial diseases

Like others vegetable crops from the pumpkin family, zucchini are subject to bacterial diseases, and the most common of them is bacteriosis.

A bacterial disease poses a great danger to zucchini culture, causing significant damage to the crop. It is caused by the simplest microorganisms – phytopathogens, it affects all vegetative organs and subsequently can cause the development of wet rot and root cancer of plants.

Symptoms

• extensive brown spots on the foliage, which later turn into holes in the vein area;
• brown ulcers on fruits, leading to their deformation.

During the life and spread of phytopathogenic bacteria, the vegetable stops growth and development, foliage wrinkles and dies, thickening of cuttings and peduncles occurs, plant organs soften and collapse, turning into sodden mass.

Diseases appear when:

• sudden changes in night and day pace Rathur;
• increased humidity of soil and the environment;
• a large proportion of nitrogen in the soil;
• poor-quality harvesting with the abandonment of weeds;
• planting seeds that have not undergone disinfection.

Treatment and preventive measures

It is easier to prevent the appearance of a bacterial disease on zucchini than to treat them.For prevention purposes, properly selected agricultural technology helps, including:

• maintaining moderate humidity in open ground;
• limiting nitrogen-containing fertilizer complexes;
• timely weed removal vegetation;
• preplant seed treatment, for which zinc sulfate is often used in a solution with a concentration of 0.02%;
• regular ventilation of closed heat and greenhouses;
• preventive spraying of landings with copper-containing means of contact or combined exposure (e.g. Example, chlorine oxide in a solution with a concentration of 0.4%).

They treat bacteriosis by first removing affected areas and infected fruits from plants, followed by treatment with 1% Bordeaux liquid.

Fungal diseases

Copper

In common people, coppers, or scientifically anthracnose, is a fungal disease of zucchini that can affect all the plant’s vegetative organs.

Anthracnose is susceptible to vegetables grown in greenhouse and greenhouse conditions.

When cultivated to in open fields this disease rarely manifests itself.

Symptoms

• the appearance of brown oval fragments on leaf plates;
• covering of roots and stems and inflorescences with brown specks with a pinkish bloom.

As the fungus develops, the squashes begin to frown and rot, and instead of brown fragments, holes form on the leaves.

When exposed to the fungus, the fruits begin to rot

When anthracnose affects the root system, the plant cannot be saved.

A number of factors favor the onset and development of the disease:

• excessive watering on open ground during hot weather;
• waterlogged soil and increased humidity;
• nek high-quality cleaning of vegetation remaining after harvesting.

Treatment and prophylactic measures

Preventive measures allow avoiding the appearance and development of fungal anthracnose:

• careful harvesting the sown area in the fall in preparation for the winter season;
• regular destruction of weeds;
• maintaining crop rotation with the correct selection of predecessors and changing the place of planting of related crops every 3-4 years;
• maintaining moderate soil moisture;
• presowing seed treatment, for which they often use a raster of boron, copper and manganese with a concentration of 0.2%;
• watering the foliage as the plants grow with biological products (for example, phytosporin) with an interval of 14 days.

When the initial symptoms of anthracnose appear, they immediately take therapeutic measures: they spray the plants, for which they use Bordeaux liquid (10 g of water 100 g of copper sulfate and 100 g of limestone), colloidal sulfur in the form of a paste with 35% concentration (from 40 to 100 g per 10 l of water) or polycarbocide in a solution with a concentration of 0.4%.

When the fungus infected vegetables grown in greenhouses and hotbeds, structures are disinfected with bleach, diluted 200 g in 10 liters of water. The massive defeat of squash plantings is a reason for their destruction.

Sclerotinia

Sclerotinia, or white rot – fungal infection of squash caused by a phytophage fungus of the same name. It leads to a significant decrease in yield indicators.

Symptoms

• leaf and fruit cuttings, stems and root system are covered with a dense cotton-like bloom of white color, on which fungal spores become visible after some time;
• affected vegetative parts soften, become slippery and die off.

Favorable factors for emergence and development:

• low temperatures while high soil moisture and environmental;
• thickened bush in;
• failure to comply with the basic rules of crop rotation;
• a surplus of nitrogen in the soil.

Treatment and preventive measures

The disease requires immediate treatment

In order to prevent this disease in zucchini resort to:

• disinfection of soil by spilling with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
• calcining the substrate before planting seeds for seedlings;
• regular inspection of plants for rot and timely removal of affected areas;
• foliar top dressing with urea and copper sulfate (2 g of copper, 10 g of urine (10 l of water).

When the primary signs of white rot appear, squash is sprayed with Bordeaux liquid with copper sulphate (100 g of limestone, 10 l of water, 100 g of copper sulphate).

Stopping the fungal propagation process allows dusting the affected areas with mixed equal proportions of copper sulfate and chalk or grinded charcoal.

Basal rot

The causative agents of root rot are pathogenic fungi able to be active in soil layers for a long time.

Disease leads to a slowdown in plant development: vegetables grow smaller in size, foliage grows smaller and becomes yellowish, the ovaries fall off.

Symptoms

• constriction on the roots;
• discoloration of the root neck, the root itself and the stem to brown with their subsequent decay;
• yellowing and deformation of the lower leaf layer;
• vigor of the vessels on the section of the stem.

Favorable factors:

• sharp changes temperature;
• weakened plant immunity;
• watering with low (less than 20 ° C) temperature;
• poor-quality weed vegetation harvesting;
• excess fertilizer application rate.

Treatment and prophylactic e measures

As a preventative measure:

• comply with the basic requirements of agricultural technology;
• give preference to foliar top dressing.

If you find primary signs of root rot when caring for vegetables:

• sprinkle a layer of soil closer to the stem to activate the formation of new roots;
• spray zucchini with copper-based products intended to combat root rot of pumpkin.

The plants affected by root rot are removed, and the place of their previous planting is disinfected with with vitriol.

Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew affects leaves

Powdery mildew has a fungal etiology and affects mainly foliage of zucchini, but in some cases it is observed on the stem and cuttings.

Symptoms

Whitish spots on leaf blades, which subsequently increase in diameter, merge into a single whole and lead to leaf death.

A number of factors contribute to the appearance of powdery mildew:

• waterlogged soil;
• oversubscribed to in the soil of nitrogen;
• poor-quality cleaning of the landing area while preserving weed vegetation.

Treatment and preventive measures

In the fight against powdery mildew use treatments:

• by spraying with colloidal sulfur (20 grams per 10 liters of water);
• with ground sulfur powder (300 grams per 100 square meters of landing area);
• by spraying with sodium phosphate (50 g per 10 l of water).

Minor damage to the foliage by a fungal pathogen is burned with mullein infusion (1 kg per 3 l of water, incubated for 3 days, filtered and diluted one l per 3 l of water) or sprinkled with ground sulfur.

Peronosporosis

Fungal peronosporosis or downy mildew similar to the description should be distinguished from powdery mildew.

Symptoms

• lesions are oily and yellow in color;
• a gray coating appears on the lower part of the leaf, containing fungal spores.

The same factors that contribute to powdery mildew contribute to the appearance and spread of the fungus.

Treatment and prophylactic measures

As a preventative measure, pre-plant disinfection of seed material and compliance with agricultural technology. Root top dressing is replaced by foliar, containing zinc, boron and molybdenum.

When the primary signs appear, the vegetables are sprayed with potassium permanganate in solution (2 g per 10 liters of water), biological products, with mass lesions – fungicides with alternating systemic and contact with an interval of 10 and 5 days, respectively.

Black mold

A fungal disease black mold is often referred to as a leaf burn, affecting all the vegetative organs of zucchini. It does not have a strong effect on yield indicators, however, it leads to a decrease in the presentation of fruits and spreads quickly, remaining on seeds, in soil and technical equipment.

Symptoms

• the appearance of small ones in diameter specks of rounded forms of light brown color, which subsequently merge with each other, form an extensive necrotic spot; rims form around the necrosis;
• over time, the foliage dries up, becomes covered with a web of black plaque and falls off.

They favor the development of black mold:

• sharp temperature changes at night and daytime;
• denser plantings.

Treatment and preventive measures

The disease can kill the plant

The main preventive measure against black mold is seedbed pre-planting and soil disinfection with thorough cleaning of weed vegetation.

Bordeaux treatment can stop the spread of fungal disease a liquid with a concentration of 1% and copper oxychloride with a concentration of 0.5%.

Fusarium

Fusarium wilt, or dry rot, is caused by fungus by releasing toxic substances that damage the vessels of the plant, blocking its supply of food and leading to death.

It has a focal character, penetrating through the soil and existing wounds on the plant.

Symptoms

• deciduous foliage and stems;
• diseased specimens do not bloom or bear fruit;
• the yellowed leaves fall;
• the roots darken.

Favored by the phenomenon of fusarium:

• weedy vegetation;
• dense plantings;
• crop rotation failure;
• an excess of chlorine in the soil;
• poor sustainability of the vegetable crop.

Treatment and prophylactic measures

The fight against fusarium in the rarest cases leads to a positive result and the full recovery of zucchini, therefore it is necessary to prevent this disease:

• disinfect the soil with siderates;
• harden the seed and seedlings;
• spray the squash with biological products.

Cladosporiosis

Cladosporiosis with a fungal etiology is rare in zucchini. Primary signs are characteristic of the middle of the growing season, when flowering and formation of ovaries begins.

Favors the development of cladosporiosis excessively high (90-95%) humidity.

Symptoms

High humidity can cause the disease

• yellow spots of various sizes and shapes;
• light plaque on the underside of the leaf, which becomes brown over time.

Treatment and preventive measures

When dealing with brown spots the truth the main measure is correctly selected agricultural technology.

In the treatment of affected plants, squash are treated with:

• iodine chloride (30 g of potassium, 40 drops of iodine per 10 l of water)
• whey (1 liter per 10 liters of water);
• garlic tincture (1 clove per 10 liters).

Zucchini Viral Diseases

Among the pumpkin viral diseases that are found in the family, there are green mottled and white mosaics. They infect zucchini in rare cases. It manifests itself in the form of a color change of the sheet plate and coating it with a mosaic pattern. The leaf curls and wrinkles over time.

The virus spreads with seeds. Therefore, a presowing treatment of seeds is a preventive measure:

• heating at temperatures up to 70 ° C;
• pickling with potassium permanganate.

Zucchini pest control

Diseases in zucchini often occur due to attack by insect pests. There are:

• gourd aphids;
• sprout fly;
• whitefly;
• spider mite;
• slug.

Settling on plants, they feed on their juices and act as carriers of fungal spores and pathogens, leading to the appearance of diseases.

Causes of occurrence

• non-compliance with agricultural technology;
• thickened plantings;
• high humidity.

Treatment and preventive measures

Treatment of squash from pests and the prevention of their occurrence is carried out for each parasitic insect individually:

• in the fight against the whitefly butterfly, its natural enemies – enkarzia, macrolofus bug, ladybug;
• against the spider mite, zucchini is treated with garlic and onion infusions, decoctions of potato tops;
• mustard, pepper, lavender and sage planted next to them help get rid of slugs;
• when aphid appears, protect zucchini they will help wiping with soapy water, the aphid is also afraid of processing with infusions of tobacco (tobacco taken with water in a 1:10 ratio is infused for 1 day and diluted 1: 3) and with yarrow (1 kg per 10 liters, infused for 2 days);
• a sprout fly will not take root on the plant if the weeds are harvested on time and the soil is dug up to a sufficient depth.

They use insecticides for mass attacks.

Conclusion

In the process of cultivating zucchini garden They often face planting damage with diseases of various etiologies and pests, diseases can be treated and parasites removed in various ways: folk and using chemical agents. The best preventive measure to preserve the crop is prevention.