Black leg: how to fight. How to deal with a black leg on seedlings

One of the most common diseases in plants is a black leg. How to deal with it and what to do to prevent defeat of seedlings (namely, it is prone to infection in the first place)?

Description of the disease

Black leg is considered a dangerous disease that affects vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage and many others. It is caused by parasitic fungi that can persist in the soil for several years. In general, the disease is black leg in the sprouts grown in greenhouses and greenhouses. When this disease is affected, the plant has a darkening of the root part of the stem, which subsequently leads to thinning, forming a constriction, decay and then death. Infected stems can survive, but they will lag behind in growth, they will not be able to give a sick and a good harvest.

Causes of the disease

The causative agent of the disease is the black leg is bacteria and fungi that are in the soil, which for the time being do not manifest themselves until the factors that provoke their activity appear. This may be increased soil moisture, lack of lighting, overly thickened plantings, poor ventilation, excessive fertilization or sudden temperature changes. Under these conditions, rapidly accumulating in the soil, pathogens first cover small areas, and then all seedlings are affected by the disease black leg. How to deal with it at the appearance of the first signs, you need to know in advance, in time to suspend and prevent the spread of the disease.

And it is even better to take care of preventive measures that will help to avoid such troubles.

Prevention

The most effective method in combating this disease is soil treatment before planting. Soil mixture, located in the boxes for planting, well watered with boiling water with dissolved in it grains of potassium permanganate. The solution should be of strong concentration, dark pink color. After 3 days, the land is treated with a soda solution (5 buckets of soda to a bucket of water). Seeds are sown in slightly withered soil, because when it is waterlogged, the risk of black leg disease increases substantially.

After sowing the seeds, the box must be covered with glass or film and placed in a room where the temperature is maintained at 18-20 ° C. After the shoots appear, the young seedlings should be weeded out where the planting is too thick. Watering is moderate, do not allow excess moisture in the soil.

In the early stages of seedling development, a very effective method is to cover it with wood ash.

How to get rid of a black leg

If the infection could not be avoided, and despite the preventive measures, a black leg of the seedlings nevertheless showed up, what to do? First of all, it is necessary to carefully remove the damaged plant together with a part of the adjoining land in order to prevent spread of the infection to the nearby seedlings. After that, pour the remaining seedlings with a solution of ash (2 cups per 1 liter of boiling water, 6 hours and pour into a bucket of water). Many gardeners recommend using a mixture of slurry, chicken manure and mullein. This will help increase the resistance of plants.

There are many examples of defeat of seedlings by the disease of black leg. How to deal with it? Carry out watering with special solutions. To do this, use 1% Bordeaux fluid, copper vitriol (5 grams per bucket of water) or a solution of potassium permanganate. Watering is made at the rate of 1 liter per 1 square meter.

With a view to drying the soil, you can pour a mixture of sand and ash. This also contributes to the formation of new roots above the affected area.

Protection from the black leg by the method of hilling

There is another very effective way of how to deal with the black leg on seedlings. It lies in the most ordinary hilling. As soon as the first shoots appear, watering for 2-3 days should be stopped. After the soil is slightly dry, you need to gently round up the sprouting sprouts and only then pour. To exclude conditions for the manifestation of activity of pathogenic fungi, water must be poured into the grooves between the plants in such a way that the stems remain dry. Such maintenance should be carried out during the entire initial period of growing seedlings. When thinning it is not necessary to pull out extra plants, it is best to cut them with scissors, then the root system is less injured.

This method along with a well prepared and balanced soil gives a very high percentage of growing healthy seedlings.

Means for protection

Fighting with a black leg is helped by all possible means of protection, which are used by truck farmers. These are various drugs purchased in specialized stores. For example, "Fitosporin". It is available in various forms: paste, powder, liquid. This composition is recommended to treat the seeds before sowing and spray the diseased seedlings. Able to destroy various kinds of fungi, "Phytosporin" is effective for the prevention of other diseases: late blight, root rot, powdery mildew, peronosporosis. In addition, biological agents "Bactofit", "Phytolavin-300", "Plariz" are used.

"Fundazol" is known for its effectiveness against the black leg. However, the toxic substances that enter into it can harm not only plants, but also humans. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it in the house, especially if there are small children and pets.

A lot of know absolutely safe for health products, helping to cope with the disease black leg. How to deal with it using wood ash, has already been described above. Another use for this egg shell. It is dried, thoroughly crushed in a mortar and the contaminated areas are sprinkled with the powder obtained. Baking soda, diluted at the rate of 1 teaspoon per half a cup of water, watered the seedlings, struck by a black leg.

Observing all the agrotechnical rules, you can grow healthy sprouts, not using chemicals, and get a good harvest.