Bordeaux liquid: application in horticulture, composition and what helps, instructions

It is not necessary to purchase complex fungicidal preparations for the treatment of cultivated plants, and agents that have been used for a long time can be effective. Consider the use of Bordeaux mixture in a garden, a private garden, how to prepare a fungicide, when and how to spray crops (vegetables, fruits, berries, grapes, strawberries), what preparations can be replaced.

What is Bordeaux mixture and how does it work

The preparation consists of 2 components - copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide (in the amount of 960 and 900 g per kg), the product has the formula CuSO4 • 3Cu(OH)2.The liquid can be prepared independently or bought ready-made in a bottle. Acts as a protective fungicide, bactericide and ovicide, has contact action.

Bordeaux mixture is a unique fungicide. It can be used against fungi on various crops - vegetables, berry bushes, flowers, ornamental shrubs, melons and citrus fruits.

The action of the fungicide is based on the effect of copper on fungi. With a preventive and therapeutic effect, copper disrupts the normal course of processes in cells, as a result of which the fungi die. The fungicide begins to act 2 hours after it appears on the surface of the plant, the protective effect on crops lasts for 7-12 days.

Scope of the product and its composition

In horticulture, crops are treated by spraying. The liquid is used mainly for processing orchards, vineyards in early spring and autumn and throughout the season, vegetables are also processed in season.

Trees and shrubs are treated against a number of fungal diseases: fruit rot, scab, clasterosporiasis, rust, spotting, moniliosis, curliness, coccomycosis, anthracnose, septoria, grapes are sprayed from oidium and mildew.

On garden crops, Bordeaux liquid is used against late blight, peronosporosis, macrosporiosis, anthracnose, hernariosis, cercosporosis, rust. It acts on plant tissues softer compared to synthetic agents, does not leave burns. The liquid can also be sprayed on flowers grown indoors, as well as processed inside greenhouses, preparing the space for the growing season.

Cooking rules

Bordeaux liquid is easy to make yourself from blue vitriol and fresh lime. They make two types of solution: 1% and 3%, for their preparation you need to take 100 g of vitriol and lime, or 300 g of both substances.Dilute them in 5 liters of water separately, and then mix them in a bucket, you get a total of 10 liters. Mix two solutions in this order: vitriol into lime mortar, and not vice versa. If you do the opposite, when pouring lime, that is, alkali into an acidic environment, the reaction can be violent, there is a high probability of burns. Pour in the liquid slowly and carefully, stirring constantly.

The correctness of cooking is checked with litmus paper: it should not turn red. If it turns red, the solution is acidic, you can reduce it by adding lime water.

You can also go a simpler way: buy ready-made liquid in a bottle. It is produced by the company "August" in bottles of 100 ml. This is a concentrate, it is diluted in 10 liters in an amount of 100-250 ml. The drug is stored for 2 years. The prepared liquid is not stored, it must be used immediately.

The finished liquid is effective and convenient to use, thanks to which it is still used in summer cottages and private households.

Work time

Bordeaux mixture is used in spring and autumn as a prophylactic, as well as during the season as a treatment.

Autumn

Trees and shrubs are sprayed after the foliage has fallen, in this case the trunks and all branches are subject to processing. Since you need to make a concentrated solution that can burn the leaves, you need to choose the time in the middle or towards the end of autumn.

Spring

Spraying stone fruits sensitive to copper should only be done in spring or autumn, not in summer. Other fruit and berry bushes can also be treated in summer, but the last spraying should be done no later than 2-3 weeks before fruit picking.

Spring can be sprayed before bud break and leaves appear. A weak solution can be processed before flowering, if necessary.

Instructions for using the solution

Spraying shrubs, vegetables, trees is done in such a way as to moisten all leaves from 2 sides, all branches, trunks and stems. It is convenient to use the sprayer. For 1 tree, an average of 2-10 liters is consumed, for a shrub and for 1 sq. m vegetable beds - 1.5-2 l.

Spraying in spring and autumn is done at t above 5 °C. It is desirable to work early in the morning or in the evening, on a day when there is no sun, wind or rain. The final spraying against fungi should be carried out no later than 2 weeks before harvesting.

For pears, apple trees and quince

Applied to young and mature fruit bearing trees. In spring and autumn, a 3% solution is used, before flowering - 1%. The interval between sprayings is 1-1.5 weeks, the last one is carried out 2 weeks before harvesting in the garden.

Grapes

Bordeaux liquid helps with mildew and no less dangerous disease - oidium.As in the case of trees, the vine is sprayed in spring or autumn, before the foliage appears or after it has fallen. If necessary, it can be processed in the summer, with a pause of 1-,5-2 weeks, the last spraying should be done 15 days before the grape harvest.

Gooseberries and currants

In the spring for bushes, use a preparation with a concentration of 3%, in the period before flowering - 1%. Take a break between treatments in 1.5-2 weeks. In the middle of summer, when the berries are harvested, 1 more treatment should be carried out - with a 3% solution.

Strawberries and raspberries

For these crops, a solution of strong concentration is used in the spring with a flow rate of 1.5 liters per 10 square meters. m. After harvesting the berries, spraying is done, but already with 1% liquid.

Tomato

For all vegetables, a highly concentrated solution is not suitable. Apply 1%. Consume 1-1.5 liters per 10 square meters. m. The maximum number of treatments is 4 per season.

Cucumbers, watermelons and melons

For cucumbers, the consumption of the drug is 1.5-2 liters per 10 square meters. m., the frequency of spraying - no more than 3 per season. Consumption for melons and watermelons - 1 liter for the same area.

Potato

For potatoes, the consumption of funds is 1-1.5 liters per 10 square meters. m. The maximum number of sprays is 4 per season.

Ornamental shrubs and flowers

In spring and autumn, shrubs can be sprayed with a 3% solution, in summer - with a 1% solution with a volume of 1-2 liters per plant. For flowers, use only a weak solution.

Onion

Turnip onions are sprayed with 1% liquid up to 3 times per season. Onions on greens cannot be processed with this tool.

Beets

The number of sprays - no more than 3 times per season, with a consumption of 1 liter per 10 square meters. m. Concentration - 1%.

Precautions

Due to the rather pronounced toxicity of the product (class 2 for humans and class 3 for bees), work with the liquid should be in tight clothing, put on gloves on your hands, and wear a mask and goggles on your face. Drinking, eating, smoking is prohibited. After spraying, wash your hands with soap and face. If drops get on the skin or mucous membranes, rinse them with running water.

Bordeaux liquid is forbidden to be combined in the same solution with FOS and agents that decompose in an alkaline environment. An industrially manufactured preparation is stored for 2 years, the solution is not stored for longer than 1 day. It must be used on the day of preparation. The very next day it loses its properties.

When processing beds and gardens, care must be taken to ensure that liquid does not fall on the ground, copper can accumulate in the soil and negatively affect plants in the future.

What can replace

Replace Bordeaux mixture with fungicides containing copper. In the household, you can use the drugs "Oksihom", "Khom", "Kuproksat", "Kumir". They have a similar effect and efficiency, a fairly long shelf life.

Which is better: blue vitriol or Bordeaux mixture

In both preparations there is copper as the main active ingredient. The action and purpose of vitriol and liquid is the same. The differences are that Bordeaux liquid is not as toxic to plants due to the neutralizing effect of lime. It is more resistant to being washed off by rainfall and holds better on the leaves.

Vitriol can only be used for processing in spring or autumn, liquid - and for green plants. It is not recommended to use a solution of vitriol on wet plants, this will cause burns.

The advantages of a solution of pure vitriol include the fact that it can be diluted and stored in a hermetically sealed container for the whole season, this will not work with a liquid. It can also be used to disinfect cellars, wood surfaces, basements, warehouses from mold.

Bordeaux liquid is a time-tested and effective drug. It will help protect plants throughout the season from fungal infections. Agrochemical enterprises produce a ready-made product, in vials, so it is not necessary to prepare it from lime and vitriol. The finished liquid has many advantages: ease of use, accurate dosage, long shelf life. The small package allows you to use the product without the need to store leftovers.