White plaque on mint: pests and their control with photo

Some amateur gardeners believe that mint does not need care: plant it and forget it. This is an erroneous opinion - like other cultivated plants, fragrant grass responds to care with high yields and does not create problems. If plantings are not paid attention at all, they can get sick and be attacked by pests. For example, the appearance of a white coating on mint indicates the presence of a common disease - powdery mildew. Only timely help will save the situation and allow you to enjoy the inimitable taste of a drink made from fresh leaves, as well as prepare them for future use.

Mint diseases and methods of dealing with them

Man appreciates mint for its taste, pleasant smell and content of nutrients. However, this culture also attracts many pests and pathogens. Having planted spicy grass on the site, you should not leave it without due attention.

Prevention measures:

do not leave plants in one place for a long time;
cut stems after harvest and burn them;
reduce soil nitrogen;
apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Rust

A dangerous fungal disease is ubiquitous. It is expressed in the appearance of orange pads on the back of the leaves, which eventually turn brown.

The onset of the disease is associated with cool weather, high humidity, excess nitrogen in the soil.

Infected plantings need to be sprayed with fungicides, which is permissible only at the beginning of plant development. The degree of risk of the appearance of the disease also depends on the variety of mint.

Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew cannot be confused with anything: a whitish coating on leaves and stems entangles plants like a cobweb. This phenomenon is typical for mature plants. In the future, the appearance of black fruiting bodies filled with spores is observed. The disease is stimulated by the August cooling, heavy dews and an increase in air humidity. The fight consists of spraying the bushes with a weak solution of colloidal sulfur and pollinating with ground gray. In autumn, deep plowing of the site is shown. Interestingly, mint varieties susceptible to powdery mildew are not affected by rust, and vice versa.

Fusarium wilt

Attack of the fungus causes a slowdown in plant growth, loss of elasticity, darkening of the lower part of the stem.In hot weather, plantings dry out, in rainy weather they rot. The risk of Fusarium wilt increases in cold or dry summers in the absence of irrigation. The source of infection is the remains of plants and contaminated soil. Without treatment, most of the crop will die.

Phyllostictosis

Infection is indicated by leaves covered with small round white spots with a brown rim. Later, black dots - pycnidia - form in the center of the spot, and the leaves begin to fall off. The fungal pathogen remains to winter in plant debris and is activated at a temperature of +23 … +28 degrees.

Anthracnose

The disease is expressed by brown spots, gradually turning white in the center of the leaves, which cover all organs of the plant. Severe damage results in leaf fall, twisting and thinning of the stems.

In most cases, the infection hides in plant debris.

Mint grown from seedlings has a higher risk of anthracnose infection. However, this disease is not so common as to cause significant damage to the crop.

Ascochitosis

During the disease, spots with brown pycnidia become visible on the stems and leaves, uniting 2-3. The growth of the bushes slows down, the stems are bent, and the leaves dry up and fall off. Often the fungus moves from catnip or motherwort, so the proximity of these cultures should be avoided.

Septoria

The manifestation of a fungal disease - light spots with a dark border, round or triangular in shape. Black dots with pycnidia form in the middle of the spots. Cracks appear in this place, and the fabric falls out over time. The infection most often affects plantings located in wetlands and places with close groundwater, at an air temperature of +22 … +27 degrees.

Peronosporosis

A dangerous disease that affects leaves and inflorescences. Symptoms are a barely noticeable, gray-purple bloom on the flowers and greenish shapeless spots on the outside of the leaves. The development of the disease leads to deformation and fall of foliage, a change in the color of the inflorescences to brown and their drying. Rainy weather activates mint rot. Infection occurs by retaining spores and mycelium of the fungus in crop residues. Disease chances are reduced in dry, elevated areas exposed to winds.

Growth

The disease caused by microplasma microorganisms manifests itself from the moment of germination. Plants turn anthocyanin, lag behind in growth and do not form a root system. Otherwise, a lot of thinned shoots with hypertrophied inflorescences are formed.

Mint pests and methods of dealing with them

Insect pests, attracted by the bright minty aroma, negatively affect the development of plantings.

This culture has many dangerous enemies, including:

mint flea;
mint beetle;
mint mite.

Mint flea

Annoys mint plantings from the moment of regrowth, making holes in the leaves. Yellow bugs and larvae are activated in warm, dry spring. In favorable seasons, they cause significant damage to the culture. To combat insects during leaf formation, the Aktellika solution is used.

Mint leaf beetle

A small green beetle with a bronze sheen and its larvae gnaw at the edges of the leaves and make holes in them. A large accumulation of the pest can destroy mint plantations.For the purposes of prevention, planting is shown on ridges with wide row-spacings. Effective treatment with infusion of chamomile, hot pepper. In advanced cases, Metaphos or Chlorophos is used.

Mint Mite

Mainly covers the southern territories. It comes to the surface of the soil in May and feeds on the juice of the upper part of the stems until August.

Deep digging of ridges in autumn, burning of plant residues, replanting mint every two years and treatment with acaricides helps to cope with insects.

In addition to these types of insect pests, the dangers for mint are:

Cicadas. They prefer to suck the juices from young seedlings.
Weevil beetles. The larvae eat the root system, the adults gnaw the edges of the leaves.
Meadow moths. A single instance is capable of destroying an entire plant.
Slobbering pennies. Harm is caused by adult insects and larvae that deform the shoots of the culture. They pretend to be foamy lumps located on the stems and in the axils of the foliage.
Wireworms. The larvae of the click beetle gnaw the rhizomes. Remain in soil from potatoes or transmitted from couch grass.
Medvedki. Destroy the roots, causing the mint to die.

The caterpillars of burdock, round-winged moth, meadow moth and cabbage scoop annoy fragrant plantings.

General pest control measures include the use of insecticides if planting damage is too high.

One-time spraying is allowed a month before harvest. This method is used as a last resort!

If good agricultural practices are observed, preventive measures are sufficient to minimize the risk of disease and pest damage to mint.In addition to the methods described above, plantings can be treated with a decoction of celandine prepared from 200 g of leaves per bucket of water (it is kept for a day, after which a soapy solution is added, and the decoction is ready). Some insects are repelled by an infusion of pine needles and a decoction of bird cherry branches.

Infusions can be added to the list of environmentally friendly pest control products: