Diseases and pests of pumpkins in the open field: the fight against them with a photo

It is useful to know how to protect a pumpkin in the open field from diseases and pests. The culture has good immunity, but in the presence of negative factors it suffers from infections and pests. Early detection of the disease and proper treatment can save the plant and crop from death.

Powdery mildew

Poor farming practices are the main cause of powdery mildew on squash. Damp, cool weather accelerates its development. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease spread by spores. Weeds and plant debris in the garden become breeding grounds for infection.Excess nitrogen in the soil and rare watering provoke the onset of the disease.

You can find out about the onset of the disease by the symptoms - a small round white spot on the leaves. With the progression of the disease, a white coating appears on the petioles and stems. The affected areas of the plant turn brown and dry up. In a diseased plant, the process of photosynthesis is disrupted, which slows down the formation of ovaries (fruits), worsens their quality (taste, shape).

Powdery mildew control measures:

• removal and destruction of plant areas affected by the fungus;
• treatment of bushes with a solution of colloidal sulfur - 20 g per 10 l;
• spraying with sodium phosphate - 50 g per 10 l;
• mullein is infused for 3 days (1:3) and the bushes are treated with a solution prepared from 3 liters of water and 1 liter of mullein infusion;
• in exceptional cases, they resort to chemistry - they treat pumpkin bushes with Topaz.

You can choose modern varieties of pumpkin that are resistant to powdery mildew for planting.

Peronosporosis or downy mildew

A disease that looks like powdery mildew. The difference is in the shade of the plaque, if with powdery mildew it is grayish, then with peronosporosis the spots have a purple tint and it is located on the back of the sheet. Yellow spots are visible on the front side of the leaf plate, which quickly darken and dry.

Intensive course of the disease is observed at high humidity and moderate temperature (17-22 °C). Dew and fog increase the symptoms of the disease in plants, their treatment is reduced not only to spraying pumpkin bushes with copper oxychloride. It is imperative to cultivate the soil around diseased bushes. For 10 liters of water you need 40 g of the drug. One liter of solution is enough to process 10 m² of soil.

Anthracnose

You can understand that your pumpkin is sick with anthracnose when signs of the disease appear - yellow-brown spots on the leaves. They have a rounded shape and gradually change color, acquiring a pink hue. The most unpleasant thing about this disease is the unsuitability of the fruit for consumption. The pulp tastes bitter.

With a strong infection, the disease, affecting the root system, leads the plant to death. This pumpkin disease occurs due to a fungus, the fight against it includes a set of measures:

• treatment of seeds before sowing with infusion of ash (20 g per 1 liter of water), they are soaked for 5 hours;
• crop rotation;
• treat soil before planting with fungicide;
• removal of all plant residues in autumn.

Bacteriosis

Bacteriosis of all pumpkin diseases causes the greatest damage, symptoms of the disease: infection of the leaves - angular brown spots and brown ulcers on the cotyledons. Ulcers also appear on the bark of fruits, because of this they become ugly.

Bacteriosis infection affects pumpkin seeds, they become sources of infection.

The root system and stems suffer. Holes appear where there were stains. Bacteriosis is treated with a white liquid obtained by mixing lime (10 g) and copper sulfate (10 g) in water. This mixture should be treated with a diseased pumpkin bush when the first symptoms appear. Plants affected by the disease are best destroyed. Experienced gardeners advise this.

White rot or sclerotinia

White rot (sclerotinia) is considered a common disease that affects pumpkins in the open field during fruiting.The marsupial fungus infects the fruits and other parts of the plant, its spores hibernate in the soil, are carried by the wind, and are activated at high soil and air humidity.

A white coating first appears on the surface of infected fruits, under the influence of infection, the pulp and peel of the fruits soften, they lose their nutritional value. Treatment consists in removing leaves and fruits affected by the fungus. During an outbreak of infection, pumpkins are sprayed with copper sulphate (5%). To prevent white rot, the bushes are sprayed with a solution of urea (10 g per 10 liters of water) and watered only with warm water.

How to deal with aphids on a pumpkin?

Aphids weaken young plants, as they multiply rapidly in a short time. On a pumpkin, aphids form entire colonies, settling on the back of the leaves. The gourd aphid is clearly visible to the naked eye. Twisted leaves on a pumpkin are one of the signs of aphids. These small insects suck out the juice, spoil not only the leaves, but also the buds, and the already formed ovaries.

Adult insects are carriers of many diseases. Weakened plants lag behind in growth, with a strong infection they die, the fruits do not ripen. Gardeners struggle with aphids using folk methods. Use:

• onion peel;
• wormwood and celandine;
• Laundry soap.

To prepare onion infusion, take 200 g of husk, pour it into 10 liters of hot water, insist. Before use, add grated laundry soap.

Wormwood and celandine insist in a similar way. They take 2 kg of crushed raw materials, pour it with a bucket of hot water, insist for a day, add a soap solution and spray pumpkin leaves from all sides. After a few days, the treatment is repeated.

In severe cases, they resort to chemistry. Use:

• Actellik.
• Triphos.
• Karbofos.

Disease prevention

The main diseases of pumpkin are caused by fungi that overwinter in the soil or remain on plant debris. Weakened plants are especially susceptible to disease. List of causes that provoke diseases:

• planting spore-infected seeds;
• densely planted plants;
• frequent, abundant watering, high humidity in the root zone;
• lack of crop rotation, accumulation of infection in the soil;
• presence of weeds in the garden;
• overdose of nitrogen fertilizers.

For the prevention of diseases of gourds, there is a set of agrotechnical measures that have been proven over the years. First of all - crop rotation. Proper planting planning involves the return of pumpkin culture to its original place no more than 1 time in 3-4 years.

Clean area: no weeds during the growing season, complete cleaning of all plant residues in the fall after harvest. Burning diseased plants. Autumn digging of the soil with the obligatory introduction of organic matter (manure, humus, compost).

The right choice of neighbors. Do not plant melons, watermelons and zucchini near pumpkins. Find more useful neighbors: corn, beans. Compliance with the recommended planting patterns plays a big role in the he alth of pumpkins. Tight planting leads to excessive moisture in the root zone and provokes the reproduction of the fungus.

Pre-sowing treatment of seed material is the main preventive measure. By planting seeds infected with a fungus, you are guaranteed to lose your crop, infect the soil and other crops that are susceptible to this type of infection. There are special preparations for dressing pumpkin seeds:

• Karganate.
• Fentiuram.
• Zinc sulfate 0.02%.

Feeding is the basis of the he alth of any plant. It is through root and foliar fertilization (organic, mineral) that gardeners provide plants with the necessary set of nutrients, which allows them to cope with infections of any kind.

Fight disease

It should not be ruled out that in the summer you will notice symptoms of a disease or pest on plants. You can accurately determine the name of the pumpkin disease in the open field from a photo with its signs. It remains to choose the right method of dealing with it - what and how to cultivate the soil and a diseased bush.

Treatment

Powdery mildew	Remove all leaves showing the slightest signs of disease, cook colloidal sulfur solution - dissolve 20 g of the drug in a bucket, spray the diseased bush.
Peronosporosis	Remove the affected areas of the bush, for treatment you need to have copper oxychloride, prepare the solution using warm water ( 10 l), adding 40 g of the drug to it, the recommended consumption is 1 liter per 10 m², cultivate the soil and plants.
Anthracosis	First of all, remove all diseased leaves, stems, fruits, prepare a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or 90% copper oxychloride solution and treat all bushes, even he althy ones.
White rot or sclerotinia	The disease progresses in hot, dry weather; 0.5% solution. and treat the bushes growing nearby with a solution prepared from a mixture of copper sulphate and lime, add 10 to a bucket of water g of each remedy.

Pumpkin suffers not only from diseases, but also from pests.You need to be able to help the plant in time, a large number of pests leads to the death of the plant, especially in the early stages of their development. Alternative methods of struggle are considered safe for fruits, they are effective in the early stages of infection.

To combat aphids and spider mites, you need to have an infusion of onion peel, you can spray the bushes for prevention and in the first days after infection. The infusion is easy to prepare: pour 200 g of dry husks with 10 liters of water, and insist for several days. Spraying bushes with onion peel is especially effective in hot, dry weather.

Ordinary soapy water helps with aphids. One 200-gram bar of laundry soap (sliced with a knife or grated on a coarse grater) should be added to a bucket of water.With a massive defeat of the bushes, you have to resort to chemistry. You can use Karbofos. The solution is prepared from water (10 l) and Karbofos (60 g).

One conclusion can be drawn. If you want to eat he althy pumpkin fruits without using chemicals when growing it, do not neglect preventive measures:

• treat seed before planting;
• do not forget about the annual autumn tillage, which is not only about removing debris, it involves the application of organic and mineral fertilizers;
• feed the pumpkin with complex mineral fertilizers during the season;
• kill weeds.

Using these simple tips, you will always have a good harvest of he althy fruits that will be well stored even in a city apartment.

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