Powdery mildew on zucchini: control measures and treatment, how and what to process

Growing vegetables has its own characteristics, for example, zucchini, which grow well in the middle zone of our country, do not like temperature changes. The defeat of fungal spores during a sharp cold snap or heavy rains leads to the development of powdery mildew on zucchini.

The disease develops on the leaves and stem and can completely or partially destroy the crop. To avoid this, you need to know what signs indicate infection, and what methods should be used for effective control.

What is it: types of disease and plant lesions

Even using the right farming system and quality seeds cannot guarantee a good harvest. Often plants are affected by various pests and diseases, one of which is powdery mildew. It comes in two types:

1. A disease that develops on zucchini and other melons, in the form of a specific plaque and is directly called powdery mildew.
2. A false disease that most often appears on cucumbers.

The cause of both varieties is a fungus that forms in the soil, with the only difference being that the real disease appears on the leaves from the outside of the plant, and the false powdery infection first affects their inner side and only at the last stage the spots appear on outside.

Before picking up remedies for powdery mildew on zucchini, you need to understand its signs.

External signs of disease

Common signs of the disease are the appearance of white streaks on the leaves. They seem to be sprinkled with flour and at first do not cause much alarm. However, if you do not immediately start treating powdery mildew on zucchini, the disease will quickly spread to the stem and other plants growing nearby.

After a couple of days, a pleasant white coating turns brown. This means that the process has moved to a new stage and can destroy the entire plantation, without allowing the fruits of zucchini and other plants in the garden to ripen.

However, despite the similarity, the signs of the disease in different plants may differ. For example, on squash, powdery mildew causes leaf wilt. This is due to the fact that the white film does not allow the sun's rays to penetrate into the leaf and without nutrients, they simply die off. Fungal spores can be carried by wind or water and infect other plants in the area. To prevent this from happening, you should take the first steps in this disease.

Causes of powdery mildew

The disease actively develops when the weather is hot or rainy. These are ideal conditions for the reproduction of harmful spores of the fungus. If the lesion is large, not only the leaves, but also the lashes of plants begin to wither.

There are many causes of powdery mildew. Often it is provoked by parts of plants that have not rotted from last year, where pathogenic spores can remain.

In addition, you should pay attention to the following aspects:

1. Soil contamination. If there was a fungal mycelium on the site last season, its spores could overwinter in the ground and begin activity with the arrival of heat.
2. Failure to comply with crop rotation rules on the plot.
3. Mistakes in agricultural technology when plowing and tillage.
4. The presence of weeds both in the garden and in the areas adjacent to it. They become a haven for harmful bacteria and disease-causing spores.
5. Mistakes in fertilization. For example, excessive fertilization with nitrogen fertilizers can not only not give the desired results, but also provoke a worsening of the situation. Potash deficiency can also cause plant disease.
6. Sprouts too close together after development can cause water stagnation, which increases air humidity and infects plants inside the lashes. As a result, a favorable environment is created for the occurrence of powdery mildew.
7. A sharp change in temperature, heat or high humidity is also an impetus for the development of the disease.
8. No powdery mildew treatment of zucchini with protective preparations.

Powdery mildew control measures

If the inspection revealed a small number of spots on the affected leaves, indicating powdery mildew, such leaves and shoots should be removed immediately. The first steps should be careful: in order not to shake off the spores of the fungus on he althy plants, you need to carefully put the removed parts in a plastic bag and take them out of the area. It is advisable to burn them immediately.

In the fight against powdery mildew on zucchini, it is imperative to thin out the bed to open access to light for plants and stop feeding for a while. Then treat the remaining zucchini with chemicals or special fees based on folk recipes. Adjust the watering of plants, avoiding waterlogging and drying out of the soil.

How to help the plant at an early stage?

Before getting rid of powdery mildew on zucchini, you should familiarize yourself with the effects of various agents on both plants and humans after consuming the product. And, of course, when choosing seeds, make sure that they are resistant to this disease.

Before treatment with chemicals, the following must be done: carefully study the contraindications for their use, because they will need to be used more than once. For processing, fungicides are most often used, such as Topaz, Fundazol, Quadris and others.

Spraying is carried out with a warm solution. For people who are prone to allergies, it is better to abandon chemicals and use folk methods of struggle. However, even without he alth problems, it is necessary to use chemicals very carefully and in no case eat food after processing until the due date, when the exposure to aggressive components is over.

Popular drugs and their drawbacks

You can fight powdery mildew on zucchini with both folk remedies and medications. Folk recipes will be of particular interest to those who have a negative attitude towards the use of chemistry in the cultivation of vegetables and fruits. However, in the most difficult cases, you cannot refuse to use chemistry, as you can completely lose the crop.

However, here again, spraying should be carried out in accordance with the severity of infection of the entire planting area. Treatment is essential if more than 10% of plants are affected by powdery mildew. In other cases, you can use safer options.

One of these measures is to reduce the lesion by cutting out diseased plant lashes. In this case, the knife or secateurs each time must be lowered into a solution of fungicide and potassium permanganate and cut off several centimeters of a he althy lash.

Funds from the people

Folk remedies as a measure to combat powdery mildew on zucchini are effective in the earliest stages of plant damage.

The most famous among them are:

1. Composition of soda ash and soap. 25 grams of soda are dissolved in five liters of water and 5 grams of liquid soap are added to the solution. The surface soil layer is processed twice with a break of ten days.
2. Potassium permanganate solution. You need to take 2.5 grams of the drug per bucket of water.
3. Infusion of humus, preferably cow. Water and manure are taken in proportions of 3: 1 Infusion of rotted manure (better than cow)Infusion time is at least three days.

There are other equally effective recipes that can be used to prevent and treat powdery mildew on squash leaves and other plants. Their main advantage is safety for humans.

Chemical Methods

You can fight and fight powdery mildew both on zucchini and on other plants by doing chemical treatment. They must be prepared and used strictly according to the attached instructions. At the same time, it is necessary, if possible, to first cut off the ripened fruits, and the ovaries should be treated with a minimum amount of the drug, since they grow very quickly, and it will be impossible to eat them right away. Despite the low hazard class of most drugs, you can’t eat zucchini after such treatment for about two weeks.

Great demand among gardeners are such preparations as a solution of soda ash, blue vitriol and Bordeaux liquid, which contain sulfur and copper, which are detrimental to the fungus. Of course, they should not be used constantly, as addiction will occur, and this remedy will become ineffective.

Prevention

The best way to protect your garden from powdery mildew and other diseases is prevention advice. After all, if such measures are taken in a timely manner, the disease will not appear at all.

And for this:

1. At the end of the season, clean the garden and burn all leaves and other plant debris that can become breeding grounds for diseases.
2. Dig up the soil before winter so that powdery mildew spores freeze out in cold weather.
3. Observe the rules of crop rotation and change the place of planting zucchini and other vegetables every year. In the old place, they can be planted only after four or five years.
4. Weed and thin out the bed, and control watering and fertilizing plants.
5. Pay special attention to the ventilation of greenhouses where condensation is likely.
6. You need to inspect the branches of zucchini as often as possible, especially in hot weather, in order to take timely measures to eliminate lesions.
7. Since the spores of the fungus can be carried by insects, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment of zucchini from powdery mildew with gentle means.

This approach to the problem will help to correctly assess the situation and choose an effective way to deal with it.

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