Tomato gray rot: causes and how to treat

Tomatoes are grown in almost all summer cottages and household plots. Often summer residents are faced with crop diseases , gray rot of tomatoes is one of them. Another name is phomosis.

Symptoms characteristic of the disease, its distribution

First of all, the disease affects the stems. More often the plant is affected during the fruiting period. Gray spots appear that are visible on the leaves of tomatoes and their stems. After a week, they become covered with a touch of gray.

The disease is spreading very fast. Favorable conditions for its development is wet weather. In 3-5 days, the spot grows along the entire perimeter of the stem. In the first week, the fungus does not form spores. The development of necrosis of the cortex and blood vessels occurs inside the stem.

The leaves above the spot begin to turn yellow, and the stem begins to form air roots due to lack of moisture. Then the whole plant withers and disappears.

Any disease is easier to prevent than to cure later. In addition, one diseased plant can infect all neighboring ones. And this, in turn, is fraught with the loss of a large amount of the crop.

Causes of occurrence

The development of the disease begins not only from the transfer of spores to the wind. The cause of rot on tomatoes is the wrong agricultural technique:

• Use of raw seeds. Sometimes these are self-harvested seeds.
• Infected, untreated soil.
• Lack or excess of moisture.
• Insufficient provision of ventilation in greenhouse cultivation.

Following the techniques and rules of planting and growing, they ensure that the plants practically do not get sick.

Types of rot

In order to start an effective treatment, you should correctly determine the type of rot that affected the plants. There are several types of rot:

• Grey rot. Its external signs are immediately noticeable, spots appear on the stems, which are then covered with a gray coating. Plants quickly dry out and disappear, infecting all neighboring bushes.
• White rot. The source of the development of the disease, soil or compost. First of all, areas of the plant that have mechanical damage are affected. It is recommended to steam the soil in greenhouses.
• Root rot. Plants in greenhouses are affected. The disease develops during the entire period of plant growth. A distinctive feature, the root neck turns black, and the root of the tomatoes itself.
• Brown rot. The infection affects areas near the stalks. Small spots form on the fruits, however, everything rots inside. The source of the spread of the disease is the fertilization of the soil with fresh manure.
• Top rot. It spreads very quickly. Symptoms of its development, the appearance of spots on the fruit. Rot spreads on tomatoes in the greenhouse, and in a short period of time destroys the entire crop.

All types of rot mainly affect plants in the greenhouse. Therefore, it is recommended to ventilate greenhouses well, water them in moderation and on time. Since autumn, cultivate the land in greenhouses.

How to treat the disease?

Treat a diseased plant with one of the modern drugs to combat gray rot. These include:

• "Topsin M".
• Byleton.
• "Euparen Multi" 1.5-3 kg per ha.
• Using sodium humate.

Tomatoes need to be processed several times a season. Preventive methods taken in time will help protect plants from infection.

Breeders have not developed a variety that would be resistant to rot. Therefore, summer residents are trying to pay more attention to prevention:

1. Processing is carried out in May, all damaged plants are exposed to it. Reprocessing after 14 days.
2. In July, only those tomatoes that the summer resident suspects of non-compliance with the norm are partially processed.
3. In August. Continuous processing is carried out, be sure to repeat after 14 days.

To consolidate the result, they are treated with a growth stimulator.

The affected areas are treated with a special paste. Do which, on their own, by connecting:

• 10 liters of water.
• 300-350g CMC glue.
• 30-40g fungicide.

Adding chalk results in a paste. Coat the damaged areas, capturing 2-3 cm of a he althy stem. The likelihood of new spots appearing occurs after 2 weeks. It is recommended to re-examine the infected tomato.

Trichodermin suspension is used as a preventive measure. It is used to process sections after removing stepchildren and leaves. When carrying out mass pruning, it is recommended to use spraying. The best time for the disinfection procedure is a clear day, the bushes should dry.

Preventive measures

It is very difficult to cure rot on tomatoes, therefore, measures are taken to exclude its occurrence:

• Comply with agrotechnical requirements for cultivation.
• Properly feed plants by combining fertilizers.
• Harden and disinfect planting material.
• Treat soil and substrates.
• Planted at the optimal distance.
• Comply with the required indicators of humidity, lighting and temperature.
• Use growth stimulants.
• Set up drip irrigation.
• Mulch beds.

For the effectiveness of ongoing measures, it is important to apply them in a timely manner. Being late greatly reduces their effectiveness.

When the first signs of disease appear, the greenhouse should be ventilated more often. Thereby reducing the level of air humidity.

The virus is spread by air.Plants that have wounds caused during harvesting or other events are especially susceptible to its influence. When pinching, the instrument must be sharp, the procedure is carried out in dry weather. All plant residues are immediately removed.

Gray rot on tomatoes is sometimes mistaken by summer residents for didimella or fusarium. Therefore, countermeasures are postponed, the consequences are then much more difficult to correct. Treatment of stains with a special fungicidal ointment, able to protect plants from further development of the disease.

Any protective solution will show itself better at the initial stage. To do this, tomatoes are examined for symptoms every few days. Timely determination of the type of rot will save the bush itself and other crops on the site from death.

Plants that help neutralize infection

In addition to processing the greenhouse in the winter, the beds are planted with the following plants:

• Mustard.
• Calendula.
• Tagetes.

The peculiarity is that they secrete substances that prevent the disease from spreading further.

Folk remedies

Some summer residents categorically do not accept the use of chemistry on the site, for this they are looking for ways to fight based on natural products:

1. Soap is mixed with copper, sprayed with bushes.
2. 5 g of copper sulfate diluted in 10 liters of water.
3. 80 g of baking soda is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
4. 1% boric acid solution is used for spraying bushes.

Every summer resident has the right to choose how to treat damaged tomatoes. An effective way is found over the years.

An important condition for any treatment against gray rot on tomatoes is the use of several methods in combination. This is the only way to achieve maximum results. The main advice of the article, it is better to prevent the disease than to treat later.

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