Powdery mildew on cucumbers: control measures, treatment and prevention

Table Of Contents

Description and signs of the disease
Cucumber Disease Prevention
How to deal with powdery mildew folk methods
Cucumber chemicals
How to deal with downy mildew

Growing various crops, gardeners often encounter various plant diseases that adversely affect the crop. Powdery mildew on cucumbers is a common agricultural disease that affects plants. There are many ways to cope with the disease, but the most effective is the prevention of powdery mildew.

Description and signs of the disease

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease of vegetables that affects stems and leaves. Mushrooms populate the epithelial cells of the plant and contribute to the formation of mycelium - this is a white coating. The incubation period of fungi lasts from 3 to 5 days.

Favorable conditions for the appearance of powdery mildew are abundant humidity and warm weather. If in the summer with warm weather it rained for several days in a row, then after a few days you can notice a white coating, and then yellowed leaves.

The most favorable temperature ranges from +16 to +22 degrees. It also requires a lot of sunlight to infect. Sudden changes in temperature during the night and day weaken the immunity of cucumbers, which contributes to the rapid infection of powdery mildew.

In addition, powdery mildew appears when:

Heavily thickened plantings of vegetables;
A large amount of nitrogen in the soil;
Overdrying or vice versa, transfusion of soil;
Water the beds when the topsoil is still wet.

A damaged plant looks like this:

A white fluffy coating appears in the form of spots on the leaves and stems of cucumbers;
Wilting leaves;
Decrease in yield;
Leaves become curled and then fall off.

For the treatment of powdery mildew on cucumbers, you can use folk methods that are not inferior in effectiveness to chemical agents. They are also safer.

Cucumber Disease Prevention

The most effective way to deal with vegetable diseases is prevention. It is enough to follow the simple rules for growing and caring for cucumbers and you will never have to treat plants for powdery mildew. It will take much less time for preventive actions than for the fight against an already emerging disease.

For planting, you need to choose only high-quality seeds. Before sowing in the soil, they must be disinfected.
Before planting, both seeds and seedlings in the soil, you need to ensure that the soil is warm. The minimum soil temperature should be +12 - +16 degrees.
Seedlings should be planted in pre-prepared soil. The soil is carefully dug up, all weeds are removed and watered with a solution of potassium permanganate. Then they mix it with manure and only then plant seedlings.
All plant residues after harvest are burned away from the site.
It is recommended to choose cucumber seeds that are disease resistant.
The beds are regularly weeded. Weeds not only prevent vegetables from growing, but also carry diseases.
Sick leaves should be disposed of immediately so that the fungus does not spread further. They should be removed as soon as possible.
Regular fertilization. Top dressing should be applied several times per season.
It is important not to forget about crop rotation. Every year, the place for sowing cucumbers should be changed. This will prevent re-infection of vegetables with powdery mildew. If the soil has been infected, then crops that are immune to powdery mildew should be planted in such places.

Ways to prevent disease are always the most effective way to save the crop.

How to deal with powdery mildew folk methods

You can meet powdery mildew not only on cucumbers, but also on other vegetables. It most often affects leaves, less often - stems, roots and fruits. Immediately after the first signs of powdery mildew appear, measures must be taken to treat cucumbers. To do this, you can use folk remedies.

Measures against powdery mildew on cucumbers:

Soap and wood ash solution

You can cure cucumbers with laundry soap and ash. Grate soap and mix with 200 gr. wood ash. Pour warm water over everything and mix thoroughly to dissolve the soap. Treat bushes 3 times a week.

Powdery mildew soda

You can cure powdery mildew cucumbers with soda. You need to take 100 gr. soda, 75 gr. vitriol and 10 liters of water. Mix all ingredients and process cucumbers. It is necessary to water the foliage with soda liquid first of all.

Garlic

How to deal with powdery mildew on cucumbers with garlic? Chop the garlic cloves along with the herbs and add water. Leave to infuse for 12 hours. Then spray cucumber leaves for two weeks. Infusion can also be watered on the part of the earth where cucumbers grow.

Mullein

On cucumbers, the fight against powdery mildew can also be carried out with the help of rotted mullein. Using this tool, cucumbers can be saved from death. Mix 1 part mullein with 3 equal parts water. Mullein should be insisted for 3 days. You can process bushes both in open ground and in a greenhouse.

Kefir

If cucumbers are not treated in time, they will turn yellow very quickly. To save the leaves, kefir is used (you can even take expired). Foliage is watered with kefir every 3 days.

Potassium permanganate

If cucumbers have a white coating, then potassium permanganate will help to cope with it. 2 gr. dilute potassium permanganate in 10 liters of warm water. Spray cucumbers with the resulting solution for 2 weeks. If the plaque does not disappear, then spraying can be continued.

Cucumber chemicals

In order to get rid of powdery mildew, a large number of chemicals have been created. Preparations can be purchased at any gardening store.

Recently, biofungicidal preparations are gaining popularity. They are safe and non-toxic. Biofungicides can be used even during the formation of ovaries and fruits. There will be no adverse effects on human he alth.

What drugs help get rid of powdery mildew:

Fitosporin

Fitosporin is one of the most popular remedies that are used to combat vegetable diseases. Phytosporin incorporates biofungicides, which are based on bacteria. It is with their help that the use of Fitosporin slows down the growth of mycelium of fungi.

Topaz

If the yellowing of the leaves has begun, then Topaz is used. Get rid of powdery mildew with this remedy for one week. But it is worth remembering that Topaz is toxic to humans, so it is better not to touch them during the treatment of cucumbers. The active substance is penconazole. For 10 liters of water, only one ampoule is required. You can spray the foliage on cucumbers with a freshly prepared solution. The residue after spraying is poured out. Foliage should be sprayed every two weeks.

Tilt CE

Tilt KE will help get rid of floury mildew. Suitable for spraying in the greenhouse. The active substance of this drug is propiconazole, which inhibits the formation of fungal spores. Available in the form of an emulsion.An increase in temperature enhances the effect of the active components of Tilt CE. To protect plants from the harmful effects of fungi, it penetrates directly into the tissues. For 10 liters of water you need to take 40 gr. funds. A few hours after spraying, a protective layer appears on the plants. It lasts over two weeks.

How to deal with downy mildew

In addition to powdery mildew, there is also downy mildew. The disease also affects mainly leaves. The main difference between these two diseases is that with downy mildew, the leaves immediately turn yellow, and there is no white coating.

If the leaves began to turn yellow on the beds, then you should immediately take action. Practice shows that downy mildew is much more difficult to get rid of.