Gray rot of pepper, description, methods of prevention, treatment
Gray rot can affect various plants, including agricultural ones: grapes, tomatoes, bell peppers and hot chilies. The causative agent of the disease is the fungus Botrytis cinerea.
Content:
Where and how does plant damage occur?
The source of gray mold infection is sclerotia and conidia that persist in the soil and fragments of dead plants.
In order for infection to occur, there must be damaged areas on the plant; drops of moisture settling on the stems and leaves play a significant role.
Peppers grown indoors are more susceptible to gray rot.
The disease can affect all parts of the bushes, including: stems, leaves, fruits, flowers. The root system remains intact.
Peppers with reduced immunity, weakened ones, get sick first.
The first manifestations of the disease:
- yellowing of the lower aging leaves;
- formation of dry spots of light brown color on the stems;
- damage to the stalk;
- a gray spot appears on the surface of the fruit, which quickly spreads over the entire pod;
- it acquires a watery consistency and becomes covered with a gray fluffy coating;
- The entire plant is covered with fluffy gray mold.
The spread of the disease occurs accelerated at air temperatures above + 20 C.
Symptoms by which the disease can be recognized: characteristic spots on leaves, stems, fruits that are gray or dark gray in color.
Let's watch a useful video about gray rot that affects nightshade plants, including peppers:
Disease prevention and treatment
To avoid damage to peppers gray mold, it is recommended to observe the following growing conditions:
- thickening of plantings should not be allowed;
- all affected parts of plants should be promptly removed, removed from the beds and burned;
- the affected areas of the stem should be lubricated with a mixture of lime and fungicide Rovral (1:1), powdered charcoal or ash;
- Treat all treated plants, as well as those located in the garden bed with them, with fungicides.
Spraying with Fitosporin gives good results.
It is important to treat the top layer of soil before planting seedlings; it is also recommended to treat the seeds before sowing.
In greenhouse conditions, it is necessary to arrange high-quality ventilation; the air should not be too humidified.
A particularly dangerous period is the time of prolonged summer rains.
Experienced vegetable growers, when detecting symptoms of gray rot, practice treating the root circles of pepper with wood ash.
But it will be possible to obtain a positive result only if the disease is detected at the initial stage. In case of severe lesions, it is better to remove the bush completely.
The most effective drugs to combat gray rot of pepper:
- Previkur,
- Trichodermin,
- Teldor and Gamair,
- Topsin M and Fundazol.
Timely preventive measures will help to avoid damage to bell peppers by gray rot; they are almost the same for all vegetable crops of the nightshade family.
Let's watch a useful video about the prevention of gray rot on nightshades:
