Late blight is the most dangerous and intractable disease of tomatoes. In an infected area, crops may be lost from year to year, and store-bought chemicals do not help. Experienced gardeners have been successfully using cheap pharmaceutical products for a long time. It is effective and safe and is called Trichopolum. The article describes the mechanism of action and how to properly treat tomatoes with this product.
Mechanism of action
As an artificially synthesized effective antibiotic, Trichopolum suppresses the vital activity of fungal organisms and destroys their population.
The action of the main substance blocks the formation of nucleic acid, which disrupts metabolic processes in parasite cells.
The drug and its derivatives cope well with diseases of garden crops such as:
- fungal rot;
- powdery mildew;
- tracheomycosis wilt;
- fusarium;
- late blight;
- peronosporosis.
Use in the fight against the following diseases
Metronidazole is the name of the main active ingredient in the composition; tablets with this name are much cheaper than
Trichopolum and are recommended for use against the following diseases:
- Late blight . One of the most dangerous diseases that affects the above-ground parts of plants and fruits. They turn black and die within a short period of time. Occurs when there is high air humidity and significant temperature changes during the day.
- Powdery mildew . Another dangerous fungal disease that is transmitted in different ways: with water during irrigation, through working tools and through the air. The leaves begin to turn yellow and wither, the growth and development of the plant stops.
- Fusarium . It affects the root system of the plant, penetrating with moisture through the soil. Causes depletion of the ground part and its death. The disease is dangerous for both tomatoes and cucumbers.
- Angular spotting . A very dangerous bacterial infection that affects fruits and leaves. The plant first stops bearing fruit and then dies.
The drug can be used both for foliar treatment and for watering to disinfect the soil
When to start using?
It is known that the most favorable environment for the development of late blight is places with high temperature and humidity.
In such conditions, the disease spreads rapidly and does not provide any chance of saving the crop.
The reason for treating all the tomatoes on the site is the appearance of late blight spots on a single bush.
It wouldn’t hurt to take care of the tomato’s closest relatives: peppers, eggplants, potatoes.
Signs of late blight
The first sign of late blight is brown spots on the leaves, often surrounded by a ring of white mold. The spots may be covered with a light cobwebby coating consisting of mycelium and zoosporangia containing zoospores motile in water. The first manifestations of the disease in the form of yellowing and drying of leaves appear at the beginning of summer, and many summer residents mistakenly take them for sunburn and do nothing. But over time, dark spots on leaf blades and stems grow. In conditions of high humidity, a white fluffy coating of pathogen sporulation appears quite quickly on the back of the leaves. Tomato fruits harden unevenly and in some places become covered with brown spots.
Potato tops dry out prematurely, and if you dig up a potato tuber for an experiment, you can see grayish or brown areas on it. Infected plants die. The development of the disease continues on fruits during ripening and storage. Unfortunately, it is impossible to cure diseased plants. All drugs act either prophylactically or to prevent the development of infection on healthy plants.
Phytophthora on a tomato leaf
How to properly process tomatoes?
When the first signs of damage appear, diseased fruits and vegetative parts are removed. Spraying of plants with the preparation from a spray bottle is carried out immediately. If the disease is steadily gaining momentum and there are a lot of diseased bushes, it is necessary to water the plants at the roots.
When using Trichopolum to treat diseased plants, a number of basic rules should be followed:
- processing is carried out in the morning or at sunset;
- carefully process the lower third of the bush;
- No more than 50 ml of the finished product is poured under 1 bush.
The course of treatment is 2-3 treatments with an interval of 10 days. It is important to spray in dry, clear weather or the day after rain, when the leaves and stems have dried.
To speed up the process of preparing the solution, crushed tablets are first diluted in 0.5 liters of water and the concentrate is poured into a common container with water.
If the solution contains iodine
Strengthening the metronidazole solution with traditional antiseptics increases the effectiveness significantly. Properly prepared composition includes:
- 10 liters of warm water;
- 20 tablets of Trichopolum;
- 10-15 drops of iodine.
With brilliant green
Zelenka is a proven method of disinfection; it copes well with late blight lesions of tomatoes.
Add 1 bottle of brilliant green to a bucket of water with Trichopolum according to the usual scheme. The composition stains everything around, so spraying is carried out in protective clothing.
With potassium permanganate
Potassium permanganate is a well-known fighter against putrefactive processes. If you add several crystals to the Trichopolum solution, the effectiveness of treatment will increase significantly.
You need to add enough potassium permanganate to a bucket of water with Trichopolum so that the composition is pale pink, otherwise the plants will burn.
What kind of remedy is this
“Trichopol” refers to antibacterial and antiprotozoal agents, that is, those that fight bacteria and protozoa . The active ingredient of the drug, metronidazole, has a wide spectrum of activity against many anaerobic microorganisms.
Other ingredients include magnesium stearate, potato starch, gelatin and syrup.
Purpose of the drug
The main purpose of the drug is the prevention and treatment of infections caused by anaerobic microorganisms, combined treatment of ulcers and duodenum to destroy the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
The instructions for the drug say that the active substance does not have a bactericidal effect against most aerobic bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Is it possible to treat tomatoes with Trichopolum against late blight? Yes, but in theory it's useless. Late blight is caused by the simplest fungus Phytophthora infestans - the drug does not have an antifungal effect, so spraying tomatoes with a solution of Trichopolum is most likely ineffective.
However, there is information and reviews from gardeners about its successful use in combination with other means against late blight - for example, together with iodine. But the iodine solution itself without Trichopolum is one of the well-known folk remedies against this disease. Therefore, choosing a method to save the harvest is everyone’s personal choice.
If you have positive (and other) experience in treating tomatoes with Trichopolum (metronidazole), be sure to share it with readers in the comments below the article.
Timely treatment with fungicides (“Acrobat MC” 69%, “Ridomil Gold”) will save time and get a healthy harvest.
For reference. The first signs of late blight: small brown spots with a whitish coating on the leaves, stems and fruits. The source of the disease spreads from bottom to top. In humid weather, the affected areas begin to rot.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any medicine, Trichopolum has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include:
- affordable price;
- proven effectiveness;
- safety for humans.
Despite this, many gardeners are wary of its use and note that metranidozole does not have official approval for use in agronomy.
Precautions
Trichopolum in such concentration does not pose a danger to human health. When spraying a plant, you should adhere to traditional precautionary methods:
- processing is carried out in dry and windless weather;
- exposed skin is protected with clothing;
- A cotton-gauze bandage is put on the face.
Attention! Metronidazole is strictly prohibited for use by children under 3 years of age. Medicine packaging must be kept out of reach!
Treatment of tomato seeds or seedlings for prevention
Any disease, and especially fungal disease, is better to prevent than to treat.
Trichopolum has proven itself well as a preventive measure. As a preventative measure, it is used as follows:
- treat nightshade seeds and potato tubers before sowing;
- soak the roots of the seedlings for an hour before planting;
- Spray healthy plants after pinching.
For all preventive procedures, it is recommended to use the traditional Trichopolum solution, tested by many gardeners. If the area is severely affected, then in the fall the soil should be watered with the same solution before digging.
Reviews from gardeners
- Ekaterina, 32 years old, nurse. For me, a summer cottage is one of the ways to survive, because feeding three children on my salary is not so easy.
I know well the composition of Trichopolum and its antiprotozoal effect. I used it without fear on the advice of a neighbor in the country, as soon as late blight hit a couple of bushes. The drug worked quite effectively; no leaf burns were observed. But I give these tomatoes to children only after I have washed them several times. - Valentin Valentinovich, 67, pensioner. For me, the dacha is youth, help, and pleasure.
I take care of every bush with love, I treat every bed of weeds with my hands. They advised me to use Trichopolum for late blight and I tried it. But I bought metronidazole at the pharmacy; after all, it’s cheaper. I can say that it is effective. In my area I dealt with the blackness once or twice. But the neighbors’ peppers even rotted. I will water it next year with potassium permanganate. - Ivan, 27, farmer. I grow tomatoes in a greenhouse for sale. Trichopolum was used only once in late spring. The product works, distribution was stopped quickly. Ripe fruits are not bitter and have no aftertaste.
And more about the drug
Gardeners use Trichopolum to treat fruit rot on fruit trees, as a harmless analogue to serious pesticides. It is well compatible with other means of treating plants against fungus and does not “burn” the vegetative part.
On a note! The shelf life of Trichopolum tablets is 5 years.
Late blight is difficult to treat and takes a long time, and it is very difficult to remove it from the site. To save yourself from many problems, it is worth using harmless antifungal drugs at the very beginning of tomato infection.
Storage of "Metronidazole"
The effectiveness of the drug and the absence of side effects depend on whether it is stored correctly.
How long and how to store tablets:
- shelf life - 5 years (expired medicine can be harmful);
- Storage conditions : dark and dry place, temperature: up to 25°C.
- The prepared solution cannot be stored.
