Pumpkin is perhaps the most common and unpretentious vegetable in a summer cottage. Caring for this crop is extremely simple. Pumpkin does not require special attention and care. All care comes down to weeding, watering, and timely feeding. But even with high-quality care, there is a risk that pumpkin diseases will attack, and then it is almost impossible to get a healthy and abundant harvest. The disease can occur due to various factors, such as improper watering, too dense plantings or unhealthy planting material. Today we will look at the most common pumpkin diseases and treatment rules. I will also tell you about disease prevention.
Pumpkin diseases: photo
Pumpkin diseases in open ground: description and treatment
A pumpkin can become infected with a virus or fungus both in the garden and in a greenhouse, or during the period of growing seedlings. Some diseases manifest themselves during the growth period, others during the ripening period. In this article I will teach you how to do it correctly. and most importantly, start the fight against diseases in a timely manner.
Eliminating root rot on pumpkin
Root rot, as a dangerous pumpkin disease in open ground, tends to affect young seedlings or bushes that have recently been planted in the garden. The roots darken, and the leaves, in turn, wither and turn yellow. Root rot can be caused by watering plants with cold water or sudden changes in temperature, as well as very acidic soil. Prevention of this disease consists of following the rules of crop rotation. I also strongly recommend disinfecting the soil well. If root rot has already affected the roots of the plants, the bushes should be immediately treated with a solution of zinc sulfur, or you can also use Bordeaux mixture. Before you start processing, you must wear protective equipment such as gloves, a gown and a respirator. In order to significantly reduce the acidity of the soil, before planting it is necessary to sprinkle the soil with lime and ash. The ingredients need to be mixed together.
Pumpkin diseases: photo
Pumpkin disease powdery mildew: treatment
If large white spots form on the leaves and gradually spread throughout the plant, rest assured that this is powdery mildew. The main causes of this disease are pumpkins, weeds and contaminated soil. The development of the disease is also promoted by a very high nitrogen content in the soil. Powdery mildew spreads through plants using water and wind. You can cure the fungus with mullein infusion or ground sulfur. To prevent infection, you should constantly weed and loosen the beds. Treatment against powdery mildew is best done in the morning in order to reduce the risk of burns on the plant.
Downy mildew - a dangerous pumpkin disease
Pumpkin diseases: photo
The downy mildew fungus is nothing more than downy mildew. The leaves become covered with yellow-brown spots and the plant gradually dies. Insects such as slugs, aphids and whiteflies spread this infection throughout the garden bed. In order to reduce the risk of peronosporosis, you need to carefully dig up the bed and remove all remnants of plant debris. Then treat the soil with special preparations, I usually use Gamair or Fitosporin. It is best to plant bushes at a distance; plantings should not be thickened. If the fungus has already settled in your garden bed, treat it with copper sulfate. It should be remembered that if you detect the fungus in a timely manner, then you have a better chance of saving your pumpkin harvest.
Pumpkin copperhead disease: treatment
Foxes are covered with brown spots, which gradually increase in size; no doubt, this is anthracnose, or verdigris in common parlance. The causes of such a pumpkin disease as copperhead are very simple: temperature changes or burns on plant leaves. If the disease is started, it will gradually spread throughout the entire plant. Ulcers form on the stems, which dry out and begin to crack. The pumpkin dies, and its harvest becomes unsuitable for human consumption. In order to prevent the development of the disease, the soil should be fertilized with complex mineral fertilizers. Very delicate and sensitive pumpkin varieties are best planted in a greenhouse or hothouse. You need to treat the fungus with special drugs that are sold in any store. Dear gardeners, remember, you must strictly adhere to the dosage of the drug so as not to harm the plant. If the pumpkin grows in a greenhouse or hotbed, it should be regularly ventilated and watered strictly according to the schedule. Very high humidity and stagnant water create very favorable conditions for the occurrence of copperhead.
Pumpkin fruit diseases: photo
Treatment of pumpkin green spot disease
This pumpkin disease is spread by water and wind. As a rule, the disease becomes active around mid-summer, just when harvest time is approaching. Small pumpkins develop light or dark brown spots that gradually begin to crack. To avoid infection, choose disease-resistant pumpkin varieties. This crop is best planted using seedlings. To grow seedlings, select only large and heavy seeds, and process them in aloe juice or manganese solution. Then we harden the seeds, put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, and so on for five days. If the pumpkin is nevertheless infected with the green spot virus, it should immediately be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or special preparations.
Yellow mosaic and methods of treating this pumpkin disease
Pumpkin diseases: photo
Pumpkin disease very often affects young plants. The leaves take the shape of a tube and become covered with a whitish coating. On an adult plant, the disease can be identified by yellow patterned spots. Pumpkin bushes immediately lag behind in growth, the plant becomes stunted. The carriers of this infection are pests and poorly treated or insufficiently fertilized soil. Preventative measures for this disease are very simple, careful care, timely watering and fertilizing are the key to success. Diseased plants can be cured with a solution of corbaphos. If the source of infection has occurred in a greenhouse or greenhouse, after the entire crop has been harvested, remove the top layer of soil, approximately 15 cm. Then treat the entire greenhouse with a 0.5% trisodium phosphate solution. The clothes in which the treatment was carried out should be boiled, since the mosaic virus can easily survive on it and not die for two years.
Sclerotinia as a pumpkin disease in open ground
Sclerotinia is nothing more than white rot. This fungus occurs on both young shoots and adult plants. This viral pumpkin disease reproduces using fungal spores. Disputes become more active during very hot or too rainy climates. In diseased plants, the roots and foliage immediately begin to rot. A white coating appears on the base of the stem, which vaguely resembles fluff. If you find this scourge on your site, sprinkle the beds with wood ash. Afterwards you should feed the soil. I usually fertilize with zinc or urea. Copper sulfate is also perfect as a fertilizer. This fungus is very active in greenhouses and greenhouses.
Viral diseases of pumpkin: photo
Pumpkin disease Bacteriosis: treatment
The most common and perhaps the most dangerous disease for garden crops. Ulcers form on the foliage. These ulcers provoke rapid death of plants. Pumpkin fruits take on strange shapes and become completely unsuitable for food. There are many reasons for the occurrence of infections - diseased seeds, plant debris, frequent rains and too dense plantings. Watering with cold water can also speed up the spread of infection. If you find infected plants in your garden bed, they are immediately eliminated and buried away from the area. The same thing needs to be done with fruits. Bushes that the fungus has not had time to infect need to be treated with copper sulfate and then sprinkled with lime.
Fusarium wilt as a terrible disease of pumpkin in open ground
Pumpkin diseases: photo
If your garden bed is affected by Fusarium wilt, you will immediately understand it. The roots and stems of the plant weaken and become very thin and brittle. If the summer is very dry, the foliage becomes dry and yellow. The fungus penetrates plants through the roots, and the carrier of the scourge is water. In order to prevent the spread of pumpkin disease throughout the entire area, it is enough to take very simple but necessary measures. Before planting pumpkin, the seeds should be treated with a growth stimulant and sprayed with milk and iodine.
Treatment of Alternaria
This pumpkin disease is nothing more than a black dry spot that occurs on ripe fruits. The melon harvest becomes covered with dark, dry spots that gradually spread throughout the fruit. This fungus can occur both on a growing crop and on an already harvested one. The pumpkin begins to die due to improper storage conditions. To prevent this fungus from appearing on your harvest, pumpkin fruits must be wiped with a dry cloth and stored in a dry, well-ventilated area. The crop should be constantly inspected for signs of infection. We eliminate fruits that are infected and do not recommend eating them.
Bacteriosis
Bacteriosis of all pumpkin diseases causes the greatest damage; the symptoms of the disease are: infection of the leaves - angular brown spots and brown ulcers on the cotyledons. Ulcers also appear on the bark of the fruits, causing them to become ugly.
Pumpkin seeds are affected by bacteriosis and become sources of infection.
The root system and stems suffer. Holes appear in places where there were stains. Bacteriosis is treated with a white liquid obtained by mixing lime (10 g) and copper sulfate (10 g) in water. This mixture should be used to treat the diseased pumpkin bush when the first symptoms appear. It is better to destroy plants affected by the disease. This is recommended by experienced gardeners.
See also
Description and characteristics of pumpkin varieties for open groundRead
Pumpkin viral diseases: symptoms and treatment
Pumpkin diseases: photo
If you notice dry leaves, plaque, ulcers or dark or brown spots on your plants, this means that your garden bed is infected and needs good care and feeding. We will now look at the most common symptoms that will help you understand that the plant is sick:
- If the plant acquires white spots or in the summer, this indicates that the soil has an excess of mineral fertilizers. As a result, powdery mildew or fusarium begins to appear.
- The most obvious manifestations of copperhead or root rot are bushes that begin to wither. Another reason may be non-compliance with crop rotation. Pumpkin fruits become soft, watery and unsuitable for food.
- Fruits that are deformed or damaged indicate the appearance of bacteriosis.
- If your crop begins to become covered with mold, then do not hesitate to overwater the plant and watering should be reduced. If this is not done, the pumpkin runs the risk of developing brown spot.
- If yellow patterns appear on the leaves of the pumpkin, then have no doubt that a yellow mosaic is in charge of your garden bed. Immediately begin treating the beds with a solution of wood ash or Bordeaux mixture.
- The appearance of abscesses on the plant tells you that the pumpkin is sick with root rot or fusarium. The disease can occur due to untreated seeds or failure to observe crop rotation. Poorly treated soil can also be the causative agent.
Downy mildew or downy mildew
A disease that resembles powdery mildew in appearance. The difference is in the shade of the plaque; if with powdery mildew it is grayish, then with peronosporosis the spots have a purple tint and it is located on the back side of the leaf. Yellow spots are visible on the front side of the leaf plate, which quickly darken and dry.
The intensive course of the disease is observed at high air humidity and moderate temperature (17–22 °C). Dew and fog intensify the symptoms of the disease in plants; their treatment comes down to more than just spraying the pumpkin bushes with copper oxychloride. It is imperative to cultivate the soil around diseased bushes. For 10 liters of water you need 40 g of the drug. One liter of solution is enough to treat 10 m² of soil.
Prevention of pumpkin diseases in open ground
Pumpkin diseases: photo
Perhaps the most important and necessary stage of plant care is prevention. Prevention and only it allows you to grow a healthy, abundant, and most importantly tasty harvest. I want to tell you about the most important stages of prevention against pumpkin diseases:
- strictly follow the simple rules of crop rotation; plants should not be constantly planted in the same place. This can provoke the appearance of fungi and pests. Pumpkin grows very well in areas where beans or parsley previously grew. The least successful predecessors are melons;
- regularly carry out preventive treatment of equipment, soil, planting material and of course clothing. Disinfection is carried out with manganese, there is nothing complicated in this process;
- Monitor the seedlings you are going to plant very strictly. Fertilize, water regularly and treat immediately if necessary. The seedlings also need to be hardened off;
- properly care for the plants, constantly weed and loosen the soil;
- Constantly carry out feedings that the plants require at one time or another. Carry out prevention against diseases and pests;
- Constantly inspect the beds for the presence of diseased plants or insect pests;
- If you notice that a pumpkin disease has struck, immediately begin treatment.
We fight pumpkin pests
Pumpkin pests: photo
The most common pumpkin pest is the melon aphid. Very small, almost colorless bugs that settle on the back of the leaf. Aphids feed on plant juices, which worsens the condition of the pumpkin. The foliage first curls, then gradually fades. If there is a lack of juice, the ovary and flowers fall off, and the pumpkin stops bearing fruit. If you delay the fight against the pest, you can destroy almost the entire harvest. In order to remove this pumpkin pest, I use the proven drug “Consento”.
In addition to aphids, you can also find the sprout fly in your pumpkin patch. As a rule, the fly itself, as a pumpkin pest, is not dangerous; its larvae are dangerous. The larvae feed on seeds and young shoots of pumpkin. The sprout larva destroys 50% of the seedlings in a few days. In order for the sprout fly to disappear from my beds, I use Fentiuram. This drug should be diluted strictly according to the instructions.
Very often the pumpkin is attacked by wireworms and slugs. Increased humidity or neglect of crop rotation rules can provoke the appearance of these pests. In order to protect your crop from pest invasion, you should carefully treat the seeds and regularly add organic or mineral fertilizers to the soil. Bushes should be formed, but plantings should not be thickened. A very large number of insect pests can be seen, as they are quite noticeable. For this reason, I strongly advise you to inspect your plantings very carefully and carefully once a week. This will allow you to react in time to the appearance of pumpkin diseases or pests.
Bottom line
Pumpkin disease begins when care rules are not followed or neglected or sudden changes in temperature. Many diseases appear almost immediately in the form of gray or white spots on the stems or leaves of the plant. The most important preventive measure against pests and pumpkin diseases in open ground is disinfection of the soil and thorough treatment of seeds before planting. Don’t forget about fertilizers; off-root feeding is a reliable protection against infections and fungal diseases. Feeding the root system will allow the plant to grow stronger and more productive. If you find signs of any disease on pumpkin fruits, eliminate them immediately. The harvest that remains untouched by the infection must be treated with fungicides or traditional methods.
Video about possible diseases and pests of pumpkin
White spots or plaque on pumpkin leaves
This sign can serve as a signal that the plant is sick with powdery mildew. First, small whitish round spots appear on the surface of the leaves, which then grow and cover the entire blade with a white coating. Petioles and stems are also affected. The fungus sucks nutrients from the plant. The leaves gradually dry out.
This fungal disease is often triggered by too hot weather or sudden temperature fluctuations . If timely treatment is not started, the consequences will significantly affect the harvest. The fruits will be small, which will reduce the harvest by 70 percent.
White coating on the leaves is the first sign of powdery mildew
At the first signs of powdery mildew, you can use fungicides:
- Karatan;
- Strobe;
- Topaz;
- Fitosporin M (biological product).
Fungicide Strobi is used for plant diseases with powdery mildew
Among folk remedies, I can recommend a solution based on whey to combat powdery mildew. To obtain it you need to take one part whey to ten parts water. The effect of such a solution is due to the fact that it forms a protective film on the leaves, which prevents the spread of fungal spores.
