Plants can be affected by various microorganisms throughout their lives. Viruses, bacteria and fungi that will test your resistance and your ability to deal with them. Among the latter, there is one in particular that very frequently affects crops, and it is Fusarium .
This is a living being that lives in the soil and that goes into action when the vegetables are receiving excess water. Let us know what are the symptoms and how to eliminate it.
Index
- 1 How to know if a plant has Fusarium?
- 2 What to do to prevent and/or eliminate it?
- 2.1 Prevention
- 2.2 Treatment
How to know if a plant has Fusarium?
Fusarium is the genus of a fungus that causes significant damage to crops. There are more than a thousand species, and all of them are potentially dangerous for our beloved plants. Once this microorganism enters the plant, it multiplies very quickly , causing it to weaken in a matter of a few days.
In fact, when we realize that something is happening, it is usually too late. Therefore, it is convenient to know what symptoms it will show to be vigilant :
- Appearance of whitish, yellow, brownish, pink or reddish spots on the leaves and/or stems.
- Wilting and necrosis of the leaves.
- Root rot.
- Growth arrest.
What to do to prevent and/or eliminate it?
Image – Ecological Alternative
Prevention
Fusarium is a fungus that, like everyone else, likes a moist environment. To prevent it, it is extremely important that the plants are planted in a soil or substrate that has good drainage , since in this way the roots will be properly aerated. In this article you have a complete guide to substrates.
But, in addition to using a suitable soil, it will also be necessary to avoid excessive watering . Many of the problems that our crops have are caused by excessive irrigation, so before giving them water we must check the humidity of the soil. To do this we can use a digital moisture meter, or introduce a thin wooden stick and see how much soil has adhered to it (if it has been little or very little, we can water). Likewise, it is convenient not to wet the plants when they are watered, since they could rot easily.
Treatment
If we have sick plants, we have to do the following:
- Cut the affected parts.
- Treat them with copper or sulfur in spring and autumn, and with a systemic fungicide in summer.
- If they are very bad, it is best to burn them to prevent them from infecting the others.
