Blackleg is one of the most insidious diseases that can affect cabbage at all stages of cultivation. Blackleg fungus spores become active with the onset of spring. It is dangerous because it spreads very quickly and can completely destroy the crop.
The disease is especially dangerous for young seedlings. The basal part of their stem has a watery structure and after infection can die within a few days. If older plants become sick, they can be saved, but usually they do not set heads well, and during storage they quickly begin to rot.
The main factors contributing to the rapid spread of the disease:
- humid environment;
- lack of light;
- plants are planted too close to each other;
- dry, hard soil causes a lack of oxygen;
- increased soil pH;
- oversaturation with nitrogen fertilizers.
How to save plants?
Restore soil breathability
At the first signs of infection, it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil and correct the soil composition - sprinkle the soil with clean, dry sand, add ash.
Do not thicken the crops
For full growth and development, cabbage seedlings require space. To prevent the spread of the disease, plantings should be thinned out.
What to do with infected plants
If they already show signs of a raging fungal infection, it is necessary to remove and destroy the infected seedlings and those growing next to them.
What to do with healthy people
Healthy plants should be replanted using newly prepared soil.
Carrying out soil disinfection
A good way to combat blackleg is often disinfection with a solution of potassium permanganate, copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture. You can use wood ash, crushed coal, or spray with a baking soda solution.
Specialized means
You can continue treatment using folk remedies or use chemicals, for example:
- Barrier.
- Baktofit.
- Pseudobacterin.
- Phytoflavin-300.
When growing cabbage seedlings, every gardener sooner or later encounters a bacterial infection with blackleg. To prevent plants from getting sick, it is important to properly care for them and create favorable conditions for their development and growth, and also not to ignore the first symptoms of the disease when the crop can still be saved. This approach will protect the plantings from any adversity.
