Disease Control In The Home Vegetable Garden

Most vegetables are susceptible to a number of diseases. Wilts, leaf spots, blights and fruit rots are just a few of the disease problems that plague vegetables gardens every year. Plant diseases are caused by four primary types of organismes such as fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and viruses. Plant diseases caused by fungi and bacteria are most common when rain showers and heavy dews are frequent and temperatures are warm. Excessive soil moisture will favor root and crown diseases such as damping-off, crown and root rots caused by fungal soil-borne pathogens. Crop rotation is very important in reducing losses to vegetable disease. Continuous plantings within the same plant family of vegetables provide opportunities for pathogen buildup.

Many plant diseases can be seed-borne. This is important to prevent a number of diseases, including halo blight, common blight, banthracnose of snap beans, and bacterial spot of tomatoes. Gardeners starting a crop from transplants should examine transplants carefully before purchasing. Select healthy transplants that appear disease and insect free. Using resistant varieties is the mos efficient way of controlling vegetable disease. Make an effort to buy resistant varieties when they are available. Plant crops such as corn and beans earlier, because their seeds germinate in cooler soils. It's also advantageous to plant these particular crops early to escape severe virus infections

Using trap crops may sometimes help manage virus diseases and aphid populations. You can use a mulch layer of straw, bark, shredded paper or plastic to prevent soil from splashing onto plants and to prevent fruit from touching the bare ground. This will help prevent rots on mature fruit such as strawberries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and melons. Sanitation will help reduce overwintering of disease causing organisms. After harvest, remove and destroy plant material. Plow the soil to help break down small rotts and debris that may harbor nematodes, fungi and bacteria. Healthy plants are the best control against plant diseases