We save cucumbers from diseases and pests: important recommendations

Cucumbers are a popular garden crop, which is one of the first to yield crops in the climatic conditions of our country. She is not afraid of light temperature changes and torrential rains, so even novice gardeners are able to cope with agricultural technology.

Plant diseases are often hindered from obtaining a rich harvest. Due to high humidity and for other reasons, summer residents are attacked by dozens of diseases and pests every year. The article will tell you about the main diseases and the most dangerous pests of cucumbers, as well as how to deal with them.

The main causes of plant diseases

Cucumbers get sick due to gardeners' mistakes or negative environmental factors. The main causes of damage to melons and gourds:

1. Violation of watering rules... There are diseases that develop with high humidity, and there are pathogens that are activated in overdried soil.
2. Cold snap... Cool weather combined with high or low humidity is especially dangerous. Disease outbreaks are more common after heavy rains.
3. Contaminated soil... The causative agents of diseases winter not only in the soil, but also on garden tools, plant debris and even in planting material.
4. Lack or excess of nutrients or trace elements in the soil. This leads to a weakening of the immunity of cucumbers.
5. Pests and weeds... They are carriers of many viral and fungal diseases.
6. Thickened plantings and earthen crust. This prevents air exchange.
7. Increased acidity. Some microorganisms thrive best under these conditions.
8. Violation of the rules of pinning... Infections easily penetrate into the "wounds" formed during pruning of bushes.

Diseases of fungal origin

Fungal diseases damage cucumbers more often than others. Spores of pathogens get on plants from the ground, from neighboring plants, with pests. Some of them are transmitted by airborne droplets.

There are more than ten diseases of cucumber of fungal origin. Each of them develops in certain conditions and is treated in its own way.

Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew – the most common disease that affects almost all fruit plants... The photo will help to identify this disease in time. At the beginning of development, a bloom of white spots appears on the leaves of the plant. It looks like the bushes have been sprayed with lime. Later, the whole plant is covered with a white bloom. Shoots and ovaries begin to fall off from it. Even if some ovaries remain, small and ugly fruits will turn out from them.

The following factors provoke the development of infection: cooling in conditions of high humidity, an abundance of weeds and thickened plantings, drafts and frosts.

If signs of disease appear, it is possible to save plants. For this, the following methods are used:

1. When the first symptoms of powdery mildew appear, all affected parts are plucked and burned. Plants are sprayed with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
2. If the plantings continue to hurt, or the lesion was not noticed at an early stage, then the plants are treated with sulfur. To do this, pour 40 g of ground sulfur on every 10 m² or pour 10 liters of water with the addition of 30 g of 3% colloidal sulfur.
3. Folk remedies include spraying the bushes with a mullein solution. 1 kg of rotted manure is added to 10 liters of water.
4. Potassium supplementation will help strengthen the immunity of cucumbers to infection.
5. If the disease continues to progress, then the plantings are treated with Oxyhom or Topaz chemicals.

Downy mildew, or peronosporosis

Peronosporosis also called downy mildew. In this disease, the leaf plates are covered with light green spots.that first appear at the top of the sheets. The disease progresses rapidly, attacking the entire plant. Over time, purple formations appear on the inside of the sheets.

Disease develops due to high humidity... The reproduction of the fungus is activated by condensation and dew.

Peronosporosis treatment:

• processing plantings with milk - for 9 liters of water, take 1 liter of milk and 10 drops of iodine, spray the plants with a solution;
• urea - 10 g of powder is taken for 10 liters of water;
• Bordeaux mixture - the bushes are sprayed with its solution;
• chemicals ("Topaz").

It is recommended to cut off all affected parts of the plant. Downy mildew is difficult to treat with folk remedies. It is not recommended to plant melons and gourds on beds where there has been an outbreak of this disease for three years.

Root rot

Root rot affects the plant root... First, part of it begins to rot, later the whole system gets sick, right down to the root collar. In the last stages, the stem rots and collapses, which leads to the death of the cucumbers.

Disease develops when irrigated with cold water... An epidemic may occur during a cold snap, especially if it is accompanied by precipitation.

White rot, or sclerotinia

White rot, she's sclerotinia, develops with temperature drops and thickened plantings... It infects plants more often in a greenhouse than outdoors.

With sclerotinia slimy white spots appear on the ground part of the plants... Gradually, the plants begin to rot and die.

How to deal with diseases of cucumbers:

1. The affected parts are cut off. Places of cuts are treated with ash. If plaque appears on the stem, then it is carefully removed, and the wound is treated with ash.
2. The soil in the aisles or greenhouses is disinfected with preparations containing copper. Additionally, the planting is fed with a mixture of 10 liters of water, 10 g of urea and 2 g of copper sulfate.

It is useless to treat diseased plants. They are removed from the garden and burned. To prevent contamination of healthy plants on the site, the soil is sprinkled with bleach at the rate of 20 g per 1 m².

Gray rot

About gray rot evidenced by gray weeping spots on the fruits and greens of the cucumber... Over time, the fruits completely rot, and the bush loses its turgor and dries up.

At the initial stages of the development of the disease the affected parts of the plants are removed, and the bushes are treated with Roval. If after that the damage to the culture continues, the diseased bushes are removed and burned, the rest of the plantings are treated with antifungal agents.

Ascochitosis, or black rot

Ascochitosis develops in spring. Ideal conditions - high humidity and low temperatures.

Infected plants develop black weeping spots. Over time, they begin to turn white and spread throughout the plant. The leaves take on a reddish tint. The fruits dry out and shrivel, then begin to rot.

A mixture of chalk and copper is applied to the affected plants. in a 1: 1 ratio. Additionally, they are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate.

Black mold

Black mold is also called leaf burn. It usually forms outdoors.

Black or purple spots form on the ground part of the bush. Sometimes they look like spider webs. The leaves begin to fall off and the plant dies.

In the initial stages, it is real to deal with the problem... For this, the affected areas are removed, and the resulting "wounds" are treated with ash.

Anthracnose

Anthracnose affects adult plants and seedlings... In the first case, the disease affects the cotyledon leaves, and in the second, the entire terrestrial part of the plants.

The disease manifests itself in the form of yellow and brown rounded spots and pink plaque... Soon ulcers form on the bushes, which gradually increase and kill the entire plant. In some cucumbers, signs of the disease are formed even on the roots. In this case, the disease is determined by sluggish, shriveled fruits. A photo of the leaf disease of the affected cucumbers will help to recognize anthracnose in time.

When the first signs of the disease are detected cucumbers are sprayed weekly with Bordeaux liquid or bleach solution at the rate of 35 g per 10 liters of water. Treatment is stopped 3 weeks before harvest.

Cladosporium or olive spot

Olive spot spreads through the air during precipitation and irrigation... It manifests itself as soft yellow-green spots on fruits, less often on leaves, which harden over time.

This leads to curvature and cracking of the fruit. In this case, all new ovaries fall off.

If the cucumbers have already fallen ill with cladosporia, then they will not be cured... Affected bushes are removed from the site and burned. Healthy plants and the soil around them are treated with Fitosporin.

Rhizoctonia

Rhizoctonia is called black scab. More often, the disease affects seedlings, but adult plants in those parts that are in contact with the ground.

In case of disease, the root collar of a cucumber becomes covered with rusty spots. Fruits and leaves that touch the ground develop brown sores. The affected parts die off over time, which leads to the death of the entire plant.

Affected plants are cleaned of lower leaves and fruits and sprayed with "Baktofit". Plants with damaged root collars are removed.

Fusarium, or verticillosis

Fusarium wilting affects seedlings and adult plants... Infected cucumbers begin to lose their turgor. The stems and individual whips rot first, then the whole plant. In this case, the bushes do not change color.

Usually bacteria are injected through the "wounds" that form during gardening and pinching. The fungus develops rapidly in high temperature and humidity conditions.

Fusarium in the initial stages is treated with "Fitosporin"... In a neglected state, the disease is not treated. Affected plants are removed from the beds and burned.

Alternaria

Alternaria blight of cucumber is called dry spot. Convex small dry spots indicate infection.that are formed at the bottom of the sheet. Soon, the spots increase, merging into a whole formation. Dense dark spores of the fungus appear on the leaves. After a while, the affected bushes die.

When signs of disease appear, the plants are sprayed copper sulfate (1 tbsp. l per bucket of water) or 1% Bordeaux liquid.

Bacterial diseases

Corner spotting, or bacteriosis, - a disease that transmitted through water, infected plants and insects... It manifests itself in the form of angular holes and brown dry sores on the leaf plate.

When symptoms of the disease appear cucumbers are treated with Bordeaux liquid or "Fitosporin".

Wet rot appears as small (1-1.5 mm in diameter) oily spots on cucumbers. The fruits are deformed and small. For prophylaxis, Bordeaux liquid and copper-containing preparations are used.

Cucumber viral diseases

Viral diseases of plants are the most dangerous. They cannot be cured, since the pathogen enters the cells of cucumbers and changes them.... Affected plants must be removed.

There are few viral diseases in cucumber. Many modern varieties are immune to them.

Mosaics

Green mosaic - one of the most common diseases (pictured). With this disease, the greens of the cucumbers are covered with light green spots and shriveled. Flowers cease to form, and the fruits are covered with bumps and multi-colored spots.

White mosaic is a disease in which the leaves of cucumbers become covered spots of white or yellow star-shaped. The fruits become striped yellow-white in color.

Cucumber viral necrosis

Cucumber viral necrosis is a disease that develops with a lack of nutrients in the soil... An immunocompromised culture becomes more susceptible to infection.

The leaf plates of the affected plants acquire a yellow-violet color. Soon the ground part is covered with brown spots. Flowers and whips fall off, but new ones are not formed. Ultimately, the cucumber plantings die.

It is impossible to cure diseased plants... They are removed from the site and burned. Healthy plants are fed with complex fertilizers with potassium, phosphorus and manganese.

Cucumber pests

Pests feed on foliage and young cucumbers during fruiting. This often leads to plant death and crop damage. Insects also carry pathogens of fungal and viral infections..

Cucumber pests:

1. Aphid... Small green insects that feed on the juice of cucumbers. To get rid of aphids, use a medicinal infusion prepared from garlic, onions and water (200 g of chopped vegetables per 10 liters of water) or a soap solution prepared from a bar of soap and a bucket of water.
2. Spider mite... Plants become covered with cobwebs, turn yellow and dry out. To get rid of this problem, the bushes are sprayed with decoctions of bitter herbs (celandine, wormwood, yarrow, dandelion) or soapy water.
3. Gall nematode (photo of affected roots on the right). It settles in the roots of plants, slowing down their growth and reducing the quality of fruits. The fight against this pest is ineffective. The contaminated soil is treated with boiling water.
4. Medvedka... Eats up plant roots. The only method of prevention is the removal of its larvae during the digging of the site.
5. Slugs... They eat cucumber leaves. They are collected by hand. Another option is to scatter the "Groza" preparation granules in the row spacing.
6. Sprout fly... The fly and its larvae feed on greenery and plant fruits. To get rid of pests, the bushes are treated with "Funanon" or "Kemifos".
7. Cucumber bug... Lives on the back of the leaves and sucks the juice out of them. He is fought with the help of chemical agents "Barrier", "Kemifos" and "Funanon".
8. Cucumber gnat... It lays the larvae in the soil, which gnaw holes in the roots of plants. As a preventive measure, the soil is poured with boiling water and all plant residues are removed.
9. Wireworm... The nutcracker beetle larva infects plant roots. If the insect has already settled in the beds, then it is impossible to get rid of it. As a preventive measure, the acidity of the soil is reduced by sprinkling it with dry lime or ash.
10. Ants... Gnaw the leaves and fruits of cucumbers. To get rid of pests, anthills are doused with boiling water. The soil in the beds is sprinkled with ash.
11. Greenhouse whitefly... A small white insect that resembles aphids. Destroys plants. They fight it with the help of the Bud or Iskra chemicals.
12. Thrips... The seamy side of the leaves is covered with small transparent and black insects that suck sap from the plants. To get rid of the pest, the culture is sprayed with a decoction of bitter herbs or onion infusion - 100 g per 10 liters of water. Chemicals "Fury", "Aktara" or "Calypso" are used.

Features of pests and diseases in the greenhouse and in the open field

Contrary to the opinion of some gardeners, in a greenhouse, diseases are affected as often as in the open field... Moreover, indoors, infections spread faster. This is facilitated not only by reduced air exchange, but also by condensation in the building.

In the open field, changes in temperature contribute to the development of diseases. To reduce the likelihood of infection, during a cold snap, the beds are covered with foil.

It is easier to protect plantings from insects in a greenhouse than in an open field. To do this, it is enough to put mosquito nets on the windows.

Note! Most diseases affect plants in May, August and September, when constant cold snaps are possible.

Prevention measures against diseases and pests

Preventing diseases in cucumbers is easier than curing them. To prevent plant contamination, it is important to follow the basic rules:

1. Compliance with crop rotation. Cucumbers are not planted in beds where melons and gourds have been grown or disease outbreaks have been observed over the past two years.
2. Removal of plant residues. It is important to clear the weeds from the beds.
3. Disinfection. Disinfecting solutions are used to treat soil, seedling containers, greenhouse walls, seeds and garden tools.
4. Compliance with watering rules. To do this, use settled water at room temperature. The soil should not be too wet or dry. The soil is moistened when the sun is inactive.
5. Ensuring normal air exchange. To do this, the beds are loosened after each watering and precipitation. The greens at the bottom of the bush are removed.
6. Compliance with the rules of pinching. Plants are nursery early in the morning or in the evening in dry weather. On the day of pinching, the beds are not watered.
7. Top dressing. During the season, at least two mineral dressings are applied. These should include phosphorus, potassium and urea.
8. Preventive treatments. Plants are sprayed with antifungal agents or serum diluted 1:10 with water, after heavy rains and a cold snap.
9. The use of drainage when growing seedlings. The containers must have holes.
10. Mulching and hilling. This will protect the roots from negative environmental factors and contribute to the development of a powerful root system.

Conclusion

Diseases of cucumbers are the main obstacle to obtaining a rich harvest. Errors of the site owner and adverse weather conditions can contribute to their occurrence.

Fighting plant diseases is much more difficult than following preventive measures. Therefore, the main thing for a novice gardener is to strictly follow the rules for planting and caring for cucumbers.