How to deal with diseases and pests of carrots
How to understand that carrots are sick? Stains, mold or rot appear on foliage and root crops. The cause of this condition is bacteria, fungi, or a virus. If a vegetable is bitten, there are sticky marks on it - it's time to fight pests. Only by defeating the disease and driving away the pests can you save the crop. Read about how to do this in our article.
The content of the article
How to tell if carrots are sick
Carrots can get sick when grown in the garden, or mold can develop on carrots in storage. It is easy to recognize the disease even from the photo. If the appearance and shape of the leaves has changed, insects have appeared on them, the roots are damaged or have a bizarre shape - this indicates that the vegetable is unhealthy.
Signs and symptoms
Each disease has its own symptoms. The main signs of damage to carrots on green tops and petioles:
- blackening of the stem, constrictions on it;
- the appearance of spots of different colors on the stem and leaves - brown, gray-brown, yellow, black;
- bacterial exudate - gray-white or light yellow drops on the stem and lower leaves;
- darkening, twisting, yellowing, drying of leaves, their dying off;
- plaque on leaves and petioles of any color;
- leaves and petioles are eaten.
Causes of diseases
The reasons are infection by fungi, bacteria or viruses. At first glance, it is difficult to understand whether a vegetable is ill or has been taken care of incorrectly. Methods of "treatment" of root crops depend on the correct "diagnosis".
How to distinguish diseases from micronutrient deficiencies and errors in growing and care
The main external signs that the cultivation is going with errors and the disease can soon hit the carrots: the carrots crack and look unappetizing, take on fancy, ugly shapes or are poorly stored.
Consider the reasons:
- Excess nitrogen... Nitrogen fertilizers are applied a year before planting carrots, that is, for crops that were planted in front of it.
- Irregular watering, sharp waterlogging... Watering the carrots correctly: 2-3 times a week so that the soil is saturated by 20 cm.
- Heavy soil, for example, clayey - it is difficult for a root crop to germinate in it. If the ground is dense, the seeds will not sprout. They loosen the soil as soon as shoots appear, and after each rain or watering. The soil is kept loose throughout the growth of the carrot.
- Lack of feeding... The palatability deteriorates. To make the carrots juicy, they are fed with "Nitroammofoskoy" - 25-30 g per m².
- Irregular watering and lack of loosening - causes of "furry". If the carrots are covered with suction roots, they can be eaten, but they won't be stored for long. The smoothness of carrots can be restored if care mistakes are corrected. Then the suction roots will stop growing in all directions to get water and air.
- Lack of hilling... If the top of the root crop is bare and begins to turn green, it means that solanine has formed in it - a poison that gives the vegetable bitterness. To avoid this, carrots are regularly spud when the soil is wet. The first time - when the tail of the carrot broke through and grew a little, later - as soon as the upper part sticking out of the ground is exposed.
- No decimation - the reason for the low yield.Carrots are thinned after watering or rain. The first time - when two real leaves grew, then - two weeks later. There should be 4-6 cm between the shoots.
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The main reasons why carrots do not grow
What are the diseases of carrots
Diseases of carrots are divided into three groups: fungal, viral and bacterial... Sometimes outwardly they appear almost the same and differ only in one or two signs. Correctly identifying the pathogen means protecting the crop and soil from the spread of the disease.
Fungal
The largest group of diseases... They develop due to sudden changes in air temperature and high humidity. Pathogens spread quickly and live in the ground for a long time. Treat fungal infections in the early stages.
| Name | Signs |
| Dry rot, or phomosis of carrots | On the petioles and leaves at the end of the growing season, oblong spots of gray-brown color are formed. When storing the crop at temperatures above 10 ° C, black-brown depressions with a bloom of white appear on top of the root crops. The spots grow and affect the whole vegetable. |
| White rot | It affects roots, which soften during storage and become covered with a white fluffy bloom. Later, a crust with black dots forms on them. |
| Felt rot, or rhizoctonia | Carrots are affected during active growth or storage. Dark gray spots are formed on the roots, which are covered with a felt bloom of purple and black dots. |
| Gray rot, or botrytosis | During storage, the surface of the root crop is soaked, completely darkened and covered with a gray bloom. |
| Black rot, or alternaria carrot | Occurs at any stage of vegetable development. The stem turns black, the leaves turn yellow, curl and dry, black dry rot appears on the root crop. |
| Cercosporosis
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Light brown spots form on the leaves, their light center grows over time. If the humidity is high, the leaves become covered with bloom, curl and die off. The root crop remains small, no longer grows. |
| Powdery mildew | The disease develops due to high humidity or soil. The tops turn yellow, white dotted spots appear on its lower part. Then the stem dies off, the roots are bent and remain underdeveloped. |
| Fusarium | Early varieties of carrots are affected, the peak of the disease is the first half of June. The tops grow poorly, brown spots appear on the petioles. Root crops are curved, with cracks. When storing infected carrots, a fluffy coating of white-pink color appears. Usually such roots are dense, dry and tasteless. |
| Brown spot | It affects the vegetable at all stages of development. In young plants, brown constrictions appear on the lower part of the stem. Yellow spots form on the leaves of mature plants, then they turn brown or black. |
Viral diseases
The virus most often occurs in the southern regions.... The disease is called "variegated dwarfism" and is transmitted through the willow-carrot aphid.
Signs of the disease are visible only at the stage of development of 3-4 leaves... The tops are curved, stop growing, and turn reddish. The plant stops developing. Root hairs form on the root crop, reddish spots appear, and lignification occurs. Such carrots are not eaten.
Bacterial
Bacteria cause wet bacterial rot, or bacteriosis... In this disease, yellow spots form on the lower leaves, then they darken, leaving yellow outlines around. At the base of the leaves, a bacterial exudate is secreted: gray-white or light yellow smudges. Brown streaks or spots appear on the stem. Root crops are covered with ulcers and brown spots. The vegetable smells harsh and unpleasant.
Carrot jaundice is considered a rare intermediate disease between viral and bacterial., which is carried by leaf beetles. The disease affects carrots from the moment of germination. The leaves turn yellow, turn yellow, and then turn reddish-purple. There are many stems, but weak, the tops are similar to the "witch's broom". Lateral roots are formed on root crops. They become soft during storage.
Reference. Plant jaundice is caused by phytoplasm, which invades plant cells and changes them so that they become more attractive to insects. This is how phytoplasm spreads through carrots, parsley, celery and other vegetables.
Disease control methods
Various methods of combating carrot diseases are successful - both folk and chemical... Often gardeners have to look for the method that is suitable for a particular soil type and climate. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with each of them in the table.
| Disease | Popular method of struggle | Chemicals | Other |
| Dry rot, or phomosis | Garlic solution: the heads or shoots of the vegetable are chopped. Dissolve 1.5 cups of garlic in 1 bucket of water, insist for a day, filter the solution, add 2 g of potassium permanganate. Sprayed at the first signs of disease of the plant or its neighbors. Then - every 2 weeks. | Before planting, fertilize with a phosphorus-potassium mixture. Spray with 1% Bordeaux liquid at the first signs of illness. | All diseased plants are destroyed. |
| White rot | The crushed chalk is mixed with a strong solution of potassium permanganate: the consistency is liquid, the chalk should completely dissolve. Spray on the plant with a brush. | For spraying, chemical agents are used: copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid, "Hom", "Rovral", "Euparen multi" or other copper preparations. 1 remedy - 1 season, otherwise addiction occurs. | Since the virus is transmitted from weeds, at the first sign of illness, a thorough weeding is carried out. All infected vegetables are dug up and burned. |
| Felt rot, or rhizoctonia | The virus is not excreted by folk remedies. | Before sowing, lime is added to the soil. The disease is treated during the period of active growth: they are sprayed with preparations with copper chloroxide. | After harvesting, the roots are carefully selected. All amazed, cracked are thrown away. |
| Gray rot, or botrytosis | With a small number of foci of gray rot, a mixture of chalk (1 glass), wood ash (1 glass), and copper sulfate (1 tsp) is used per 10 liters of water. | Carrots are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid - it helps even at a late stage of infection. The virus is treated with fungicides, for example, "Fitosporin-M". |
In the storage area at the root crops, the affected areas are cut off, and the remaining parts are sent for processing. The room is ventilated after cleaning for 1-2 hours. |
| Black rot, or alternaria
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When watering, add mullein or nettle solutions. 1 kg of raw materials is placed in a large non-metallic container, 10 liters of cold water are poured. The mass is placed in the sun for 2 weeks and stirred daily. Before watering, dilute with water - 1: 5.
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Get rid of the disease by spraying with the drug "Rovral".
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| Cercosporosis
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The shoots are sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
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The premises where carrots are stored are treated with lime and sulfur sticks annually. | |
| Powdery mildew | In 10 liters of hot water, dilute 2 tbsp. l. mustard powder, cool, sprinkle on the affected bushes, pour the rest under the roots. | After the carrots are harvested, all plant residues are burned, the soil is dug deeply and wood ash is added (200 g per 1 m²).
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| Fusarium | In 1 liter of milk, 25 g of grated laundry soap is diluted, 35 drops of iodine are added. Plants are sprayed with this agent. | Affected plants are treated with fungicides: "Baktofit", "Fitosporin-M", "Trichodermin", "Maxim".
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| Brown spot | Plants are treated with a decoction of pre-crushed celandine, horsetail or nettle. The grass is soaked in 10 liters of water, after an hour squeezed into the same water.After 3 hours, liquid or laundry soap and calcium chloride (1 ampoule) are added to the resulting infusion. Strain before spraying. | Solutions "Bravo" and "Quadris" show themselves well. The treatment is repeated after 1-1.5 weeks. | |
| Variegated dwarfism | The plantings are pollinated with ash or tobacco dust. | The beds are treated with chemical insecticides: "Intavir", "Karate", "Iskra", "Commander", "Zeon". | Coriander, garlic, basil, mustard are planted in the aisles.
The disease causing aphids are washed off with water. |
| Bacterial rot, or bacteriosis | Does not exist. | Seedlings are sprayed with preparations "Hom", "Fundazol", "Yamato", "Baylon". | Affected plants are removed and burned. |
| Jaundice | Does not exist. | They destroy insect vectors by washing them off with water. |
Prevention measures
The best way to fight disease is through prevention. By following the rules of planting, pre-planting preparation and care, you can avoid severe infections. and save the harvest.
Pre-planting treatment of the site and seeds
Pre-planting site processing consists in applying fertilizers before sowing... They start in the fall, after the harvest has been harvested and a new place for planting carrots has been determined. When digging, the soil is fed:
- sandy - scatter over a bucket of humus and peat on 1 m²;
- loamy - pour half a bucket of sand and 100 g of superphosphate, lime and potash fertilizers.
After the work, the soil is dug up and sifted, if after digging it has not become loose.
In the spring, before planting, they are embedded in the soil nitrogen fertilizers (urea) or fertilizers containing nitrogen (Cytovit).
During sowing, sprinkle the beds with wood ash or dolomite flour... Ash contains potassium and phosphorus, reduces soil acidity and protects against disease. Mineral fertilizers are also introduced: per 1 m² - 100 g of potassium fertilizer, 200 g of superphosphate and 50 g of sodium nitrate. All this is covered with lime for better assimilation of fertilizers at the rate of 100 g per 1 m².
Carrot seeds are disinfected before sowing, then the fungus and other diseases will not be afraid of them:
Soaking in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate... 1 g is dissolved in 100 ml of water, the seeds are placed there for 15-20 minutes, taken out, washed with clean water and dried.- Use of biostimulants... The most famous is "Epin": for one drop of the drug, take 50 ml of water at room temperature, keep the seeds for 2-4 hours, wash and dry until they flow. They also use potassium humate or sodium humate: 100 ml of water is added to 1 g of powder - this is a mother liquor. One drop of it is diluted in 200 ml of warm water and the seeds are soaked for a day.
- People's aloe juice recipe: A leaf of a three-year-old plant is wrapped in gauze and a bag and kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Then juice is squeezed out of it, 5-10 drops of which are diluted in a glass of water, seeds are placed there for a day. Do not wash off, dry and plant.
If you have purchased seeds, for the labeling that they are treated for disease, look on the packaging. There is no need to re-disinfect these seeds.
Take a note:
Other tricks
The best way to protect carrots from disease is proper care.... The plant needs to provide timely watering, loosening, hilling, weeding and feeding.
Proper care starts with planting: plant seeds in sandy soil to a depth of 4-5 cm, in clay soil - 1 cm. Carrots love warmth and sun. It should grow in open, unshaded areas. Provide timely watering, the dense soil is loosened after watering or rain. They huddle for the first time when the tail of the carrot has appeared and has grown slightly. Then - as the top is exposed.
Attention! You can grow carrots in the same place in 2-3 years. Do not plant a vegetable after lettuce and parsley - they have common pests.
Mineral fertilizers, which are necessary for the growth of carrots and protection against diseases - nitrogen, potash and phosphoric: "K-humate-Na", "Kristallon", "Solution", "Kemira". They are not deposited at a time.
Important! It is necessary to get rid of weeds in the garden bed and inter-bed space. Weeds attract pests that spread to carrots and are carriers of fungal and other diseases.
What are the pests of carrots
Pest control is carried out not only on carrots, but on the entire garden plot, treat all affected crops, weed the beds as they overgrow. Only such a struggle will save plants from damage and death. The table shows the pests of carrots in the garden and methods of dealing with them.
| Carrot pests and their description | Signs of pest damage
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Control methods |
| Carrot fly... A pupa sleeps underground and turns into a small gray-brown insect. It is difficult to distinguish it on carrot tops.
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It feeds on root crops. The tops acquire a bronze hue, dry up and die off. | Spray with chemical agents "Sharpei", "Decis Profi", "Actellik" or watered with pure ammonia.
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| Beetle leaf... The pest is transparent green. The wings and legs are like those of a flea. Females lay eggs on the tops so that the larvae feed on the sap of the leaves.
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The larvae actively eat the foliage, which makes the plant dry out. | The eggs that appear are collected, the beds are treated with soapy water or tobacco dust (400 g of the drug per 10 l of water). |
| Umbrella moth looks like a brown butterfly.
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Eats the fruit of carrots, weaves cocoons on the root crop. They drink vegetable juice before turning into a pupa. The tops darkens, the root crop dries. | Seedlings are treated with "Lepidocide" or "Entobacterin". |
| Naked slugs... They have a smooth, grayish-pinkish or yellowish-white body with stripes or black spots. It is easy to find out that slugs have appeared by a sticky shiny trail on the leaves and fruits.
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There is where the soil moisture is increased. They eat leaves, eat holes in root crops. | A solution of lime is mixed with 250 g of ash, 600 g of superphosphate is added and the land is cultivated. |
| Wireworms - pale yellow worms 3 cm long, larvae of the click beetle. If there is a dark, striped, shiny beetle in the area that clicks loudly, it's time to destroy it.
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They feed on fruits, eat point passages in them. | How to deal with wireworm on carrots? Carrots are fed with ammonia fertilizers. Destroy the pest with drugs "Bazudin" and "Aktara". |
| Carrot aphid - a small green insect that completely clings to carrot leaves. | When aphids are on carrots, the greens curl, dries up, the carrots stop developing | The plantings are sprayed with infusion of tobacco, ash or soapy water (400 g of the product per bucket of water). |
| Medvedka - a large brown armored insect. | Gnaws carrot stems and roots. The plant dries up, withers. Gnawed root vegetables are not eaten. | A trap for a bear: manure is applied to the boards, the bear gets there to live. After two weeks, the pile is burned along with the pest. The chemical method of struggle is the drug "Medvetox". |
| Gall nematode - small worm-like insect. | Inhabits carrots and forms ugly growths on them. | The soil is treated with an anthelmintic drug "Dekaris". |
| Exclamation scoop... It looks like a brown butterfly. Caterpillars, which lie in the ground before pupating, destroy the vegetable. | It feeds on the root part of the stems and root crops, makes passages and holes in them. | Destroyed with chemicals "Decis", "Polytrin" and "Fury", sprayed with infusions of burdock and chamomile (two packs of the finished mixture in a bucket of water). |
Prevention measures
To defeat the pests that live underground, the soil is dug up twice: in the fall and spring, before planting, on a bayonet and a half. All pests that have hibernated since autumn will surface and die. And in the spring, once again loosening the earth, they kill not only the nascent pupae, but also create good conditions for the growth of the vegetable.
To prevent the appearance of pests on the tops, remove weeds in time from the beds and in the aisles. If they were not affected, they are sent to compost, and if there was a defeat, they are burned.
Why do carrots sometimes grow yellow instead of orange? The reason is poor quality planting material. It is recommended to plant seeds purchased from trusted stores... If you are sure that seeds collected from your site from carrots are not infected, plant, but be sure to process before planting.
Chemical method of soil cultivation for the purpose of prevention, it consists of two phases:
- When 4-6 carrot leaves appear, they are treated with ATO Zhuk (3 ml per 10 l of water).
- When 6-9 leaves grow, they are treated with Fas (4 ml per 10 l of water).
Recommendations and advice from experienced gardeners on how to grow the best harvest
Every experienced gardener has 10-20 tips in stock on how to get the best carrot harvest... Here are the main ones:
- In the spring, before sowing, the beds are not only dug up, but also furrowed so that the land is more lush. Carrots will not grow well on leveled, dense soil.
- Carrots are a vegetable that is eaten even unripe. At the first thinning, the fruit will be quite juicy and will go to salads and soups.
- To scare off pests, marigolds or calendula are planted around the perimeter of the beds. Do not plant parsley, dill, and lettuce.
- Fertilize according to a strict scheme. How can carrots be processed? Nitrogen fertilizing is applied to the soil in early June - growth will accelerate, carrots will hurt less. The next fertilizer is phosphorus, so that the root crop becomes stronger, sweeter, harder and does not dry out. Potassium fertilizer is applied in the middle of growth. The carrots will have a mild flavor and will remain fresh for a long time.
Conclusion
Growing carrots is not easy. This vegetable is picky and will not grow without proper care. If left to grow on its own, it can get sick or suffer from pests. To cure the affected plant, determine its disease and act with proven folk methods or use chemical preparations.