What to do if carrots rot during storage and why it happens

Many are faced with the fact that after harvesting, it is not possible to keep the carrots in the cellar until spring. Compared to other vegetables, it is more prone to fungal diseases. This vegetable has a thin skin that bacteria can easily penetrate. Root crops start to deteriorate and have to be thrown away. Consider why carrots rot during storage and how to save them.

Causes of carrot rot

Often, after harvesting, vegetable growers notice that the carrots lying in the cellar begin to rot. This happens for the following reasons:

• the summer was rainy, the crop was often watered, because of which the water stagnated in the beds, the soil was waterlogged;
• the weather in summer was cold, the earth was not warmed up well;
• the soil is poor in potassium;
• it rained during the harvest, so the carrots got into the storage raw;
• root crops were harvested after frost;
• vegetables were not sorted before being placed in storage, so damaged or diseased specimens got into the cellar;
• the crop was kept at high humidity and air temperature.

Even one of these reasons leads to the appearance of mold, and when several factors combine, the risk of spoilage of vegetables increases. Most often they are affected by brown and dry fusarium rot.

Diseases that cause rot

Rot does not appear immediately: the incubation period of diseases lasts from 3 weeks to 2 months. If the danger is not noticed in time, it is easy to lose the entire crop.

White rot

When root crops grow, sclerotinosis does not manifest itself, but by the time they ripen, it goes into a state of activity.

Key features illness:

1. The surface of the carrot becomes wet, slippery, but the color does not change.
2. The affected areas are covered with a fungus that resembles white cotton wool. After a while, it thickens, hard black growths appear on the vegetables.

Sources of infection are the soil and premises in which diseased vegetables were previously stored.

Important! The maximum activity of sclerotinia (the pathogenic fungus) is shown at 4–9 weeks, therefore, during this period, the vegetables in the cellar are examined again.

Contaminated carrots should not be eaten. It should not be thrown into the compost heap, as this will spread the fungus spores throughout the area.

Gray rot

Gray rot, or botrythiasis, occurs due to hypothermia, insufficient watering and other violations of agricultural technology.

The main signs of the disease:

• carrots become soft and wet;
• covered with gray spots, in the place of which threadlike stripes are later formed.

If you do not take measures, when storing infected vegetables in an isolated room, crop losses will be up to 85%.

Black rot

Alternaria cause carrot fly and mechanical damage to root crops. On the site, the sources of the disease are infected seeds and soil, fungal spores on garden tools.

Dark, as if depressed spots on root crops testify to black rot. These places over time turn black or take on a dark olive color.

In a cold room, the disease does not spread, and in humid and hot storages, the fungus actively multiplies.

Scab

Crop losses from this disease reach 10%. The scab manifests itself 2-3 months after the carrots are placed in the cellar.

The fungus lives in the soil, so a violation of crop rotation becomes the main cause of infection.

First, ulcers appear on the vegetables, then white mushroom mycelium. Over time, it changes color, becoming light brown.

Fomoz

Brown rot is caused by infected seeds and soil. Phomosis leads to the appearance of dark spots on the root crops, a sticky mass begins to stand out.

Reference. The fungus lives in the soil for up to 3 years and is not afraid even of severe frosts.

Fusarium rot

Soil is the main source of infection. Under favorable conditions, a fungus develops in it, which penetrates the plant, affects its vascular system and tissues.

First, dry ulcers form on the root crops, which crack. Because of this, vegetables shrivel, become covered with folds, resemble "mummies".

Others

Carrots growing in beds are affected by powdery mildew. It is identified by a gray bloom on the tops and dark brown spots. The growth of root crops stops, they become sinewy.

The disease occurs in hot weather, with alternating periods of drought and light rain.

During storage harvest often develops rhizoctonia (felt disease). Vegetables first turn brown, and then soften and rot. The manifestation of rhizoctonia is observed even in the growth phase of carrots: gray spots appear on the root crops, which eventually become covered with a purple bloom with black sclerotia of the fungus.

The disease occurs on acidic soils with a lack of moisture and aeration.

What to do with rotting carrots

If the vegetables in storage begin to rot, they are sorted out. Damaged specimens are placed in plastic bags, exported or burned to destroy fungal spores. The container in which the carrots lay are washed with a solution of potassium permanganate.

For further storage, completely healthy roots are left. To protect against diseases, they are treated with "Fitop-Flora-S".

Prevention measures

To prevent the harvest from being lost, special attention is paid to the prevention of diseases:

1. To prevent white rot of carrots, crop rotation is observed: do not plant a crop after tomatoes or cucumbers. They increase the amount of potash and phosphorus fertilizers.
2. Storing carrots and cabbage or celery separately will protect vegetables from gray mold. Before planting, the seeds are disinfected by keeping them in water heated to + 50 ° C for half an hour.
3. To prevent the crop from hitting Alternaria, they observe the temperature regime. Optimum performance in the cellar is -2 ... + 2 ° С, humidity is at least 80%. The room must be well ventilated.
4. To protect against scab, the soil is lime. During storage, the vegetables are sprinkled with dry sand or placed in plastic bags with holes.
5. To prevent the development of phomosis, the roots are carefully dug out of the ground. When preparing the soil in autumn, 40 g of potassium chloride per 1 m² are added. 2 weeks before harvesting, the culture is fed with the same product (50 g per 10 l of water).
6. Compliance with the rules of crop rotation will protect root crops from fusarium. Seeds and soil are treated with Fundazol.
7. To prevent powdery mildew, the seeds are heated in hot (+ 50 ... + 55 ° C) water, disinfected with 1% potassium permanganate solution, observe the rules of crop rotation, thin out the plants.
8. For the prevention of rhizoctonia on carrots, the efficiency of soil liming is high. The culture is not planted in one place more often than once every 3-4 years. Plants are treated with "HOM".

Before planting, not only humus is introduced into the soil, but also potash fertilizers. The vegetables are dug out before the onset of frost.

The brick walls of the cellar are burned with a blowtorch or whitewashed with lime, and the surfaces made of wood - with milk of lime.

It is interesting:

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How to properly store carrots in a basement or subfield

Only healthy roots without mechanical damage are sent for storage to the cellar. Carrots are kept in:

• sand;
• boxes;
• chalk;
• clay;
• plastic bags.

Once every 2-3 weeks, vegetables are inspected and damaged roots are removed in time.

Council. The crops are harvested from the beds on a dry day at an air temperature of + 4 ... + 6 ° С. Carrot tops must be cut off, departing 1 cm from the base of the root crop.

What to do if mold appears on the carrots in the cellar? The harvest is taken out, the storage is treated with antifungal agents or sulfuric bombs, the walls are ventilated and insulated with waterproofing materials. The container is washed with a solution of potassium permanganate, and the garden gloves in which they worked are thrown away.

Conclusion

It is easier to prevent carrot rot than to fight it. To protect against fungus, the rules of crop rotation are observed, the crop is harvested before the first frost. The storage is whitewashed annually, and the containers for vegetables are disinfected. Only dry healthy roots are lowered into the cellar. They are regularly examined, rotten carrots are removed, burned or thrown away.