Table beets are considered an unpretentious vegetable that even beginners can grow. However, sometimes the cultivation of such a plant is accompanied by serious diseases, leading to deterioration in yield and death of the bushes. To maintain the health of beet bushes, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the description and treatment of beet diseases.
Disease prevention: general agrotechnical practices
Before you start planting, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with the features of disease prevention so that beet diseases do not appear. There are a number of agrotechnical recommendations that should be followed when planting and growing this crop:
- Alternation of crops. It is recommended to adhere to proper crop rotation to reduce the number of pathogens of infectious diseases in the soil.
- Processing the area. Before planting, the soil must be treated with disinfectants.
- Liming. To ensure reliable protection for the dining room sugar beets, carry out liming. To do this, add quicklime, flour and wood ash to the soil.
- Seed dressing. A prerequisite for growing and planting beets is the processing of seed material. To do this, the seeds are treated with antimicrobial mixtures and manganese solution.
Common diseases
There are many common sugar beet diseases that vegetable growers encounter when growing this vegetable. It is recommended to familiarize yourself in advance with their distinctive features and medicinal folk remedies for restoring the leaves of beet bushes.
Corneater
All beet diseases are different from each other and manifest themselves in different ways. Corneater differs from most common diseases, as this disease is considered complex. The development of the root beetle is carried out by dozens of different bacteria and fungi, the action of which can lead to the death of all bushes.
Most often, the disease appears in waterlogged soil or due to frequent temperature changes. At first, the root beetle affects only the root system of the seedlings, which is why the roots gradually rot and darken.The rot then spreads to the stem and leaves. Affected bushes grow worse, and the quality of their root crops deteriorates significantly.
It is recommended to start treating seedlings immediately after the first signs of the root beetle appear. Without timely treatment, all infected bushes will darken and rot. To get rid of the disease, all seedlings are sprayed with the chemicals Thiram, Prefikur or Fitosporin.
Cercospora
A common disease that is often encountered when growing beet bushes is cercospora blight. This is a fungal disease, the sources of which are often found in the seed or transferred by spores from infected plants to healthy ones. When contacted with seedlings, fungi quickly multiply and infect the leaves. Most often, cercospora blight appears in the second half of June in rainy weather.
Identifying bushes infected with this fungal disease is quite simple. When a pathogen enters the leaves of the bushes, small gray spots appear. Over time, all spots on the leaves decrease to small black dots. Infected seedlings weaken and their root growth deteriorates.
To prevent healthy beets from becoming infected with cercospora blight, measures are taken to combat this disease. To do this, all the tops of infected bushes are dug up and burned. Then the soil is treated with chemicals to destroy the causative agents of cercospora.
Ramulariasis
Beet ramulariasis is often confused with cercospora blight, as these diseases have very similar symptoms. With ramularia, spotting also appears on the leaves and the plant gradually dies. However, these diseases have a number of differences, the main one of which is the color of the spots. In this case, the lesions are colored not dark, but light.
Another distinctive feature is the size of the spots, which are 1–2 cm in diameter.
Most often, ramulariasis appears in the second half of summer in hot weather. First, spots appear on the lower leaves of the bushes, after which they gradually move to the petioles and tops. The platinum leaf on infected plants is destroyed and completely dies.
To stop the development of ramularia, all infected seedlings are treated with fungicidal solutions when fighting the disease.
Fomoz
Some gardeners do not consider beet blight a serious disease, since it develops only at the end of the growing season after the root crops have ripened. However, do not underestimate the negative consequences of Phoma, since its signs appear even after harvesting a ripe harvest.
When such a disease appears, the plant becomes covered with large brown spots. At first they appear in the lower part of the bushes, but over time the spotting spreads to the peduncles and petioles. Because of this, all the tops gradually dry out and you have to get rid of them earlier. If treatment is not done in time, after 1-2 months the entire harvested crop will turn black and spoil.
All infected plants should be regularly treated with curative fungicidal preparations.
Downy mildew
One of the most common diseases is beet downy mildew, which most often affects beet bushes. The disease develops in spring or summer in conditions of high humidity. Characteristic signs of peronosporosis are deformation of the leaves and their death.
The cause of the disease is a fungus that attacks healthy tops and completely covers them with yellow spots.Also, due to the influence of the fungus, a purple or gray coating appears on the surface of the sheets, in which peronosporosis spores multiply. To preserve crops and protect them from this disease, you should disinfect the seed before planting and periodically treat the plants with fungicides.
Kagatny rot
This beet disease develops under the influence of fungi and other harmful microorganisms. The first signs of the disease appear at the end of summer. Root rot most often affects the roots of the plant, the surface of which gradually becomes covered with mold. Over time, mold causes fruit tissue to die and decompose.
The reasons for the appearance of rot on root crops include low temperatures and low air humidity, due to which root crops lose turgor. The disease also appears if the soil is not fertilized with fertilizers during cultivation.
To protect seedlings from black rot, you will have to adhere to certain recommendations. It is not recommended to plant beet varieties that do not have resistance to common diseases. Also, to preserve fruits from rot, it is recommended to sort the entire harvest before storage and put fruits with mechanical damage in a separate container.
They fly, crawl, chew
Beet bushes suffer not only from diseases, but also from pests, which must be gotten rid of using folk remedies or other methods.
Beet flea beetle
Often beet diseases appear due to the beet flea beetle, which attacks the bushes. This insect is considered quite dangerous, as it damages young leaves of seedlings.Sometimes the pest does not stop at the leaves and eats the growing points, which is why the bushes cannot grow normally and die.
The main signs of the presence of beet leaf aphids include curling and complete drying of the leaves. It is recommended to cure infected plants before the second generation of insects appears, which grow by mid-July. If you do not get rid of the beet flea beetle in a timely manner, you will not be able to harvest healthy beet roots.
Beet leaf miner
Often beet seedlings die due to the beet fly, which is considered a dangerous pest. The insect arrives on the bushes in the first half of May and lays eggs on them to hatch the next offspring. Over time, larvae hatch from the eggs, which feed on the leaf blade and completely eat away the affected tissue. The cavities formed on the sheets gradually dry out.
To protect bushes from beet leaf miner and beet diseases, special measures are taken to combat pests and diseases. It is recommended to use insecticidal solutions prepared from Proteus or Maxi preparations.
Conclusion
Most vegetable growers who are interested in planting vegetables in their gardens grow beets. To harvest healthy beet roots, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with the common diseases of this vegetable crop and the features of their treatment.
