Mint: growing from seeds at home and in the garden. Fighting powdery mildew on plants: protection and treatment against powdery mildew A white coating has appeared on mint leaves

– the plant is attractive not only to humans, but also to many pests and diseases. Their list turns out to be very extensive and, accordingly, when growing mint, you need to be on the alert all the time.

It starts to bother me as soon as it grows back mint flea beetle(Longatarsus licopi Faudr.). Its rather small beetles and larvae, 1.5 mm in size, are straw-yellow in color and make round holes in the leaves. These pests are especially rampant if the spring is dry, without heavy rainfall and at the same time warm. The damage caused by this pest in some years can be very severe.

Another tormentor of mint - green shieldweed (Cassida viridis L.), which also begins to rage immediately from the beginning of spring regrowth and during the period of intensive growth. Beetles and larvae make rounded holes in the leaves and gnaw off the edges.

Peppermint leaf beetle (Chrysomela menthastri Suffr) is a small bug, 7-10 mm in size, green in color with a metallic sheen. Beetles and larvae chew holes and damage the edges of leaves.

(Aphis menthae L., Brachycaudus helichryi Kalt) - up to 2 mm in size, dark green, located in colonies at the bottom of the leaf. Basically it hurts top part shoots and the plant stops growing normally and forming full-fledged leaves. Destroyed during deep autumn digging. In some years it can noticeably affect plants.

Cicadas (Empoasca pteridis Dhlb) - adults and larvae suck the juice from the leaves and they begin to dry out. Young, growing plants are especially susceptible to attack by the pest.

Mint can be attacked from both sides weevils (Tanymecus palliatus F ., Bothynoderes punctiventris Germ.) - beetles gnaw off the edges of leaves, and the larvae quietly and unnoticed feed on the roots. The only joy is that this pest is not announced every year.

But meadow butterfly (Pyrausta sticticalis L.), which can eat up the plant almost completely, in some years causes very severe damage.

Peppermint mite - dangerous pest on South. It overwinters in the soil at a depth of 10 cm. From May to August it feeds on the sap of the tops of shoots, and in August it goes into the soil for the winter. Distributed with planting material. Control measures: deep digging, treatment of planting material with acaricides and return of mint to its original place no earlier than after 3 years

Gives an unaesthetic appearance to the plant and raw materials slobbering pennice (Philaenus spumarius L.). Adults and larvae cause deformation of vegetative and generative shoots, and its presence is accompanied by the appearance of white foamy lumps on the stems and in the leaf axils.

If mint grows in combination with wheatgrass or in the place where potatoes grew last year, beware wireworm(larvae of click beetles), which gnaws the roots. Here the control measures are only preventive - the battle with wheatgrass and planting mint after crops that are not interesting to this pest.

In addition to the listed pests, mint can be damaged by all kinds of caterpillars, which, like the cabbage cutworm, round-winged moth and burdock, gnaw leaves, the meadow moth, whose caterpillars eat the entire above-ground mass, and, of course, the ubiquitous mole cricket, which gnaws the roots.

How to deal with all these numerous parasites? Insecticides are used in production, for example deltamethrin (Decis), which is applied once in case of severe damage by these pests, but no later than 25-30 days before the intended harvest. However, on summer cottage, in the craving for everything environmentally friendly, it is better to take preventive measures, that is, change the place of planting at least once every 2 years, dig up the vacant area deeply, turning the soil, remove it on time and burn plant residues.

Against the pests listed above, you can try to spray the plants with a concentrated decoction of celandine (200 g of dry leaves per 10 liters of water, leave for a day, then add soap and spray the affected plants). A concentrated decoction of bird cherry twigs or an infusion of pine needles (1:1) can help with the scoop.

Of the diseases on mint, the most harmful rust(Puccinia menthae Pers.), which is found in all mint growing areas. This is a fungal disease, the development of which is promoted by high humidity, low air temperatures, excess nitrogen in the soil, as well as perennial mint cultivation. Brown pads appear on the underside of the leaves, which later acquire a dark brown color. Rust is usually dealt with using preventive measures and spraying. But, for example, in the USA they invented a rather exotic method - burning out the above-ground part using a flamethrower with a propane-butane flame at a pressure of 2-4 atm. and unit speed 1 km/h.

Powdery mildew (Erysiphe cichoracearum DC f. menthae), which manifests itself in the fact that a white cobwebby coating appears on the leaves and stems in the 2nd half of the growing season. Later, black fruiting bodies with spores appear. This disease is very common in the Non-Chernozem zone, where wet and cool weather conditions in August provoke the active development of the disease. Control measures: autumn plowing to a depth of 20 cm; dusting with ground sulfur at a dose of 20 kg/ha; spraying with a 1% solution of colloidal sulfur.

Verticillium wilt(wilt) is a disease caused by a pathogenic fungus that penetrates through root hairs. The top 2-3 pairs of leaves turn black and the plant dies. Agrotechnical control measures - compliance with crop rotation, destruction of damaged plantations after harvesting. Replanting after 9 years. Breeding wilt-resistant varieties, such as Prilukskaya 6.

Anthracnose (white grouse) - Brown spots appear on leaves affected by the fungus. The fungus overwinters on dead remains. Control measures: plowing, 3-4 times spraying with 1% Bordeaux mixture.

Septoria or leaf spot(Septoriamenthicola Sacc) - characteristic features There are round or angular brown spots (up to 8 mm in size) on the leaves, limited by a black rim and covered with black dots. Control measures are the same as for anthracnose.

The growth of rhizomes is caused by mycoplasma (Mycoplasma). Affected plants are stunted in growth, leaves acquire anthocyanin coloring, and rhizomes cease to form. With this disease, it is necessary to destroy damaged plants as quickly as possible and actively fight all gnawing and sucking pests that can transfer the disease from plant to plant. And, of course, transplanting healthy plants to another area.

The optimal measures to combat all of these diseases are prevention: replant plants in time, cut off plant debris and burn them, rather than compost them. To avoid rust and powdery mildew, you can cut the crop at the end of July, before the disease begins to spread, and therefore without resorting to chemical means of protection. In addition, an important factor reducing resistance to powdery mildew is excess nitrogen nutrition. But adding phosphorus and viburnum, on the contrary, will increase the plant’s resistance.

Photo: Nikolay Alekseev, Maxim Minin, Rita Brilliantova

If gooseberries have been growing at your dacha for a long time, you got the bush from your grandmother, and she once took cuttings from her great-grandmother, most likely you are familiar with the problem of powdery mildew firsthand. This whitish coating on the leaves and stems, brown spots on the berries, which can be cleaned off if you try, but it’s still not very pleasant. Old varieties are good because they are tasty and definitely have not undergone any modifications, but the problem is that they are not at all resistant to various diseases.

I don’t want to get rid of a tasty variety, but I don’t want to defeat powdery mildew. At the same time, it would be nice to do without toxic pesticides. Effective folk remedies prevention and control of powdery mildew. And they have been tested in practice.

The gooseberry disease, which everyone calls powdery mildew, is called spheroteca. It affects all parts of the bush: leaves, shoots, ovaries, berries. At first, the plant is covered with a white coating, and over time it turns into a brown, felt-like coating. The affected shoots are bent, the leaves are curled, and the fruits are poorly filled.

The disease is caused by a genus of fungi with the same name, which release spores twice: in spring and summer. Therefore, in a good way, you need to carry out three treatments of gooseberries against powdery mildew: before flowering, immediately after flowering and before leaf fall. In this case, it is better not to spray the bushes, but to wet them, trying not to miss a single branch. In addition, it is important to remember that the fungal spores overwinter in the litter, that is, it is necessary to spill the same product on the soil around the bush. It is recommended to carry out the treatment in the evening.

Folk remedies for powdery mildew on gooseberries

Ammonium nitrate 50 grams of ammonium nitrate are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Gooseberries are treated after flowering.

Aspirin + Soda 1 tbsp. soda, 1 aspirin tablet, 1 tsp. dishwashing detergent or liquid soap, 1 tbsp. vegetable oil dissolve in 4.5 liters of water. The bushes are treated with this composition once every two weeks during the season.

Water Water should be brought to a boil. In early spring, before the snow melts, gooseberry bushes are doused with boiling water directly from a watering can.

Gaupsin or trichodermin (biological products) 150 ml. The drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Spray gooseberries during the growing season at intervals of 2 weeks.

Ash Option 1. One kilogram of ash is poured into 10 liters of water and left for 7 days, stirring occasionally. Then carefully pour the infusion, leaving sediment at the bottom. Option 2,300 grams of ash are mixed with 10 liters of water, brought to a boil and boiled for 30 minutes. Then cool until sediment appears and carefully pour into a clean container. Option 3.3 kg. ash is poured with 10 liters of boiling water and left for 24 hours. Then filter. Spraying is carried out at the end of May - beginning of June three times with an interval of one day. The ash sludge is diluted with water and the soil under the bushes is watered with this mixture.

Soda ash 50 grams of soda ash dissolved in a small amount hot water, then bring the water to 10 liters and add 10 grams of liquid soap. Gooseberries are processed twice: before flowering and after flowering.

Kefir or sour milk 1 liter of kefir or sour milk is mixed with 9 liters of water. Treatment is carried out three times every three days.

Mullein Mullein is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 and infused for three days. Then dilute again with water 1:3 and filter. Gooseberries are treated before flowering, after flowering and before leaf fall.

Onion peel 200 grams of peel onions pour 10 liters of boiling water and leave for 2 days. Gooseberries are treated before flowering, after flowering and before leaf fall.

Whey 1 liter of whey is mixed with 9 liters of water. Treatment is carried out three times every three days.

Tansy 30 grams of dry tansy is poured with 10 liters of water and left for 24 hours. Then cook for 1.5-2 hours and filter. Tansy decoction is used to treat the ground around the bushes in spring and autumn.

Rotten hay or forest litter A bucket is filled one third with hay, topped up with water and left for three days. Then again dilute with water 1:3 and filter. Gooseberries are treated before flowering, after flowering and before leaf fall.

Soda 2 tbsp. soda and 50 grams of grated laundry soap are dissolved in 10 liters of water. The bushes are treated twice: before flowering and after flowering.

Fertilizers For 10 liters of water you need 20 grams of superphosphate, 50 grams of potassium chloride, 30 grams of urea, 5 grams of potassium permanganate. Gooseberries are sprayed once after flowering.

Fitosporin Take 100-150 ml. drug per 10 liters of water. The bush and the soil under it are treated in the spring before flowering and in the fall after fruiting.

Horsetail 1 kg. fresh horsetail is poured into 10 liters of water and boiled for 2 hours. The broth is cooled, filtered and diluted with water 1:5. Spray gooseberries during the summer season at intervals of a week.

In conclusion, I would like to say that powdery mildew, like many other fungal diseases, loves moisture, thickened plantings and soils poor in organic matter. Therefore, firstly, you need to try to regularly cut out old, poorly fruiting branches so that air can freely penetrate inside the bush, and secondly, to heal and enrich the soil with organic matter. Instead of digging under the bushes, weeding out all the weeds and removing the litter (what if there is a fungus lurking there?), it is better, on the contrary, to put tops under the gooseberries (the tops of nightshades are especially good: potatoes and tomatoes) and generously spill them on top with a solution of EM preparations . Beneficial microorganisms will quickly get down to business and “chew” organic residues along with pathogenic fungi. We wish you success and great harvests!

The mint leaf beetle, also called the green mint leaf beetle, loves to feast on mint. They especially love mint varieties such as longleaf mint, field mint, and water mint. At a fairly high population density, these pests are able to eat entire leaves on vegetation, which in turn provokes a decrease in the mass fraction of essential oil and yield in general. In addition to mint, other representatives of the famous Lamiaceae family sometimes act as food plants for mint leaf beetles.

Meet the pest

The mint leaf beetle is a pest beetle that ranges in size from eight to eleven millimeters. Its oval, smooth body is distinguished by a rather bright color - as a rule, it is blue-greenish.

Overwintering of the larvae, along with the beetles that have completed feeding, takes place in the surface soil layer. The extended release of beetles starts at an air temperature of 14 to 20 degrees in the first half of May, and its completion occurs in July. All bugs immediately after emergence are characterized by immobility and nest in leaf axils. They will begin to show activity in the form of intensive feeding somewhat later, and it will occur mainly in the evening and morning hours.

A month and a half after emergence, the additional feeding of the females is completed, and they begin to lay eggs not only on the luxurious mint inflorescences, but also on young leaves (mainly on their lower sides). The oviposition process begins approximately in mid-June, noticeably intensifying by the second half of July - early August, and its end usually occurs at the end of September. Each oviposition consists mainly of six to sixteen eggs. At the same time, it can contain up to forty-eight eggs at a maximum, and only two at a minimum. As for the general fertility of females, on average it reaches 250 eggs, and the duration of the stage embryonic development takes from six to eleven days.

Early reborn larvae, along with those that have completed their development, are sent for subsequent pupation into the soil, to a depth of two to three centimeters - they will turn into pupae in about one and a half to two weeks. The beetles that appear in August give rise to new generations until October-November, and then in the adult stage they move to winter. Together with them, the larvae that have accumulated a substantial supply of fat and protein deposits, as well as late-reborn larvae that have reached their final instar, overwinter. Within a year, two generations of mint leaf beetles develop.

Most often, these mint pests inhabit areas located in damp, low areas, well-warmed by the sun and protected from the wind.

How to fight

Wild mint species should be promptly eliminated from the site. You should also observe spatial isolation of mint plantings of different years.

Vegetation against mint leaf beetles can be sprayed with a concentrated decoction of celandine: for ten liters of celandine water you will need 200 g. Dried leaves should be taken. The raw materials filled with water should be left for 24 hours, and then a little soap should be added.

In the breeding areas of mint leaf beetles, the use of insecticides is allowed. The most commonly used are Fosbecid or Actellik. And forty days before the start of harvesting, such treatments are stopped.

Some amateur gardeners believe that mint does not need care: plant it and forget it. This is a misconception - like others cultivated plants, aromatic grass responds to care with high yields and does not create problems. If the plantings are not given any attention, they can get sick and be attacked by pests. For example, the appearance of a white coating on mint signals the presence of a common disease - powdery mildew. Only timely help will save the situation and allow you to enjoy the inimitable taste of a drink made from fresh leaves, as well as prepare them for future use.

People appreciate mint for its taste, pleasant smell and content of nutrients. However, this crop also attracts many pests and pathogens. Having planted herbs on your site, you should not leave it without proper attention.

Prevention measures:

• do not leave plants in one place for a long time;
• cut off the stems after harvest and burn them;
• reduce nitrogen content in the soil;
• apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Rust

A dangerous fungal disease is widespread everywhere. It is expressed in the appearance of orange pads on the back of the leaves, which become brown over time.

The occurrence of the disease is associated with cool weather, high humidity, and excess nitrogen in the soil.

Infected plantings need to be sprayed with fungicides, which is permissible only at the beginning of plant development. The risk of the disease also depends on the variety of mint.

Powdery mildew cannot be confused with anything: a whitish coating on the leaves and stems entangles plants like a cobweb. This phenomenon is typical for adult plants. Subsequently, the appearance of black fruiting bodies filled with spores is observed. The disease is stimulated by the August cold snap, heavy dew and increased air humidity. The fight consists of spraying the bushes with a weak solution of colloidal sulfur and pollination with ground sulfur. In autumn, deep plowing of the site is indicated. Interestingly, mint varieties susceptible to powdery mildew are not affected by rust, and vice versa.

A fungal attack causes a slowdown in plant growth, loss of elasticity, and darkening of the lower part of the stem. In hot weather the plantings dry out, in rainy weather they rot. The risk of Fusarium wilt increases in cold or dry summers in the absence of watering. The source of infection is plant debris and contaminated soil. No treatment most of the crop is destroyed.

Phyllosticosis

Infection is indicated by leaves covered with small round white spots with a brown rim. Later, black dots - pycnidia - form in the center of the spot, and the leaves begin to fall off. The fungal pathogen remains to overwinter in plant debris and is activated at a temperature of +23...+28 degrees.

Anthracnose

The disease is expressed by brown spots that gradually turn white in the center of the leaves, which cover all organs of the plant. Serious damage leads to falling leaves, bending and thinning of the stems.

In most cases, the infection is hidden in plant debris.

Mint grown from seedlings has a higher risk of anthracnose infection. However, this disease is not so widespread as to cause significant damage to the crop.

Ascochyta blight

During the disease, spots with brown pycnidia, grouped in groups of 2-3, become noticeable on the stems and leaves. The growth of the bushes slows down, the stems become bent, and the leaves dry out and fall off. Often, the fungus moves from catnip or motherwort, so the proximity of these crops should be avoided.

Septoria

The manifestation of a fungal disease is light spots with a dark edging, round or triangular in shape. Black dots with pycnidia form in the middle of the spots. Cracks appear in this area and the fabric falls out over time. The infection most often affects plantings located in wetlands and places with close groundwater, at an air temperature of +22...+27 degrees.

Downy mildew

A dangerous disease that affects leaves and inflorescences. Symptoms include a barely noticeable, gray-violet coating on the flowers and greenish shapeless spots on the outside of the leaves. The development of the disease leads to deformation and falling of leaves, a change in the color of the inflorescences to brown and their drying out. Rainy weather activates mint rot. Infection occurs by preserving the spores and mycelium of the fungus in the harvest residues. The chances of disease occurrence are reduced in dry, elevated areas exposed to wind.

sprouting

The disease caused by microplasma microorganisms manifests itself from the moment the seedlings appear. Plants are colored anthocyanin, are stunted in growth and do not form root system. Otherwise, many thinned shoots with hypertrophied inflorescences are formed.

Mint pests and methods of controlling them

Insect pests, attracted by the bright mint aroma, negatively affect the development of plantings.

This culture has many dangerous enemies, including:

• mint flea;
• mint leaf beetle;
• mint mite.

It annoys mint plants from the moment they grow, making holes in the leaves. Yellow bugs and larvae become active in warm, dry spring. In favorable seasons they cause significant damage to the crop. To combat insects during leaf formation, the Actellica solution is used.

A small green beetle with a bronze tint and its larvae gnaw at the edges of the leaves and make holes in them. A large concentration of the pest can destroy mint plantations. For prevention purposes, planting plants on ridges with wide row spacing is recommended. Treatment with infusion of chamomile and hot pepper is effective. In advanced cases, Metaphos or Chlorophos is used.

Mainly covers the southern territories. It comes to the surface of the soil in May and feeds on the juice of the upper part of the stems until August.

Deep autumn digging of ridges, burning of plant residues, replanting mint every two years and treatment with acaricidal preparations help to cope with insects.

In addition to these types of insect pests, the following are dangerous to mint:

• Cicadas. They prefer to suck the juices from young seedlings.
• Weevils. The larvae eat the root system, while the adults gnaw off the edges of the leaves.
• Meadow moths. A single specimen can destroy an entire plant.
• Drooling pennies. The damage is caused by adult insects and larvae that deform the shoots of the crop. They reveal themselves as foamy lumps located on the stems and in the axils of the foliage.
• Wireworms. The larvae of the click beetle gnaw the rhizomes. They remain in the soil from potatoes or are transmitted from wheatgrass.
• Medvedki. They destroy the roots, causing the mint to die.

The fragrant plantings are also pestered by caterpillars of the burdock, round-winged moth, meadow moth and cabbage cutworm.

General pest control measures include the use of insecticides if the damage to plantings is too severe.

One-time spraying is allowed a month before harvest. This method is used as a last resort!

If you follow agrotechnical practices, preventive procedures are sufficient to minimize the risk of mint being affected by diseases and pests. In addition to the methods described above, plantings can be treated with a decoction of celandine, prepared from 200 g of leaves per bucket of water (let it stand for a day, after which a soap solution is added, and the decoction is ready). Some insects are repelled by an infusion of pine needles and a decoction of bird cherry branches.

You can add infusions to the list of environmentally friendly preparations for controlling garden pests:

• onion;
• garlic;
• tobacco;
• dandelion;
• yarrow.

Mint is an essential oil crop; it is grown mainly to obtain essential and partly fatty oil. In addition to mint, the following are used for the same purposes: coriander, cumin, fennel, clary sage, basil, pink geranium, essential oil rose, common lavender and iris. Mint is a perennial plant from the Lamiaceae family. To obtain essential oil, they mainly grow ordinary peppermint, but as medicinal plant- cultivate high-menthol. Growing mint It is very popular among gardeners and gardeners and it is widely used in a variety of recipes.

growing mint

Regular peppermint contains essential oil only in foliage (in dry leaves - up to 3%) and inflorescences, and in the stem it is much less. It is used in the food, perfumery and cosmetics, alcoholic beverage and tobacco industries and in medicine. Dry leaves are used as a spice in canning cucumbers and other vegetables, in making fruit tea, and are also used in medicine.

Mint propagation

Mint is propagated mainly by rhizomes, and, in addition, also by lashes, green sprouted layering and cuttings. Sometimes it produces very small seeds, but they have low germination rates. Propagation of mint by seeds leads to significant deviation from the parent plants. At experimental breeding stations, seeds are used to develop new varieties of mint.

Peppermint has been known for about 300 years. In our country, it appeared in the last quarter of the 19th century and was grown in small areas.

Soil and planting mint

Mint is a plant that loves moisture and therefore low-lying areas with close soil water should be allocated for it. The best for growing mint are sandy loam and loamy chernozems, as well as alluvial soils of riverine lowlands. It also grows well on cultivated peat fields. Alkaline, sandy and heavy clayey, easily floating soils are unsuitable for it.

The best predecessor of mint is winter crops, which were sown in fertilized open fallow or after perennial grasses. Good harvests mint is obtained after (well-fertilized) hemp, tobacco, and potatoes. If the predecessor was not fertilized, 30-40 7 kg/ha of manure in combination with mineral fertilizers should be applied to the mint. Based on this calculation: on chernozems - 60-70 kg of nitrogen, 45-50 kg of phosphorus and 45 kg/ha of potassium, on gray forest soils - 80-85 kg of nitrogen, 50-55 kg of phosphorus and 70-75 kg/ha ha potassium. On podzol sandy loam soils, after grain harvesting, lupine is sown, which is planted when the plowed land rises.

Autumn plowing is carried out in August and September: on chernozems - to a depth of -27 cm, on podzolic soils - at least 20 cm.

Mint is planted with rhizomes in the first days of field work, or seedlings within 10 days from the moment it grows. When using a special seeder, the rhizomes are cut into pieces of 7-10 cm. When planting manually, parts of the rhizome are placed in the furrows in continuous strips.

In lowlands that dry out late, mint is planted as seedlings. Row spacing is 60 cm.

Mint care

6-10 days after planting, the plantation is checked and new plants are planted in liquefied areas.

During the growing season, the soil is loosened 4-5 times between the rows, while weeding. In addition to weeds, other types of mint are pulled out, the admixture of which in the raw material spoils the essential mint oil. A significant increase in mint yield is facilitated by fertilizing with local and mineral fertilizers.

During the first feeding, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are added - 25-30 kg / ha, and during the second - only nitrogen and phosphorus in the same amount.

Harvesting

Mint begins to be collected in dry weather, when 50% of the plants bloom. During harvesting, special mowers, or haymowers, are used, adapted for low cutting. After harvesting, the transitional areas of mint are plowed to a depth of 13-15 cm.

Mint diseases and pests

The most common mint diseases are rust and grouse. Control measures: plowing the soil, planting mint with rhizomes cleared of ground parts to a depth of 7-8 cm, spraying one percent Bordeaux mixture on the affected plants.

Among the pests, mint is damaged by the spider mite. When it appears, spray the plants with tobacco decoction or a 3% solution of liquid soap, repeating the treatment after 4-6 days until the pest is destroyed. Aphids, fleas, shield moths and meadow moth caterpillars are also dangerous to mint.

Growing greens on a windowsill or home garden is becoming very popular today. For example, read how to grow parsley