A white coating has appeared on the mint leaves. Fighting powdery mildew on plants: protection and treatment against powdery mildew fungi

Pest and disease control of roses

Pest control Slugs This type of pest has occupied the entire European part of Russia. There are especially many of them in ravines and lowlands in the summer during the wet period on peat bogs and heavy, very wet soils. Slugs are not afraid of sub-zero temperatures, going half a meter into the ground in winter.

Pest control For autumn work in the garden, craftsmen have created a whole set of tools, implements and

Disease and Pest Control Agricultural crops are very susceptible to diseases and pests. To prevent the occurrence of diseases, regular inspection of the site and preventive work are carried out. In most cases, the source of pathogenic

Some amateur gardeners believe that mint does not need care: plant it and forget it. This is a misconception - like other 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 dying.

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 emerge. Plants are stained with an anthocyanin tint, are stunted in growth and do not form a 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.

Varieties for growing on a windowsill

• Vegetable fun. Perennial bush that can grow in partial shade. The leaves of the plant have a menthol aroma and a refreshing taste. The height of the shoots is 50 cm. The variety is demanding on the composition of the soil; the volume of green mass depends on the amount of nutrients.
• The Spike Ceremony. A medium sized mint bush with deep green foliage. Needs good lighting, stretches out in the shade and forms few shoots. It has a high menthol content and a pronounced aroma. Mainly used in cooking.
• Pennyroyal. Suitable for growing at home due to its compact size. The shoots are densely covered with miniature leaves with a purple tint. The drooping stems have a distinct minty aroma. Tender greens are used to make drinks.

Ways to grow mint in an apartment

Seeds

Mint planted on a windowsill from seeds produces the first harvest of greenery in 2-2.5 months. A lengthy and labor-intensive method of cultivation is used when it is necessary to obtain a certain variety of plant.

Root layering

Using cuttings

Step-by-step instructions for growing mint on a windowsill

Landing place

Which container to choose

Remember! The plant takes root well in a ceramic pot. It has the property of absorbing excess moisture and letting in the air required by the roots.

Before transplanting mint into a pot, you need to take care of the drainage layer at the bottom of the soil and holes for draining excess water. Should not be used for planting plastic containers. In such bowls, the roots do not receive enough air.

What soil to plant mint in?

Preparation of material and planting mint

• The soil in the container is moistened and large lumps are removed.
• In the bowl, grooves are made in the soil to a depth of 1-2 mm.
• The seeds are planted in the soil and carefully sprinkled with a layer of earth.
• The crops are sprayed with settled water and covered with a transparent lid.

Seedling care

Attention!. Mineral fertilizing is applied 14 days after diving and repeated a month later.

Main diseases and pests of mint

Subtleties of mint collection

Peppermint (lat. Mentha piperita), or cold mint, or English mint, or peppermint, or chill- a herbaceous perennial, a species of the genus Mint of the family Lamiaceae, or Lamiaceae, bred by hybridizing garden mint (spearmint) and water mint. Peppermint was considered a valuable plant back in Ancient Rome: mint leaves were used to rub furniture, and rooms were sprayed with water infused with mint. IN Ancient Egypt mint was placed in the tombs of the pharaohs, and it received its name in honor of the nymph Menta, who was turned into a plant with a beautiful, delicate, but cold aroma.

The mint plant is very popular in English cuisine as a spice for lamb sauce. Americans use mint as an ingredient in fruit and vegetable salads and as an additive to tomato juice and mixed drinks. Grow peppermint for the production of medicines of various effects.

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Planting and caring for mint

• Landing: sowing mint in the ground - in April and early August. Sowing seeds for seedlings - in mid-April, planting seedlings in the ground - in mid or late May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight, bright diffused light, light partial shade.
• The soil: loose, moist, fertile, manured for the previous crop.
• Watering: evening, at first - frequent, and when the seedlings take root, watering becomes periodic and moderate.
• Feeding: After planting seedlings or emergence of seedlings, the area is mulched with peat or compost mixed with ash.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: aphids, mint flea beetles, weevils, meadow moths, mint mites, slobbering pennies, wireworms, mole crickets, caterpillars of cabbage cutworm, round-winged moth, burdock and meadow moth.
• Diseases: rust, powdery mildew, verticillium wilt, anthracnose, septoria (white spot), overgrowth.

Read more about growing mint below.

Mint plant - description

The rhizome of peppermint is horizontal, branched, with thin fibrous roots, the stem is 30 to 100 cm high, erect, hollow, straight, tetrahedral, covered with short hairs. Peppermint leaves are on short petioles, oblong, ovate, crosswise opposite, pointed towards the apex and heart-shaped at the base, with a sharply serrated edge. The upper side of the leaf blade is dark green, the lower side is lighter. Leaves length from 3 to 5 cm, width 1.5-2 cm. Small lilac flowers form spike-shaped inflorescences. Mint blooms from late June to September. The fruit of mint is composed of four coenobium nuts, but mint fruits are produced very rarely. Mint is a valuable honey plant; honey from it is amber in color with a distinct minty aroma.

• How to grow mint at home?
• How is mint grown from seeds and mint planted in open ground?
• What types and varieties of mint are suitable for growing on a windowsill?
• What are the benefits of mint?

You will find answers to these and other questions in our article.

Growing mint on a windowsill

Sowing mint seeds

To the questions of how to grow mint on a windowsill and how to grow mint from seeds, the answer is: very simple. You can actually place the container with the crops on the windowsill, or you can use an insulated loggia or veranda to grow mint.

Growing peppermint should begin by preparing the substrate: mix equal parts of humus, peat, sand and garden soil and calcine this mixture in the oven. Mint seeds for sowing can be purchased at any garden store or prepared yourself. Mint is sown in a moist substrate in grooves 5 cm deep, after which the grooves are carefully sealed, and the crops are covered with film and placed in a warm, bright place.

Caring for mint at home

How to grow mint at home? Planting mint and caring for it during the seedling period is no different from planting and caring for any other seedlings. As soon as the seedlings appear, and under normal conditions this will happen within two to three weeks, move the crops as close to the light as possible so that the seedlings do not stretch. If there is not enough light for the seedlings, provide artificial lighting.

The optimal temperature for the development of seedlings is 20-25 ºC, but if mint grows on a windowsill in low light conditions, its temperature should be within 15-17 ºC. When the seedlings grow up, you can plant them in the garden, or you can continue growing them at home.

Mint at home requires adjustment of care measures at different stages of the growing season. For example, in summer, during the period of maximum plant activity, drying out of the soil is unacceptable, since it can lead to the death of mint. In addition, lack of moisture increases the risk of harmful insects. In winter, watering the plant requires caution, since at this time of year, waterlogging is much more dangerous for mint than dry soil.

Much more important in winter, when they operate at full capacity heating devices When drying the air in the room, spray the mint with water at room temperature as often as possible.

Protect the plant from drafts, protect it from pests and monitor its health. As you can see, planting and caring for mint at home is not difficult and, for many, even enjoyable.

Planting mint in open ground

When to plant mint

In this section we will answer questions from readers “How to plant mint? How to plant mint in the country? How to grow mint?

Sow mint in spring, in April, and in summer, in early August. If you decide to use the seed propagation method or plant cuttings, then mint is planted in the second half of May. A well-lit or slightly shaded place is suitable for growing the crop. It is advisable that there are no flowers, berries or vegetables within a radius of 60-80 cm from the mint, otherwise you will not be able to grow a quality plant. Try to allocate an area for mint as far as possible from plants such as cucumbers, cabbage or beets, since such proximity may cause dark spots to appear on mint leaves.

Mint soil

Where to plant mint? In what soil does it grow best? Mint grows well on soils in which manure was applied to previous crops. The soil is preferably loose, moist and fertile - for example, black soil. Mint growing in calcareous soil is not as fragrant, and in waterlogged, acidic soil the plant will be weak.

Clear the area of ​​weeds and, before digging to a depth of 20 cm, add 3 kg of humus, 15 g of superphosphate, ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride and 2 tablespoons of ash per m². If groundwater lies close to the surface in the area, arrange higher beds for mint. Dig slate or plastic barriers around the perimeter of the site, since mint, like a weed, can spread throughout the entire garden.

How to plant mint

Mint is planted in the ground in grooves about 5 cm deep, located at a distance of 40 cm, the distance between seedlings is maintained at 30-50 cm. The grooves are filled with soil, lightly trampled down and watered.

Mint care

How to grow mint

Growing mint doesn't require you to special effort. Caring for mint includes the usual procedures for every gardener: watering, loosening and weeding the area, fertilizing the mint and protecting it from pests and diseases.

Watering mint

Water the mint in the evenings, and at first, until the seedlings take root, watering is needed very often. After watering, it is convenient to loosen the soil in the area and remove weeds.

Mint feeding

Feed mint once a season, in the spring: the area is mulched with peat or compost mixed with ash.

Mint is collected during the period of mass flowering - at this time it contains the largest amount of essential oil. Once harvested, the mint grows back and produces a second harvest.

What to plant after mint

After leaf crops, it is best to grow root vegetables such as turnips, turnips, beets, and carrots on the site. You can grow potatoes after mint.

Pests and diseases of mint

Mint diseases

The most harmful disease for mint is rust. This is a fungal disease, the development of which is provoked by low temperature with high air humidity, excess nitrogen in the soil and non-compliance with crop rotation. Symptoms of rust include the appearance of dark tan pads on the undersides of leaves.

Harms the plant and powdery mildew, which can be recognized by the cobwebby whitish coating on the leaves and stems that appears in the second half of summer. You can protect mint from powdery mildew by digging up the area to a depth of 20 cm in the fall and treating the mint with a one percent solution of colloidal sulfur.

Verticillium wilt is another fungal disease that causes the top few pairs of mint leaves to turn black, leading to the death of the plant. As agrotechnical measures To combat wilting, one can consider maintaining crop rotation, destroying plant residues after harvesting and growing disease-resistant varieties of mint - for example, Prilukskaya 6.

Anthracnose disease can be identified by brown spots on the leaves of the plant. The fungus is destroyed by treating the mint three to four times with one percent Bordeaux mixture, and as a preventive measure, the site is dug up in the fall.

spotting, or septoria, appears on the leaves of the plant as black dots and angular brown spots up to 8 mm in size, bordered by a black rim. The methods of combating this type of fungus are the same as with anthracnose: repeated treatment of mint with one percent Bordeaux mixture.

The most dangerous disease of mint is considered to be growth, caused by mycoplasmas: the plant stops developing, its leaves acquire a color uncharacteristic for the species, and the development of the root system is suspended. The problem is that there is no cure for this scourge, and the only thing you can do is to remove and destroy diseased specimens from the garden bed as quickly as possible, and urgently transplant healthy plants to another area. As a preventive measure, one can consider combating harmful insects, through whose fault the disease usually occurs.

Mint pests

Mint attracts a huge number of insects, most of them harmful. Among them mint flea beetle- a small yellow bug, only 1.5 mm long, that makes round holes in the leaves of the plant. This pest is most annoying in dry, warm spring. The green shield moth behaves in approximately the same way, not only gnawing holes in the leaves, but also eating them around the edges. The leaf beetle makes holes in mint leaves.

It is considered the most dangerous pest of all plants. aphid- a tiny insect that can cause serious harm. It settles in entire colonies on the underside of the leaves and sucks the juice out of them, causing the plant to slow down its growth and development and stop forming full-fledged leaves. The worst thing is that aphids are carriers of incurable viral diseases. Sucking pests also include the leafhopper, which usually affects young plants.

Weevils strike in two directions at once: adult individuals gnaw off the edges of mint leaves, and the larvae feed on the roots of the plant.

Such a pest of mint as meadow moth, capable of destroying an entire bush on its own.

In southern regions the plant may be bothered by peppermint mite, which overwinters in the ground at a depth of about 10 cm, and from May to the end of summer feeds on the sap of the tops of the shoots.

Adults and larvae slobbering pennies deform mint shoots, leaving foamy lumps in the axils of the leaves and on the stems.

If wheatgrass is growing wildly in the area with mint or potatoes were grown in this area last year, you will have to fight wireworms - the larvae of the click beetle that gnaw at the roots of the mint.

In addition to the described pests, mint can be damaged by the mole cricket, caterpillars of the cabbage moth, moth, burdock and meadow moth.

But if folk remedy did not help, spend several sessions of spraying the area with Decis, trying to complete the treatment cycle a month before harvest.

Types and varieties of mint

In nature, there are about 25 species of mint and 10 subspecies of peppermint, the most famous of which we will introduce you to.

mint

A powerful plant up to 90 cm tall. This type of mint does not have the same cooling effect as peppermint, since the main ingredient in mint essential oil is carvone. This species is used to flavor toothpaste, as an additive to tea and soft drinks.

Curly mint

Bush reaching 80-90 cm in height. This plant differs from other species in its frost resistance and curly leaves, which do not have the sharp menthol flavor of peppermint. This species is often used in cooking, and in folk medicine, boiled mint leaves are used as a sedative, for medicinal baths, and to relieve pain from injuries.

Apple mint

A bush up to 60 cm high with velvety rounded leaves of dark green color. The aroma of this species is not as intense as the scent of peppermint. It is added to soups meat dishes, salads and various drinks, as well as desserts and baked goods.

Longleaf mint

A powerful plant up to 150 cm high with a creeping rhizome, a tetrahedral dissected stem and dark green leaves with serrated-toothed edges. Plants of this species have a pleasant, delicate aroma, which allows their leaves to be used as an additive to salads, vegetable broths and soups, as well as some meat dishes - kebabs and fried beef, for example. Long leaf mint leaves are added to the marinade when canning eggplants, and used as a spice for pickling cabbage. This type of mint is in demand in the perfume industry, in particular for soap making.

Field mint (or wild, or horsemint, or deaf)

A species that grows everywhere in nature, the bushes of which reach a height of 80 cm, and the leaves are devoid of the cooling menthol taste and pungent smell of peppermint. Fresh or dried mint leaves are added to tea and other drinks, added to baked goods, and used to season salads, fish dishes, vegetable soups, and pickled cabbage. Headaches and inflammatory processes are treated with decoctions of field mint.

Lemon mint

A plant with an erect, branched, slightly pubescent stem up to 1 m high, covered with opposite, ovate, rounded leaves, jagged along the edges. The upper part of the leaf blade is dark green, the lower part is lighter. This type has not only a pleasant mint-lemon aroma, but also healing properties. Another name for the plant is lemon balm.

Sweet mint

A perennial with a stable, straight stem 40 to 100 cm high and wrinkled green leaves with a cream stripe along the edge, which have a pleasant aroma. have long been known beneficial features fragrant mint, it is also in demand in cooking.

In addition to the described species, homemade, Moroccan, Korean, orange (bergamot), dog, steppe, water mint and other varieties of this plant are widely grown in culture.

Peppermint

As for the type of peppermint grown on an industrial scale, the varieties of mint and peppermint hybrids are striking in their diversity. The most famous among them:

• Prilukskaya 6- a time-tested variety with a large number of leaves on the stems and a growing season of about 100 days. The menthol content in the leaves of this variety is about 50%, and the amount of essential oil reaches 3%;
• Medicinal 4– a large plant up to 1 m high with a growing season of up to 115 days and with anthocyanin-colored leaves containing up to 4% essential oil and up to 60% menthol;
• Mystery– a variety of Ukrainian selection with green leaves without anthocyanin coloring with a growing season of about 110 days. The essential oil in the leaves of this variety is up to 3.5%, and menthol is about 65%;
• Charm- a variety of Belarusian selection up to 70 cm high, having a reddish-violet color only in the lower part of the bush. The variety is interesting mainly because it produces seeds, and casts doubt on its belonging to the peppermint species;
• Ukrainian pepper– a high-yielding and drought-resistant variety, rarely affected by diseases, containing up to 61% essential oil and up to 53% menthol;
• Udaychanka– a highly productive, winter-hardy non-lodging variety with a menthol content in essential oil of about 47-52%.

Peppermint varieties such as Simferopolskaya 200, Zagrava, Zarya, Vysokomentholnaya, Serebristaya, Yantarnaya, Medichka, Moskvichka, Krasnodarskaya 2, Kubanskaya 6 and others are also popular.

Properties of mint - harm and benefit

Medicinal properties of mint

Mint leaves, flowers and shoots contain bitter, tannic and biologically active substances, fats, sugars, phytoncides, vitamins C and P, mineral salts, carotene, essential oil, which contains menthol. In traditional and folk medicine, mint is used to treat cardiovascular diseases, nervous disorders, insomnia, headaches, neuralgia, toothache, inflammation of the digestive system, asthma, colds, bronchitis, sore throat, atherosclerosis and other diseases.

Menthol has antiseptic, analgesic and antispasmodic effects. To dilate coronary vessels during angina pectoris, pain in the intestines or stomach, mint is taken orally. You can use mint externally for neuralgia, bronchitis, and toothache. Menthol is included in Zelenin drops, ointments for the common cold, Valocordin, and mixtures for rinsing the mouth. Infusions and tinctures of mint leaves are used to increase appetite, improve digestion, and relieve nausea and vomiting.

Preparations containing mint are used for pain relief for hepatic colic, as a choleretic agent for jaundice or gallstones, and also to stimulate cardiac activity.

In Germany, mint leaves are included in medicinal tea recommended for illnesses gastrointestinal tract and flatulence. Peppermint baths are popular in this country. In Australia, decoctions and tinctures are prepared from peppermint. In Poland, mint leaves are used to treat inflammation of the periosteum, middle ear, insomnia, migraines and neuralgia. It is part of the preparations to improve taste and smell.

In our folk medicine, mint leaves are used as a diaphoretic, choleretic and refreshing agent. Wild mint leaves are used to make juice to treat kidney stones, and in combination with white wine they are used as a diuretic. Mint is included in tea, stomach and bath collections.

Mint is in demand in the culinary and perfume industries.

Mint - contraindications

The harm of mint may occur due to individual intolerance to drugs made from it. There have been cases of allergic reactions to mint. Peppermint oil is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, as well as for children under 6 years of age. Men should not get carried away with peppermint preparations, as it reduces sexual attraction. An overdose of peppermint preparations can cause bronchospasms, heart pain and sleep disturbances.

We offer you recipes for mint preparations that will probably not harm anyone:

• pour a tablespoon of mint leaves into two glasses of boiling water, let it brew for 2 hours, strain and use as a rinse for bad breath;
• Pour a tablespoon of mint leaves into a glass of boiling water, wrap it up, let it brew for 30-40 minutes, strain and take a tablespoon every three hours for nausea or abdominal pain. If vomiting, take half a glass;
• Infuse one part of crushed mint leaves in 20 parts of seventy percent alcohol for a week. Take 10-15 drops for nausea or headaches.

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After this article they usually read

– 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 damages the upper part of the shoot 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- a dangerous pest in the 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, in a summer cottage, in a craving for everything environmentally friendly, it is better to take preventive measures, that is, change the place where plants are planted 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 combated using preventative 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