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Phytophthora is the most unpleasant tomato disease that can completely ruin the long-awaited harvest. It is especially difficult to manage it when growing your favorite vegetable in greenhouse. The use of chemical remedies is unpopular, more often from late blight on tomatoes in the greenhouse, summer residents use ordinary pharmaceutical iodine.
Late blight is the most common disease of greenhouse crops related to nightshade. The first sign of infection is the appearance of brown spots on the leaves. Spores of the fungus, safely surviving even severe frosts, are activated already at + 10 ° C, infecting plantings. The humid microclimate of greenhouses is especially conducive to the rapid spread of the pathogen.
Fighting the disease is becoming almost the main occupation of the summer resident. Tenacious spores carried by wind and water cannot be completely destroyed, so greenhouse owners are forced to regularly process their wards in order to minimize losses from late blight.
One of the simplest available means to help cope with adversity, for most summer residents, is iodine - a common pharmacy. The use of a penny medicine on tomatoes allows you to simultaneously solve several problems:
Timely processing of the greenhouse - soil, glass, frame, tools - is very important for a healthy, high-quality harvest of any crop. In the fall, they usually remove all plant residues and treat the soil with copper sulfate or other chemical reagents.
In the spring, it is advisable to disinfect the greenhouse with iodine-containing preparations, for example, "Farmayod". This is a ready-made domestic product designed specifically for plant protection.
The manufacturer recommends processing by "Pharmayod" in the following order:
Spill the soil with the same solution, using a watering can with frequent small holes. If the past season was distinguished by the rapid flowering of phytophthora, the concentration for the beds is increased to 30 ml / 1 l. After 2-3 days, the soil is spilled with formulations containing beneficial microorganisms.
The greenhouse treatment for late blight begins when the air warms up to 10 ° C in order to purposefully affect the spores of the fungus.
In addition to suppressing phytophthora, the use of iodine in growing tomatoes helps to fight the causative agents of viral diseases, significantly reduces the number of colonies of thrips, nematodes, and ticks.
Spraying greenhouse plants with iodine solutions not only protects them from the harmful effects of fungal, microbial, viral infections.Feeding tomatoes with iodine (root or leaf) helps plants overcome the lack of light, makes the stems more durable, promotes foliage growth without affecting fruiting, the tomatoes themselves ripen faster, get a larger size, with better taste characteristics.
The positive effect is achieved due to the fact that iodine improves the assimilation of nitrogen in the soil and air by tomatoes. This, in turn, allows you to reduce the amount of saltpeter, which is usually used when preparing greenhouse beds for planting seedlings.
Treatment of seed with iodine protects tomatoes at the earliest stage of their development, increases their immunity, and accelerates germination. For 1 liter of water, 1 drop of a pharmaceutical preparation is enough when soaked for 6 hours.
The standard method of protecting against late blight and simultaneously feeding tomatoes is spraying with 4-5 drops of iodine dissolved in a 10-liter bucket of water. The procedure can be performed every 15-20 days.
When signs of late blight appear, a solution is prepared from whey (1 l), 3% hydrogen peroxide (15 ml), iodine (40 drops), 10 l of water. They are carefully sprayed with plants, not missing the lower parts of the leaves. Iodine kills fungal spores that have already settled on tomatoes, and the dairy product settles on the tops, forming a film impervious to pathogens.
Whenever possible, a home or farm product that has not undergone pasteurization is taken for processing with whey.
You can use skim milk. To 1 liter, add 20 drops of iodine, dilute in 10 liters of water. The mixture can be sprayed every 2 weeks.
The third option is to use curdled milk, sour milk or kefir. For half a liter of the product, take 10 drops of iodine and 10 liters of water.
To prevent late blight, a mixed solution of the usual antiseptics is used - 5 drops of iodine and 20 drops of brilliant green are dissolved in 5 liters of water. The first time is sprayed 2 weeks after transplanting tomato seedlings to greenhouse beds, repeated every 14-15 days. Processing is important in areas where late blight is a regular visitor.
Spraying tomatoes with iodine to prevent phytophthora does not exclude, but complements the use of traditional infusions of garlic, manganese or salt solutions.
The following composition is suitable for processing healthy tomatoes:
The components are mixed well and diluted in 3 liters of water.
For good fruit setting and at the same time against late blight, flowering tomatoes are sprayed with this solution:
Adding a small amount of laundry soap to solutions will not allow them to drain, that is, it will reduce their consumption and increase the effectiveness of the action.
Summer residents often replace spraying with a simpler, but no less effective method of feeding and preventing late blight: several pharmacy bottles with iodine with an open lid are suspended in the greenhouse. 2 m2 greenhouses, one bottle is enough to supply plants with a useful element. However, it is important to remember that this method limits the owner's time in the greenhouse.
Another option is to soak used tea bags with pharmaceutical iodine (2-3 drops for each) and hang them over the tomatoes at the rate of 1 pc / m2.
Agronomists recommend that before spraying tomatoes in a greenhouse, rinse the walls and frame elements with pale pink potassium permanganate.
Foliar processing of tomatoes is alternated with root, which also protects the future harvest from late blight, helps fight pests.
Tomatoes are fed while growing seedlings. For seedlings that have formed 2-3 true leaves, a solution is prepared from 1 drop of pharmaceutical iodine, 2-3 liters of water. Watered on slightly moistened soil strictly at the root. The stalks of young plants from such fertilization will become stronger, stronger, flower brushes will be more branched, i.e.flowers and, accordingly, more ovaries will form.
The second option for processing young tomatoes is mixing 2 liters of water and 1/2 liter of milk, adding 2 drops of iodine and watering so that the liquid moistens the leaves and the substrate.
Watering the seedlings with iodine solution is carried out no earlier than 7-10 days after the first feeding.
A day before planting seedlings, the beds are abundantly shed with a composition of 3 drops of iodine and 10 liters of water. The procedure will additionally disinfect the soil, help the seedlings quickly take root in a new place. The treatment is suitable for greenhouses and open ground.
The next iodine feeding is carried out 10 days after planting the seedlings in the ground or during the formation of the first cluster of flowers. Prepare a solution of 3 drops of the drug and 10 l of water. Under each undersized plant, 700 ml of liquid is poured, under a high one - 1 liter, making sure that the gaps between the bushes are moistened. This is necessary to further disinfect the soil.
Ripening tomatoes are also fertilized with iodine, due to which they store much sugars in the fruits. The simplest top dressing is a solution of 3 drops of the drug and 10 liters of water, which is poured under the root.
A more effective fertilizer enriching fruits with vitamin C is prepared from the following components:
First, the ash is poured with hot water, infused for 60 minutes. Then add iodine and boric acid, add water to 10 liters, let it brew for a day. The concentrated mixture is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the tomatoes are sprayed. The composition is equally good for tomatoes growing in greenhouse beds and outdoors. For indeterminate varieties, such feeding is carried out 2-3 times. Consumption rate - 1 liter per bush.
Usually, regulated feeding completely provides tomatoes with the necessary micronutrient fertilization. However, it happens that with proper adherence to the fertilization schedule, the plants still lack iodine. This is determined by the following criteria:
Although these manifestations are often accompanied by other problems, attentive summer residents immediately notice subtle details of plant development and use additional top dressing, root or leaf, diluting 4-5 drops of iodine in a bucket of water.
Also, plants are processed outside of hours when symptoms of phytophthora, powdery mildew, viral mosaic are detected.
Chernozem, red-earth, floodplain soils are rich in iodine, while podzolic, brown-earth, and gray-earth soils contain very little of it. Although most of the specialized fertilizers for tomatoes contain iodine, its amount is accidental and often insufficient, especially in regions characterized by a general deficiency of the substance.
Summer residents should take on board some of the nuances of processing tomatoes with iodine solutions.
If, despite all efforts, late blight is rampant, spraying is carried out every 3-4 days, using a composition that includes serum, not forgetting to remove the affected leaves and shoots.
Potatoes are the main source of late blight. To reduce the likelihood of spores of the pathogen entering the greenhouse, the beds under it are broken as far as possible.
Strictly speaking, iodine is not a top dressing in the literal sense of the word - it helps tomatoes to more fully absorb nutrients from the soil and air. Many summer residents do without it, without complaining about the quality of the crop. However, the processing of tomatoes under the root and on the leaf with a properly selected iodine-containing composition increases the content of the trace element in the fruits, which is of undoubted benefit for humans, especially in regions where this important trace element is in short supply.
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