Common plant pathogens and how to treat them naturally. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Photo Steven Koike, UCCE.
If you’re familiar with verticillium wilt and various leaf blights, then you’ve already met a couple of the worst bacterial plant pathogens. Although these are soil-borne, they’re generally distributed by insects.
Bugs bite through stems or roots, and the bacteria in their filthy mouth holes transfer into the plants’ circulatory systems. Once there, they nestle into the little spaces between cells and sicken the entire plant. Then, the leaves turn black and spotty, the stems wilt, and the plant dies. You can take preventative measures against these plant pathogens by choosing bacteria-resistant species. Once severely infected, however, you’ll need to dig up and burn the sickly plants.
Treat surrounding plants and soil with Bordeaux mixture (made of copper sulfate and lime). Just keep in mind that these can only reduce the infection from spreading further: once plants are already diseased, they can’t be cured.
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