How to save onions: 4 diseases affecting the crop

Good afternoon, my reader. Onions are one of the most popular storage vegetables. But even with all the rules for harvesting and preparing for winter, the heads are subject to diseases. In order to have time to save most of it, you need to know the signs of the disease and methods of dealing with it.

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Rot of the bottom

A fungal disease also known as fusarium or fusarium rot. The pathogen can remain on plant debris and in the soil for five years. Contaminated seed (onion sets) is also a source.

Signs are found a month after planting. Or after harvesting.

Symptoms of the disease:

• darkened feathers;
• the formation of a pink plaque at their base.

Plaque is fungal spores. If you do not take action in time, then:

• plant growth will stop;
• the bulbs will become soft;
• the roots will darken and rot;
• a white mycelium will appear at the bottom.

You cannot put away such onions for storage. The disease spreads quickly and can completely destroy the crop.

Inappropriate conditions may provoke the appearance of fusarium in the storage:

• high humidity;
• poor ventilation;
• heat.

When the first signs of a disease are detected, all diseased bulbs are sorted out and removed.

Preventive measures will help to avoid the death of the crop:

1. Cultivars with high resistance to fusarium are chosen.
2. The planting material is disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
3. The crop is harvested before heavy rainfall.
4. Dry thoroughly.

Onions are recommended to be stored in hanging braids, so it is better ventilated.

Rot of the bottom

Also a fungal disease that affects onion and turnip sets. The causative agent is a botrytis mushroom that penetrates poorly dried or immature heads.

The source of the disease is untreated planting material, rotting plant debris in the soil in the garden.

Disease in the ground develops in conditions of high humidity and at low temperatures. It affects the harvest during storage in a poorly dried room and at high temperatures.

The signs of rotting are found at the end of the season or 2 months after harvest. In the early stages, the disease is almost impossible to detect - diseased bulbs do not differ from healthy ones.

Description:

1. The scales gradually turn brown and become watery.
2. Rot spreads all over the head.
3. Gray mold (fungal spores) forms on the scales.
4. A black crust gradually appears on the surface.

The affected heads give off an unpleasant odor and dry out. It is important to remove such specimens when the first signs of the disease are detected. Otherwise, the disease will infect and destroy the entire crop.

Preventive measures:

1. Selection of varieties resistant to bottom rot. They prefer onions with dark scales, since they are less affected by the disease. Also, hybrids with an early ripening period are chosen so that the plants have time to grow and give a harvest before the onset of the rainy season.
2. The planting material is disinfected before planting.
3. Observe the rules of harvesting and storage of crops.

Blue mold

A disease that affects crops and actively develops in poorly prepared premises:

• raw;
• with insufficient ventilation.

The causative agent is mushrooms.

Description:

1. Feathers are covered with watery light yellow spots, then blue-green mold.
2. Brown watery spots appear on the heads (a couple of months after harvesting).
3. On the bottom and scales, there are blue spores.
4. The inner scales turn brown and rot, spreading an unpleasant odor.

Control methods:

1. The harvest is sorted out once a month.
2. Bulbs with signs of disease are removed.

The storage room is carefully prepared:

• ventilate;
• dried;
• disinfect.

The humidity in the cellar should not exceed 70%.

Bacteriosis

The causative agent of the disease is bacteria that live in the soil. The disease is detected by the following symptoms:

• the neck releases fluid when compressed;
• the affected areas are watery with an unpleasant odor;
• feathers are easy to remove.

Bacteriosis affects plants with weakened immunity, crops that were harvested early and poorly dried.

To save the plants, they carry out prophylaxis against fungal diseases:

1. 14 days before harvest, the planting is treated with a solution of Bordeaux liquid 1%.
2. Dry the bulbs thoroughly before harvesting.
3. The harvest is sorted out every 2 weeks.

To preserve the maximum amount of harvest, onions are harvested on a warm, dry day, before the onset of rains. The heads are carefully sorted out, removed with signs of the disease. The storage room is pre-prepared.

Do you know how to preserve onions?

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