Good afternoon, my reader. Depending on the causative agent of the infection, indoor plants are sometimes exposed to viral, fungal and bacterial diseases. As a result, the flower loses its decorative effect, and sometimes dies. To avoid this situation, it is important to timely detect signs of pathologies, understand their causes, identify pathogens and take appropriate measures.
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Causes of diseases
Most diseases develop due to illiterate care when growing home flowers:
- The acidity of the soil is unsuitable for the plant, as well as the lack or excess of nutrients in it. These factors negatively affect the culture: it slowly grows, the leaves turn yellow and fall off.
- Indoor temperatures that are too high or too low cause curling of the leaves.
- Insufficient lighting or, conversely, direct exposure to sunlight worsens the condition of all parts of the plant: the stems lengthen and become thinner, the leaves wither and get burns from ultraviolet radiation.
- Improper watering, when excess moisture causes rotting of the root system, and lack of liquid causes wilting and yellowing of the leaves.
Viral diseases
There are not very many viral diseases in indoor flowers. These are such as:
- mosaic;
- jaundice;
- curly leaves.
Their symptoms are similar, and the main one is growth retardation, as well as changes in the structure and color of leaves, the appearance of spots, streaks, stripes and zigzags on them and flowers. Attention is also drawn to the deformation of parts of culture.
The plant can be sick for a long time, but it does not die, therefore, the pathology at the beginning of development is difficult to determine in order to start a fight against it in a timely manner. Most often viruses are carried by aphids and thrips.
Bacterial diseases
They are caused by pathogenic bacteria that have settled in large quantities in the soil. Under favorable conditions for them: mechanical damage to plants, violations of care and agricultural technology, bacteria begin to attack the houseplant and provoke the following diseases:
- Rot. It begins to develop as a result of waterlogged soil and excess nitrogen. More often than others, crops with succulent stems and leaves suffer: cyclamens, saintpaulias and sansevierias. Their vegetative parts just start to rot.
- Bacterial spotting. It usually affects bulbous plants when grown in a too moist substrate. The main symptom is the presence of dead watery spots on the leaf blades.
- Bacterial cancer. Begonia, Kalanchoe, succulent spurge are susceptible to the disease. Symptoms appear gradually. First, the growth and flowering of the plant stops, then formations in the form of tumors form on the shoots and the root system. They grow in size and spread throughout the plant, which leads to its death.
Bacterial diseases are easier to avoid than to cure, since chemicals are ineffective here. It is important to follow the rules of crop care, this will prevent infections. When planting, it is necessary to qualitatively disinfect the substrate, not overmoisten it too much, observe the temperature regime in the room. If the entire plant is affected, it must be completely destroyed along with the earth and the pot.
Fungal diseases
The largest number of diseases that occur in indoor flowers are fungal. Infection with fungal spores occurs through air, water or a dirty substrate. The most common infections are:
- Anthracnose. It affects more palms and ficuses in high humidity and in a warm room. It is manifested by dark spots, dots and strokes over the entire surface of the sheet. It is imperative to remove the affected leaves, do not water the flower for a while and treat it with Fundazol as soon as possible. The disease in its advanced form leads to the drying out of all parts of the flower.
- Ascochitis. Chrysanthemums are most severe. Initially, small red spots with a light yellow rim appear on the leaves. Over time, they increase, causing tissue necrosis, after which the flower dies. The treatment is the same as for anthracnose.
- Gray rot. The spores of the fungus are activated and begin to carry out their harmful activity with a lack of light and crowded planting. The disease manifests itself with a fluffy bloom of gray-olive color on the stems, and later on the leaves and flowers. The affected areas begin to rot and die off. As with any fungal disease, you need to remove all damaged parts, and spray the plant itself with a fungicide. It is advisable to repeat the procedure with an interval of 10-14 days.
Indoor plants are often attacked by pests such as cyclamen mites, scale insects, mealybugs, aphids, and spider mites. To fight insects, insecticides are used: Metaphos or Actellik, permethrin-containing insecticides or Derris extract.
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