10 Signs Your Plants Has Fungus
What is garden fungus?
Fungi are primitive organisms that can't photosynthesize as green plants do. Instead, they must get their food from other organisms. Some fungi, like mushrooms, get nutrients from dead, decomposing materials. Other fungi prey on live plants and attack roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits.
Here's a list of common and troublesome garden fungi:
· Black spot: Common on roses
· Blight: Fire blight, early blight, and late blight
· Cankers and Galls: Cytospora and crown gall
· Damping-off: Seedlings suddenly develop weak stems and fall over
· Mildew: Powdery mildew, gray mildew, and downy mildew
· Mold: Gray mold (botrytis) and yellow slime mold
· Rust: Raspberry rust, rose rust, asparagus rust & blister rust
· Smut: Corn smut
· Lawn diseases: Dollar-spot, brown patch and take-all
· Scabs: Fruit scab
· Wilt: Fusarium & Verticillium wilt; tomato plants are a favorite target
What should I look for?
Fungus can damage plants very quickly so it’s a good practice to check plants regularly for possible fungus infection. It's often difficult to tell which fungus is causing the damage because symptoms vary widely.
· Plant is infested with insects; fungus and bugs often work in tandem
· Leaves are yellow or wilting
· Foliage has white or gray powdery matter on it
· Leaves and stems have yellow or orange spots on them
· Leaves, stems, flowers, and fruit have soft, watery, or rotting spots on them
· Stems, fruit, and vegetables have lesions on them
· Leaves have black spots, sometimes surrounded by yellow
· Plant growth is stunted
· Roots and stems have rotted
· Leaves are deformed
How do I treat fungus?
Fungal infestations typically move quickly. Be prepared with safe, effective fungicides on hand to use at first sight of an outbreak. Revitalize Biofungicide triggers a plant's immune system. Copper Fungicide attacks fungus on plants' leaves and stems and in the soil. It can be challenging to identify which fungus is attacking your plants. We recommend using both products, alternating every 2 to 4 weeks.
Can I prevent fungus?
You can prevent, or reduce the severity of fungus, by using these gardener-tested tips.
Water plants before noon. Watering early in the day gives time for the moisture to dry.
Rotate crops. Never plant the same kind of vegetable or flower in the same place for two years.
Stop it before it starts. The disease will likely be back if fungus was an issue in prior years. Use fungicides early in the season. Repeat every 7 to 10 days throughout the growing season to keep spores from multiplying.
Solarize the soil. Lay black plastic sheeting on your garden preseason and let the sun cook the soil and kill fungus spores.
Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses to prevent fungal diseases. Both keep the foliage dry and help avoid spreading fungal infections. Do not work with plants when they are wet.
Plant disease-resistant varieties. If problems have existed in previous years, choose disease-resistant cultivars.
Keep a tidy yard and garden. Remove dead or dying plant material. It's a very desirable place for fungus to grow.
