Prevention and Control of Powdery Mildew in Flowers
The article talks about the explanation of flower clinic, focusing on the prevention and control of powdery mildew in flowers. Next, the editor will introduce the topic to the netizens.
Recently, I've seen many flower enthusiasts' gardens affected by powdery mildew, and I was庆幸 that my own garden and the ones I take care of haven't been affected yet, with all the flowers healthy. However, just in one afternoon and one evening yesterday, half of the flowers in the garden developed powdery mildew!!! Including roses, shrubs, perennial roots, and aquatic plants, regardless of the variety.
When we went to the garden early in the morning, ready to work hard, we were completely shocked. We've always treated the flowers as if they were our own children, taking care of them every day, and now suddenly facing such a widespread powdery mildew outbreak made us feel very sad and anxious.
So, I immediately drove back home, first looking for a gardening encyclopedia, which was too general and not helpful at all. Then I quickly found the phone numbers of Teacher Gao from the Rose Garden, Dr. Ding Liang from the Breeding Base, and Liu Garden's manager from Dongsheng, and called them one by one, asking them in detail. Finally, I felt more at ease, as it turned out that powdery mildew is not insurmountable or unpreventable, and there are also many daily precautions to take. If all these are done well, there shouldn't be a problem.
Here are the detailed suggestions from the three of them:
1. The reasons for powdery mildew and how to improve and prevent it through watering methods.
The reasons for powdery mildew include high temperature and humidity, and an even more important reason is to never water at night, especially by spraying!!! This is the main reason our garden got powdery mildew, because we always watered at night and used the spray method.
Both Teacher Gao and Dr. Ding mentioned this part. As soon as I said I had a large-scale powdery mildew outbreak, they immediately asked if I watered at night. Watering at night, especially by spraying, prevents the water on the leaves from drying and evaporating quickly at night, leading to high humidity, which easily causes fungal problems like powdery mildew. The best time to water is at 7 or 8 in the morning, and no later than 9, so that the sunlight can quickly evaporate the water on the leaves during the day.
Also, for sauna-like weather, the spray method is not suitable. The best method is direct root watering or seepage, which does not get the water on the leaves. Teacher Gao and the Breeding Base both use this method, so they can largely avoid powdery mildew.
Spraying or watering plants is only suitable for supplementing moisture after strong winds in spring. In Beijing's sauna-like weather, the humidity is at least 70% during the day, which is very unsuitable for spraying water on the leaves.
I remember reading a foreign gardening book a while ago, and there was a section about automatic irrigation systems that specifically mentioned using seepage pipes instead of micro-spray pipes to avoid getting the leaves wet. I couldn't quite understand it at the time because I thought flowers would enjoy being sprayed with water. Now I finally understand. The humidity from the sauna-like weather already makes the plants uncomfortable, and spraying water, even in the morning, will only make them more uncomfortable.
2. Medication and frequency after powdery mildew occurs.
According to the joint suggestions of the three: if it has already occurred, you can no longer use solo chlorothalonil, because using it alone is only suitable for prevention, not treatment. Multi-killing fungicides are also not good, as they are less effective than chlorothalonil.
The most suitable formula (recommended by all three) is as follows: After occurrence, the first spray: Myclobutanil (also known as Trimetallic Copper, only domestically produced) + chlorothalonil (imported is better) mixed together, slightly higher concentration is fine. Four days later, spray with the same formula again. Continue this method for about 3 to 4 times. It should basically be cured.
3. Suitable spraying time.
It's most suitable after dusk, to avoid the hot sun quickly drying the water in the medicine, causing uneven distribution of the drug components on the leaves and easily burning the leaves. After spraying in the evening, watering the next morning can use the spray method to rinse off the white medicine powder on the leaves. Don't worry about this affecting the efficacy, as Dr. Ding said that maintaining it for 4 hours is enough. According to the old man at the agricultural supplies store, after rinsing it, the medicine enters the soil and can be further absorbed by the plants.
4. Preventive spraying method.
After spraying the treatment formula three to four times (about a month later), you need to change to a new formula, as you cannot continue using the old formula. The new formula can use chlorothalonil and methyl thiophanate mixed together, continuing for a month, about once a week. After a month, switch to another broad-spectrum drug, as there are many options available at agricultural supply stores, both imported and domestic. Just keep switching every month until after October 1st, when the weather cools down, and you can stop.
At night, we followed this formula and sprayed the medicine on all the flowers. Tomorrow morning, I won't be lazy and plan to get up at 7 to water. I will report back on the results. I hope this can help flower enthusiasts with powdery mildew!
The above introduction to the prevention and control of powdery mildew in flowers (for flower enthusiasts) aims to provide some knowledge about flowers for flower lovers.