Disease Prevention in The Garden

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Practice good garden hygiene and maintain a healthy environment for your vegetables to reduce the risk of plant diseases.

Keeping a garden healthy and attractive requires attention to soil, water, sunlight and air circulation, said David Trinklein, a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.

A combination of proven methods can reduce losses to disease, he said.

-Select disease-resistant plant varieties.

-Plant closely related vegetables in separate areas of the garden.

-Rotate garden areas to prevent planting closely related vegetables in the same spot from year to year.

-Control weeds and insects that may carry plant pathogens.

-Remove and destroy diseased plant material.

-Remove plant refuse soon after harvesting.

-It is often more cost-effective to remove diseased plants than to try to bring them back to health. Look for leaf spots, wilts, stunting, fruit rots, malformed leaves and cankers.

-Disinfect garden tools and shears.

-Apply fungicides in an appropriate and timely manner when resistant varieties are not available.

-Maintain adequate levels of plant nutrients without overfertilizing. Excessive nitrogen application can promote some root-rotting fungi. Nutrient stress can make plants more susceptible to diseases and insect damage.

-Don’t let soil become too wet or too dry. Drought stress can leave plants vulnerable to disease. Too much water can lead to plant death from lack of oxygen to the roots or because of pathogen attack.

-Maintain adequate mulch cover to conserve moisture and reduce weed growth.

-Don’t throw diseased plants in your mulch pile.

-In addition to removing plant material from the garden, it is important to remove or destroy structures such as wooden stakes and poles used in the garden.

For more information, see the MU Extension publication “Common Diseases in the Home Garden” (G6203) available for purchase or free download at http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=g6203.