Rot Sets In
There are some days when you feel really fed up. Usually, I'm quite philosophical about losing some crops to pests and disease, but a culmination of recent events has sorely tried my equilibrium.
Firstly, some of my onions - usually a trouble-free crop - have developed White Rot. I first noticed this a few weeks ago when one of the onions fell over when I was hand-hoeing between rows. Strange, I thought. The roots were almost gone and the onion was just there, sitting in it's little indentation in the earth. I tested a few more and found a handful in total that also just lifted out of the ground with no resistance. There didn't seem to be much wrong with them otherwise, but I thought I should keep an eye on them.
Harvesting time arrived. Upon lifting my beautiful onions I found that some were infected with a white mildewy rot at the base. I looked it up and, oh joy, it turns out to be Onion White Rot. This is a soil-based pathogen which affects all the allium family and is viable for 7 to 15 years! This puts it in the same bracket as Club Root as a highly persistent fungus. Good job I have a large plot. There is no treatment other than to avoid growing onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives etc. in that soil for as long as possible. The disease was probably brought in on some infected compost. On the bright side, the rot didn't reach my shallots, which I'd harvested earlier, and wasn't too serious, affecting only about 20% of my onion crop.
And my other woes? Well, birds are eating my runner beans; my tomatoes have magnesium deficiency; and my cucumbers have been infected with bacterial wilt just as they have started producing! Added to this are some sad-looking sweetcorn and squash crops thanks to the succession of a cold spring, drought, and the cool summer.
I am particularly glad this year that I grow such a variety of crops: even with the loss of some staples we will still eat well, maybe just not as varied a menu as usual.
Firstly, some of my onions - usually a trouble-free crop - have developed White Rot. I first noticed this a few weeks ago when one of the onions fell over when I was hand-hoeing between rows. Strange, I thought. The roots were almost gone and the onion was just there, sitting in it's little indentation in the earth. I tested a few more and found a handful in total that also just lifted out of the ground with no resistance. There didn't seem to be much wrong with them otherwise, but I thought I should keep an eye on them.
Harvesting time arrived. Upon lifting my beautiful onions I found that some were infected with a white mildewy rot at the base. I looked it up and, oh joy, it turns out to be Onion White Rot. This is a soil-based pathogen which affects all the allium family and is viable for 7 to 15 years! This puts it in the same bracket as Club Root as a highly persistent fungus. Good job I have a large plot. There is no treatment other than to avoid growing onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives etc. in that soil for as long as possible. The disease was probably brought in on some infected compost. On the bright side, the rot didn't reach my shallots, which I'd harvested earlier, and wasn't too serious, affecting only about 20% of my onion crop.
And my other woes? Well, birds are eating my runner beans; my tomatoes have magnesium deficiency; and my cucumbers have been infected with bacterial wilt just as they have started producing! Added to this are some sad-looking sweetcorn and squash crops thanks to the succession of a cold spring, drought, and the cool summer.
I am particularly glad this year that I grow such a variety of crops: even with the loss of some staples we will still eat well, maybe just not as varied a menu as usual.
Submitted by Jane, Plot 9
Comments
Post a Comment