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Possible Problems With Your Garlic Crop
Garlic is generally a very hardy crop which grows well in the garden, however there are a few diseases
it is prone to. Many of these also attack onions, another allium to which garlic is
closely related. I can't cover everything here, nor can I diagnose individual
cases, however I can give some idea of the sort of problems to look
out for.
Treatment for these diseases depends on the sort of garlic grower - and general gardener - you
are. Most of them can be treated by commercially available products. However
if you prefer to use more natural, organic
methods then crop rotation and careful selection of healthy seed
is the usual recommendation.
The most commonly grown variety of garlic is allium sativum.
This is divided into two main sub-varieties, hardneck garlic and
softneck garlic.
Garlic Rot
Rot is probably the most common garlic disease. There are two
frequently encountered rots:
Basal Rot (Fusarium Oxysporum)
Basal rot is a slow developing condition. Affected garlic plants show
gradual yellowing and leaf dieback. There is sometimes a white fungal growth visible
at the base of an infected bulb leading to the bulb rotting. Symptoms
continue to get worse even after harvesting. Basal rot is favoured by
higher temperatures and hence more common in warmer climates.
White Rot (Sclerotium Cepivorum)
The symptoms of white rot are very similar to those of basal rot, however
it attacks the growing garlic more quickly and is more likely to kill the plant outright.
White rot prefers cooler temperatures. Dipping seed garlic in hot water
before planting can reduce the chance of white rot but be careful: too high a temperature
could kill the garlic itself.
Rust (Puccinia Porri)
Rust first shows as leaf blotches of a reddish orange colour. If a plant
is heavily infected then the leaves turn yellow and can collapse completely.
Garlic plants infected by rust will produce a lower than usual yield and
can produce deformed bulbs. Heavily infected plants can die.
Downy Mildew (Peronospora Destructor)
Downy mildew can be recognised by an off-white, sometimes slightly purple,
furry growth on the leaves of the garlic plant. The leaves go on to yellow then
collapse. Since downy mildew is airborne, patterns of yellowing often follow prevailing
wind directions in a large crop. Downy mildew can kill young plants and causes
stunting in older ones.
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