Wolcott Garden Treasures
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Bacterial Disease Control
Bacterial diseases of plants are extremely difficult to cure, so prevention is truly the best way to control the problem. Bacteria can be spread between plants in a number of ways, including splashing from rain or watering, pruning, and even through wind, birds and insects.
The plants that we purchase from our suppliers have been carefully grown and maintained to prevent infection and spreading. Our growers also have extensive programs to develop disease resistant hybrids.
At home, if you suspect a bacterial disease, your first method of control is to prune out and destroy any infected shoots and leaves immediately, then sanitize your tools to avoid spreading the bacteria. Never compost infected shoots or throw them in the tree line: always remove them to the trash to avoid additional contamination.
Research has really only shown one chemical that aids in the control of bacterial disease: copper sulfate. We added a Copper Fungicide from Bonide to our product lineup in 2010 specifically to address concerns about late blight, the fast-spreading spore that devastated the tomato crops in 2009. Copper is an effective preventative measure for fungal and some bacterial infections, but once the problem has emerged, there isn't usually a lot you can do besides remove the infected material as described above. That being said, if you choose to use a copper product for prevention of a disease, keep in mind that it must be applied carefully and only to the plant, never the ground in order to avoid a toxic buildup of copper in the soil. We recommend spreading a newspaper beneath the target plant(s) to catch the mist as it falls to the ground.
The plants that we purchase from our suppliers have been carefully grown and maintained to prevent infection and spreading. Our growers also have extensive programs to develop disease resistant hybrids.
At home, if you suspect a bacterial disease, your first method of control is to prune out and destroy any infected shoots and leaves immediately, then sanitize your tools to avoid spreading the bacteria. Never compost infected shoots or throw them in the tree line: always remove them to the trash to avoid additional contamination.
Research has really only shown one chemical that aids in the control of bacterial disease: copper sulfate. We added a Copper Fungicide from Bonide to our product lineup in 2010 specifically to address concerns about late blight, the fast-spreading spore that devastated the tomato crops in 2009. Copper is an effective preventative measure for fungal and some bacterial infections, but once the problem has emerged, there isn't usually a lot you can do besides remove the infected material as described above. That being said, if you choose to use a copper product for prevention of a disease, keep in mind that it must be applied carefully and only to the plant, never the ground in order to avoid a toxic buildup of copper in the soil. We recommend spreading a newspaper beneath the target plant(s) to catch the mist as it falls to the ground.
Photo of bacterial blight on lilac courtesy of Branching Out pest management newsletter by Cornell University.
Symptoms of bacterial disease:
Galls (strange growths), overgrowth, wilts, leaf spots, specks, blights, soft rot, scabs and cankers. Keep in mind that diseases such as leaf spots, blights and scabs may also be caused by fungal infections, so proper identification is crucial.
If you suspect bacteria:
Remove an affected section of your plant and bring it in to our store. We can check one of our many references to determine the cause and figure out a plan of attack.
Galls (strange growths), overgrowth, wilts, leaf spots, specks, blights, soft rot, scabs and cankers. Keep in mind that diseases such as leaf spots, blights and scabs may also be caused by fungal infections, so proper identification is crucial.
If you suspect bacteria:
Remove an affected section of your plant and bring it in to our store. We can check one of our many references to determine the cause and figure out a plan of attack.
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