The health of the flower plant is something which one can not ignore if someone really loves flower gardening. For a garden lover, there is nothing more traumatic than the deteriorating condition of flowers that are caught by various flower diseases. Although, no matter how hard you watered and soiled them, they still get certain flower diseases mainly by bacterial, fungal and viral infection. Most flower diseases are easily curable, but one needs to notice them in their early stages. Each one of the types of disease has a different treatment.
Different flower diseases and their cure
Powdery mildew-
This is the most common fungal disease of plants, and it is caused by soil borne fungi. This is widely found in roses, tulips, lilacs, and other flower plants. This disease creates a powdery white coating on the leaves, and this is the warning sign that your flower plants need immediate treatment in order to avoid further damage. Affected leaves with powdery mildew turn yellow and then brown. The spread of this disease eventually weakens the plant.
Preventing powdery mildew
- The affected plants need to be separated from others
- Avoid overwatering
- Ensure that the flower plant get enough air circulation
- Try to avoid the humid environment around the plant.
Rust-
Rust is a common fungal disease that occurs in plants that are in humid and wet condition. The rust is fungus puccinia triticina that attacks the aerial part of the plants but eventually spreads in leaves, flowers and stems also. It is most commonly found in roses and herbaceous plants. When the flower plants get discolored leaves and orange yellow like spots, it means that they are under the infestation of rust disease.
Cure of rust in flower plants
- Immediate removal of leaves that are infested by rust.
- Avoid dark, damp and humid conditions as this will only aggravate the problem.
- One can use chemical sprays or neem oil that are readily available in the market.
Gray mold-
This is a common fungal disease found in plants. It is caused by botrytis cinerea fungus, and it is very common among flower plants. Gray mold diseases grow in humid and wet conditions. This fungus grows on dead petals or tissues and the infected petals get gray and eventually start spreading to other parts of the plants. If it gets unnoticed, the entire plant may die very soon. The disease also occurs in storage areas in fruits and vegetables.
Cure of gray mold-
- Remove the infected petals or the entire flowers and leaves immediately.
- Dry and warm condition brings immediate relief to the infected plants
- Cleaning the plants
- Applying neem oil will drastically improve the condition of the plants.
- Use of fungicides like mancozeb, chlorothalonil and iprodione are highly effective and quick solutions for controlling the disease.
Soft rot-
Bacterial infection causes this disease. The bacteria secret an enzyme which is capable of destroying cells. The enzyme degrades pectate molecules, which helps the plants to bind together. These bacteria cause the cell wall structure of the plant to fall apart. The soft rot disease causes water secretion spots. Over time, these spots get enlarged and get soft and sunken. The sunken spot develops black color discoloration. The bacteria enter the flower plants mainly through wounds and severe weather conditions.
Curing soft rot in plants is not possible, but it can be prevented.
- Keep the plants well drained
- Avoid bruising of plants as they might get wounds and bacterial growth starts from there.
- Optimum soil fertility is required
- Stop over watering
- Facilitates a healthy growing environment, such as making the plants free from rodents and insects.
Apart from the above discussed plant diseases, there are a host of serious flower plant diseases such as canker, damping off, root rot and many other viral diseases. The best part of these diseases is that they can be cured and prevented if spotted at early stages. There are both organic and inorganic treatments for curing the flower plant’s diseases. One needs to just identify the exact disease and start immediate treatment for it.
