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Clinton News-Record, 1978-04-13, Page 43• Plants are like people: both have diseases By Dr. Robert Hall C.L. Hunter ministry of agriculture and food It is an unfortunate fact of life that plants, like people, are not mortal but subject to disease. Like us, most plants are healthy most of the time, but sometimes disaster strikes. To see the leaves of prized tomato bushes wither away just as the crop is coming along nicely is disconcerting to say the least. Many types of plants are grown in home gardens to provide food, beauty or privacy. For each type of plant, there is often a long list of diseases to which it is subject. Fortunately, not all diseases on the list are common ones. It is possible for home gardeners to become familiar with the com- mon diseases affecting their plants and to apply control measures for most of them if required. Fungi are responsible for most diseases of plants in the home garden but are too small to be seen by eye. Their effects are clear however - blight, spot, scorch, canker, wilt, scab, mildew and damping -off. With practice, these symptoms can be recognized fairly easily. Some, such as black spot on roses, occur every year and can be an- ticipated. Disease problems can be • Quick crops from box plants Many home gardeners use started vegetable plants grown for them by members of Bedding Plants, Incorporated, the in- ternational organization of bedding plant growers. These healthy plants can be purchased in units of one, six or more, depending on the gardener's needs. They are easy to plant, and quicker crops are possible for home gardeners using these started plants. Tomato plants are the most popular vegetable plants for the home gardener. Choose sturdy plants of fine hybrid varieties or of old reliable varieties. Plant them in your garden after frost danger is past. In addition to the red tomato, . there are large yellow tomato plants, as well as cherry and plum tomatoes. Staking tomato ,plants will conserve garden space. Dwarf plants which produce medium- sized fruits have become popular for plants or for hanging baskets. Even though tomato plants are the most popular with vegetable gardeners, pepper plants are also sought by many home gardeners. Pepper plants grow best in warm weather, so delay planting until after frost danger is past. The green bell pepper for salads or -stuffing ripens to red later in the season. Sweet frying peppers and spicy "hot" peppers can be grown from plants offered at your garden supply store. Broccoli, cabbage, celery and onion plants are available at your garden supply store in the cooler days of early spring. They do well in your garden in cooler weather, so plant them in a sunny area in well-prepared soil soon after they appear at the store. Celery and Anion plants should b'e planted at distances equal to the size of the celery or onion when mature; - broccoli, 12 inches apart and cabbage, 18 inches apart. Eggplant transplants, parsley and other herb transplants are available at your local garden supply store at the proper planting time. You may also find potted' plants of summer squash and cucumbers. Try planting marigold plants in your vegetable garden beside vegetable rows or between vegetable plants. Marigold root systems excrete a substance harmful to certain soil nematodes which attach to plant roots in the vegetable garden, providing the garden with a natural pesticide control. minimized or eliminated by following a few simple procedures. But, since many diseases spread rapidly and diseased parts cannot be restored to health, prompt action after a disease appears is often vital. First, buy your seeds from a reputable seed house. Saving ten cents in the spring can cause lots of problems in July. Check for varieties which are disease resistant. Unless certain varieties are essential, stick to proven lines which reduce the disease control problems. If you plant potatoes, use seed stock, not the old sprouted spuds from the tablestock bag. Before you plant, check seed package labels for any seed treatments which have been made and if none are indicated, dust seeds lightly with a touch of Captan. The garden soil should be well worked up and free of s weeds. Plant spacing should be wide enough to allow air movement through the . lower leaves. Too often, plants are squashed together, allowing humidity to build up within their canopy. If spaced apart, the plants can "breathe", humidity is reduced and the ideal moist, warm en- vironment for plant diseases is removed. Remember, diseases are caused by organisms which thrive under certain, en- vironmental conditions. Remove the conditions and disease will have a harder time establishing themselves. Certain diseases require protective spray treatments every year while others only need spot treatments under unusual weather conditions. For detailed information, a useful publication nc. 64 available from the Infor- mation Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Parliament Buildings, Toronto, M7A 1A5 at a cost of 50 cents. It lisjs 20 insecticide products (to kill insects), 10 fungicide products (to control diseases caused by fungi) and 27 products containing an insecticide and fungicide (to control both insects and diseases). No single product will control all diseases. Therefore, the publication has separate sections for vegetables, fruits, or- namentals and lawns. Within each section,. there is a list of common plants, common diseases and suggested control practices, both chemical and non - chemical. It is critical to, read product labels..to find out what diseases are controlled and how much product to use. If one ounce is required to kill the disease, two ounces will not do a better job! You become a pollutor of the soil, a poor example for other gar-. deners and a spendthrift as well! Above all, follow safety precautions that are listed. There are some diseases which are unsightly but don't reduce the eating value of the crop. Learn to accept some levels of disease and you will be much more likely to continue your green thumb en- deavors. Picking off a few spotted leaves, or the odd blemished fruit is a much easier and inexpensive method of "control" than several sprays. After all, a garden is to be en- joyed, not something to enslave you. Outbreaks of disease can occur severe damage. Reports of such happenings are usually available in farm reports on local radio and in the press. Garden clubs and horticultural societies are other sources of valuable local tips on growing. Use the resources of these Page 19 groups as well as the ministry of agriculture, to gain expertise in gardening. There is lots of in- formation available. One im- portant consideration to remember is in the use of pesticides. Never follow advice on pesticide use unless it comes from an up-to-date, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture source. Laws change frequently and pesticides must be used in safe and legal ways. GRASSES WORTH WANTING: At left is an attractively -textured bluegrass plant. At right is a coarser haygrass. Bluegrass spreads by underground stems called rhizomes. while the haygrass simply forms an unsightly clump. Modern Iawnseed mixtures and blends take ad- vantage of well-bred . "fine -textured- cultivars that make a low, dense, w ear -resistant sod. Unwanted clumpy grasses are carefully eliminated. MP Massey Ferguson George Wraith has the equipment for better results - MF TRACTORS and BACKHOE LOADERS - GARDEN IMPLEMENTS - RIDING LAWN MOWERS GAS and ELECTRIC. 7....r.•w-tea . , � Siff • F�/,- I.f i'�i `!t'1\�• ppp�[,f�,� i� �r 11 , „• �i� r �►,,� - ill:; ��,l+r�,u� rn ��-I17`r i� vo GEORGE WRAITH 2 Mi. East of Goderich Hwy. No. 8 PHONE 524-7351 8-6 p.m.