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Home Farming Tips How To Treat Fungal Infection In Plants Using Organic Spray

How To Treat Fungal Infection In Plants Using Organic Spray

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By Jovita Mirembe

Growing veggies, micro greens and house plants for sale is one of the booming businesses in Uganda, especially in  city centres and suburbs today.

However, some gardeners and farmers say fungal infections have frustrated their business.

Diana Mbabaali, a gardener says fungus like powdery mildew absolutely ruins plants.

“This means a loss to me because I will not get money from it if its affected by a fungus. Here the plant starts showing signs of unusual spotting or has growth on it that is a different color  which shows that  it has been affected by some kind of fungus,” Mbabaali says.

Lillian Musoke, a vegetable grower, says her plants  being affected by fungus  is one of the challenges that she gets while growing her vegetables.   

Mbabaali  and Musoke say they use chemical pesticides to spray their  plants which are affected  to help their plants  come back to life.    

However, Henry Galiwango,  a lecturer of agricultural sciences at the School of Education, Makerere University  says using organic pesticides is the best way to spray your plants with.

He says when a plant’s leaves start blackening, it shows that it has been affected by a fungus.

Galiwango says in another scenario when you see unusual spots on the leaves of your plant, it might indicate a fugus infection.  

In this scenario, anti-fungal  organic sprays  using onions and  garlic  can be effective and here he recommends how to use them;

 Procedure

Step one

.Prepare 85g of garlic which is approximately equivalent to  one cluster of garlic, or  100g  of onions  which  are equivalent to  7-10 of medium size onions.

. Remove all the soil and dry the outer leaves so that a fresh leave remain.

. Remove all the roots from the onion or garlic.

Step two  

.Put the garlic / onions in the mortar. Alternatively, you can put them in a blender  because its faster.

. Start pounding or crushing  until all are  finely made.

Step three

Soak the crushed  material in a half litre of water and cover  well for 24 hours or one day.

.Ensure you cover  the container or jerrican  where the contents are stored to avoid excessive escape of the scent or ordour as this is the active ingredient that repels the pests.

Step four

.Soak  10g of soap which is instance those very pieces of soap that remain when you have finished washing. If you are using a small spraying pump, one spoon  of  liquid soap is enough and mix it with onions.

.This soap is necessary  in ensuring the solution fully  dissolves well  when mixed in the spraying  pump and for efficient fluid flow during spray. This soap also increases the killing or repelling  ability of the solution. It is specifically  used to suffocate small soft bolded insects and anthropoids such as  aphids, mealy bugs, thrips, white flies, spider mites leaf hopper,  earwigs  and immature  scales.

Leave this solution for 24 hours before you use it.

 Step five

.Stir and sieve with cloth or strainer to ensure the onion pieces don’t  block or clog  the pump tubes.

.Transfer  the mixture  into  a hand sprayer or spraying pump.

Step six

.Carefully transfer  the mixture  into the hand sprayer or spraying pump.

.Make sure the hand  sprayer is cleaned with soap and water before  use.

Step seven

 .Spray onto the vegetable plants.

.Ensure  the whole plant is sprayed with  the  mixture  to increase chances of repelling the pests.

.Ensure you spray  in the morning or late evening to avoid  quick drift of the mixture.

Galiwango  says  this procedure can also be done to plants whose leaves turn black when it’s not a fungal infection but when the plant is undergoing a stage where the  environment has some water retention challenges.

He adds  that this comes when at one  time it rained and water stayed for long in the soil.

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