All gardeners would like to grow healthy seedlings in the summer to get a good harvest of your favorite tomato. When sowing infected seeds and the failure of farming in the seedlings may have different diseases. One of the most dangerous and common diseases "blackleg" - told the experts of the Ryazan Department of plant quarantine and grain quality, its products phytosanitary testing laboratory of the fgbi CNPSL.

"Black leg" is a common folk name for a number of tomato diseases that manifest similar symptoms: blackening and rotting of the lower part of the stem and root collar. The perpetrators of the disease — two groups of pathogens: bacteria, protozoa fungi. The pathogens live in the soil and in case of worsening conditions of development of plants to settle on them. Mainly affects tomato seedlings, but maybe disease and adult plants. Pathogens — fungi-saprophytes, which are found in the superficial soil layers and feed on organic residues. In the confined environment of the greenhouses or containers for planting in the ground there will be a shortage of food, and pathogens that attack the roots of young transplants or seedlings. The signs of fungal infection: sluggish the disease, the appearance on the lower part of the stem black, gray, dark green, brown in color, the formation of a constriction at the root collar, the absence of plant roots. Most often the fungi affect plants after the pick, penetrating into the roots through mechanical injury. But among fungi and aggressive parasite Fusarium, which also causes the symptom of "black legs". He does not strike roots and penetrates the stem of the tomatoes using hypocotyl and distributes a large dose of toxins. The lower part of the stem is rapidly blackened and twisted.

"Black leg" is easier to prevent than to treat. For this you need to purchase quality seeds of modern varieties. If confidence in the quality of seed not, before sowing seeds can be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or aqueous fungicides, and biological pesticides. As a preventive measure these solutions treated plants after the pick. Growing seedlings, use wooden boxes and plastic utensils, and peat tablets or peat humus pots. It is important to take care of the soil before the seeds drop there. For example, the new ground is etched. To provoke disease can high humidity and high temperature. In the event of illness the seedlings are facing imminent death. Symptoms of "black leg" are shown on the stem, thinning, which leads to the death of the germ. Such plants were removed and the place where they grew up falling asleep wood ashes. All other plants without signs of disease should be treated with special preparations and ideally transplanted in the new soil.

Source: cnpsl.Russia