If you have ever bought tomato plants from the nursery, they always instruct to plant the entire plant leaving only 2 inches above ground. The stem of the tomato plant can be planted deep within the dirt and will start to form new roots encouraging a stronger plant and root system. Tomato plants are a bit different than most other vegetables. For all of my other seedlings, I start them in small peat pots and as they get bigger, I transplant them to a larger peat pot giving them room to grow more before I transplant them outside. This year I actually started my tomato plants in a larger peat pot with only a small amount of dirt on the bottom. In beds where white mold has occurred, remove and replace infested soil.I know, it was a bit bouncy, lol!! If you have any questions on watering, leave me a comment or send me an email. Remove dead leaves, withered flowers and other plant debris. Avoid overwatering and frequent light waterings instead water deeply early in the day. Control weeds as they can be alternate hosts of the white mold fungus and can decrease air circulation. Promote good air circulation with proper plant spacing. How do I avoid problems with white mold in the future? Check seed for presence of sclerotia and remove them before planting. Do not compost these materials because of the risk of spreading the pathogen via long-lived sclerotia. Prune four to five inches below obviously disease tissue or remove entire plants if they are severely affected, and burn them. How do I save plants with white mold? White mold is difficult to manage once infections have occurred. In some plants, seeds can be contaminated by sclerotia or hyphae of the fungus. Infection often begins on dead or decaying plant parts like flowers and leaves, and then spreads to healthy tissue. Spores are dispersed primarily by wind, but also by rainsplash and insects. Either spores or hyphae can infect plant tissue. During periods of cool, wet weather sclerotia germinate to form either hyphae or tiny, mushroom-like spore-producing structures called apothecia. Where does white mold come from? White mold is caused by several species of the fungus Sclerotinia that overwinter as sclerotia in dead plant material or in infested soil. The sclerotia are white at first and then turn dark brown or black when mature. Hard, irregularly-shaped masses called sclerotia develop within or on the surface of infected plants. Cottony masses of fungal threads (hyphae) may appear on stems or on nearby soil. Brown spots can appear on flower petals and buds. Plants affected by white mold can wilt rapidly as a result of stem-girdling cankers at or near the soil line. White mold can lead to crown and stem cankers, root rots, wilts, damping-off of seedlings, and blossom and fruit rots. What does white mold look like? Symptoms of white mold vary with the plant host infected. White mold can also be a serious problem in home vegetable and herbaceous ornamental gardens. It causes severe damage in commercial snap, kidney and lima bean production, as well as commercial sunflower production. What is white mold? White mold is a serious, and often lethal, fungal disease that affects over 374 types of plants in many plant families. Stem cankers, cottony hyphae and sclerotia (see arrows) of white mold on snap beans.Īnn Joy and Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology
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