Plant Disease Control
Maintaining a garden 
can be hard work. Aside from the planting itself, your garden requires regular maintenance, from weeding to pest and disease control. Unfortunately, many amateur gardeners do not know their plants are diseased until they begin to exhibit symptoms, by which point it is often too late to save them. Since disease pathogens spread so quickly, it is important to try to prevent disease altogether before attempting to control and repair damage already done.
Some Steps to Prevention
- Avoid diseases by picking the best planting site and time for your crops. This means the area should be free of already diseased crops and may benefit from mulch which prevents foliage and soil contact.
- If you want to bring new plants into the garden site once things have already begun to grow, ensure that the new species being introduced is disease free by thoroughly checking for signs and symptoms and purchasing from a reputable retailer.
- If one or more plants becomes diseased in your garden area, remove them and their pieces (remaining stems, leaves and roots) from the vicinity as soon as possible. Sanitize your pruning tools before using them again on healthy plants.
- If you are particularly worried about disease, treat your plants with pesticides and other recommended chemicals in their beginning growth stages. While this is not a full-proof method, it can be combined with other practices for a more effective outcome.
- Rotating your crops regularly can help avoid soil -borne diseases.
- Choose plants that have shown a natural resistance to or tolerance for common diseases.
Some Steps to Control
- Ensure that the disease diagnosis is correct before treatment. This may mean consulting with local growers and garden retailers for expert advice.
- Choose the appropriate method of control--fungicides are for fungal problems, bactericides are for bacteria, etc.--and follow the instructions carefully. Using the right amounts at the right intervals is key.
- Coverage is key. Because treatments often create a barrier through which pathogens cannot penetrate, the effectiveness of the product is determined by how well the spray spreads and sticks. Make sure that you reach the lower leaves and the underside of those leaves when spraying any treatments.
- Weather is key. Sprays may be degraded by rainfall or tons of sun. If your weather patterns have been less than accommodating, shorter intervals between spraying may be necessary.
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