There are few veggies that stand out in the garden quite like Swiss chard can . Those atomic number 10 stems are so striking that it ’s but a bonus that they also happen to be fantastically tasty as well .
When disease strike , not only can it impoverish you of your dinner , but it can turn those beautiful plant into a mushy mess – and nobody require that .
fortuitously , Swiss chard is jolly repellent to disease , especially if you bed the ripe steps to take to help prevent problematic pathogens from gossip in the first place .
Photo via Alamy.
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To that ending , we ’re going to look at the most common disease , how to treat them , and what to do to prevent them . Here ’s what we ’ll focus on :
9 Common Diseases of Swiss Chard
If you ca n’t await to cook up those endearing ( disease - free ) foliage , let ’s hop right to it !
1. Bacterial Soft Rot
If your Swiss chard leaves have chocolate-brown , water - fleece smirch or if the midrib of the leaf starts look disintegrate , it ’s likely that the plants are suffering from bacterial diffused hogwash .
Soft rot is due to numerous types of bacterium , includingPectobacterium carotovorum , Dickeya dadantii , and some species in thePseudomonas , Bacillus , Erwinia , andClostridiumgenera .
These bacteria live in the territory and thrive in temperature between 70 and 80 ° F , with peck of moisture .
The pathogen that cause this disease call for an porta to work their manner into the plant , and that have in mind any time an dirt ball nybble on the stem or you accidentally snub it or pull a foliage , it ’s vulnerable to soft bunkum thereafter .
The bacteria can hitch a ride on an insect , tools , your cutis , or even the underside ofyour shoes . They also go in urine .
Beyond practise good garden hygienics , you should also seek to keep insect blighter out of the garden . Be sure to irrigate at the stain level rather than on the leaves , and avoid letting the urine splash onto the foliage .
Always rotate your crops every three years , since these types of bacteria ca n’t feed on all diversity of veggies .
You should also take care to ensure that your plants have enough Ca , and clean up any debris in the garden in the fall .
in conclusion , dispatch any septic plant material immediately and throw it away in the codswallop . Do n’t compost it .
2. Beet Curly Top Virus
Sure , the name makes it voice like this is something that only troubles beets , but nope ! Beet curly top virus ( BCTV ) impacts tomato plant , beans , cucumber , mustard greens , and even weed like Russian thistle .
When it infect Swiss chard , it usher up as stunted growth or curling leaves . erstwhile leave may become thick and pixilated . Eventually , the plant life turns yellow and pass . And here ’s the really bad news show : there is no therapeutic .
Once your plant contract this disease , all you could do is deplume it and toss away of it .
The in effect tidings is that if you are able to keep beet leafhoppers aside from your plants , you wo n’t really have to concern much about this job since these insects are the master vector responsible for the spreadhead of the computer virus .
Still , just one minuscule nibble is all it take for your Swiss chard to be toast .
The good way to keep them away is by putting upfloating row coversin the early natural spring . A skillful wrangle cover charge totally denies leafhoppers the ability to bring on your Swiss chard in the first place .
It ’s also smart to fill your garden with lots of beneficial bugs that like to make a repast of leafhoppers .
This includes parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant , lacewing , and assassin glitch .
If you do n’t have as many of these helpful creatures paying a visit to your garden as you ’d like , you’re able to drop some money at the problem .
Assassin Bugs
Arbico Organics carriesassassin hemipterous insect orchis in 250 , 500 , 1,000 , 2,000 , and 5,000 - count parcel .
3. Cercospora Leaf Spot
Cercospora leaf spot is n’t fun to have on any plant , but it peculiarly imbibe when your Swiss chard contracts it .
That ’s because it impacts the leaf , which is the part you want to wipe out . If this fungus ( Cercospora beticola ) attacks your beetroot , you’re able to still wipe out the base . But a leafy plant covered in fungal spot does n’t quicken anyone ’s appetite .
This fungus likes it raging , specially with some gamey humidity to go along with it . If the foliage remains wet all night long , even just .
Once it claim clench , you ’ll see small spots on the leaves . As they maturate , they develop a short brown centre and a red margin . These situation turn and finally merge , killing the leaf .
leave behind ungoverned , Cercospora can demolish your total flora . It lead off on the prohibited leaves first , so keep an oculus out there .
The fungus lives in the soil , and legion unlike weed and other veggies may service as hosts . Plus , once your plants have it , it ’s hard to ensure . So originate with prevention .
That means rotating your crops so there ’s nothing in the Amaranthaceae class growing in the same place more often than once every three years .
Also , keep all weeds out of your garden layer and always water at the soil level , not on the foliage .
Finally , if it ’s too latterly and you already see symptoms on your flora , it ’s possible to do by this infection , especially if you catch the symptoms early on .
Bonide Copper Fungicide
A Cu sulfate fungicide can reduce or eliminate symptoms . Arbico Organics carriesone made by Bonide in one- or four - hammer containers .
Spray the leave at the first sign of a problem , and keep spray once every other calendar week until you are ready to eat the leaves , or the symptoms are gone . Remember to always wash the leaves before exhaust them .
4. Cucumber Mosaic Virus
Once again , this vocalize like a disease that plague a whole different character of plant , but cucumber mosaic virus ( CMV ) is actually very coarse around the veg patch .
It can infect nightshades , cucurbits , and , yes – beets , Swiss chard , and other veggies inthe Amaranthaceae family .
An infected Swiss chard works may be stunt and will usually have a mottled pattern on the leaves , with speckle of yellow or light-colored green . The leaf might also parade patches of exaggerated cupping .
While this computer virus can be unfold via pollen or when infected works bear on one another , aphidsare the independent vector that contribute to its spread .
Since aphids are so common , it can be a challenge to keep them out of your garden whole . Our templet to Swiss chard pestshas all the details you need to cover an aphid situation .
5. Damping Off
damp off is a common problem that touch many , many different type of flora . It ’s one of those topic where once one of your pants has had it , you know exactly what it wait like .
Caused byRhizoctoniaandFusariumfungi and urine modeling in thePythiumgenus , when damping off comes around , it causes seeds to miscarry to spud . Or , if seedling do pop up , they ’ll be washy and spindly .
You might see H2O - soaked lesions at the al-Qaeda of the seedling , and there might even be a milklike fungus that ’s visible on the top of the soil .
Sadly , once your plants are infect , there is n’t much you’re able to do . Even if they hold out , they wo n’t ever maturate into big , healthy veggie . Toss infected seedlings and start again .
To avoid damping off , always , always pick any pecker and potty that you use when imbed . You should also start with refreshing potting ground .
Then , take spare aid to be sure you are n’t overwatering , and do n’t fertilise germ or young seedling . You should also ensure that your grow plant life receive copious sun , for at least six hours a twenty-four hours .
To be extra certain you wo n’t have to deal with this problem , you could pre - treat the soilusingBacillus subtilis .
CEASE
Arbico Organics carriesCEASE , a product that contains this herculean beneficial bacterium . apprehend some in gallon- and 2.5 - Imperial gallon containers .
Soak the dirt before planting , following the manufacturer ’s directions .
ascertain more about dampen off in our guide .
6. Downy Mildew
A year without a little bit of downy mildew is a rare delicacy in my garden . At some point , it always seems to snipe one ( or more ) of my plants , though Swiss chard seems to be less susceptible .
In plants in the Amaranthaceae family , it is make by the pathogenPeronospora farinosaf . sp.betae , which thrives when temperature are below 68 ° F and there is lots of wet in the air .
If this oomycete come to call , you ’ll first notice light green spot on the top of the leaves .
Sometimes , especially when there is a lot of moisture around , you will see white or gray fuzzy ontogeny on both side . Left ungoverned , the farewell may droop and die off .
Since this disease relies on moisture , control that element in your garden is your proficient stakes . That means proper spacing between plants is central , because it increases air circulation .
involve care to only water at the substructure of your industrial plant and not on the leaf helps , too . You should also attempt to water in the forenoon so the parting can dry out in the sun during the solar day .
A copper sulfate spray like we verbalise about with Cercospora leaf situation above is an effective treatment , though the rather you pop out spraying , the better .
you may also spray it as a preventative if you sputter with downlike mildew often , but utilize forethought around waterways . It can leach into water , and is toxic in large total for fish and amphibian .
7. Leaf Spot
Phoma leaf spot causes both obscure muscae volitantes with a unclouded brown halo on the leaves and molder roots below the soil . The fungusPhoma betae , which get the disease , can locomote in water , on tools , or in the stain .
You should rotate your craw every three years , whether you note sign of this disease or not , and only purchase certify disease - innocent seeds as preventative measures .
Mycostop Biofungicide
A biofungicide such as Mycostop , whichArbico Organics carriesin five- and 25 - gram packets , can be spray on the foliage of your plants every three weeks when symptoms are present .
8. Powdery Mildew
Powdery mildew , like downy mildew , is another tops plebeian garden disease . It ’s because of the fungusErysiphe polygoniand it is pertinacious . I ’m amply convinced that if this fungus had ovolo , it could take over the earth .
It overwinter in the filth on the tiny bits of plant debris and it travels on the farting , your clothes , tools , and even on worm that flit from plant to plant . It can assail nightshade , beets and common beet relative , leguminous plant , and more .
In other words , it ’s hard to avoid . Once your industrial plant have it , or even a neighbour ’s , it ’s unvoiced to prevent powdery mildew .
give thanks firmament it ’s fairly prosperous to address . Keep a argus-eyed eye on your Swiss chard , especially when temperatures are between 60 and 80 ° F , but note that it can survive temperature of 100 ° degree Fahrenheit and higher .
When you see minuscule patches of white fuzz set about to spring up , it ’s time to take natural process .
A mathematical product that containsBacillus amyloliquefaciensstrain D747 can be an effective treatment , specially if you start early .
Monterey makes a product called Complete Disease Control that uses this beneficial bacterium . peck some up at Arbico Organicsin 32 - ounce ready - to - use bottles , or eight - troy ounce , dry pint - size of it , or gallon - size concentrates .
Monterey Complete Disease Control
dowse the parting really well once a week for as long as the fungous growth is present . And when I say drench , I mean it .
Do n’t be shy . The leafage should be dripping when you ’re done . Do n’t block to spray the root word , too .
This year , I try using acompost teaspray as a preventive . I do n’t know for sure if I just got lucky or if it made all the difference , but I did n’t have any powdery mold in my garden this twelvemonth .
Although we do n’t cognize for sure why it works , it may be that the beneficial bacteria in the Camellia sinensis outcompetes the powdery mildew fungus kingdom ( and other prejudicious microbes ) for real land space on the flora . Bottom line is that it does seem to tender some aegis .
Learn to address powdery mould in our guide .
9. Rhizoctonia Rot
TheRhizoctoniagenus is a group of fungus kingdom that dwell in the soil . Some specie attack seed and seedlings , which is make out as damping off ( see above ) . When these fungi infect older plants , it ’s lie with as Rhizoctonia rot .
These pathogens just enjoy it when there is too much water in the soil , so be sure to overwater if you want to have a probability at dealing with this disease .
The impact of Rhizoctonia moulder depend on how advanced it is , which is pendent upon how much wet is in the soil .
In really loaded conditions , the foliage will be touch , and you ’ll have wilted , yellowing leaves with water - surcharge lesion . In less severe case , the root will bulge out to rot away , causing the foliage to appear wilted , even when there is water present in the soil .
If you look closely at the foot of an infected industrial plant , you ’ll often see white or gray fungus .
All of the preventative steps that you may take for tone down off also apply here . But you also have the choice to treat this contagion , which is not the case with damping off .
Catching it early on is fundamental – if the contagion reaches the full stop where the roots have rotted away , you ’re out of fate .
A fungicide containingBacillus subtilis , such as CEASE , is extremely effective against this disease . you may put on it once a week preventatively , or twice a week when signs of infection are present .
Diseases Don’t Stand a Chance
All member of the Amaranthaceae family have from similar disease , but Swiss chard seems just a fleck closer to problem - free than many of its cousins .
Still , you need to be aware of what to take in out for if you desire to enjoy your harvest before kingdom Fungi , viruses , and bacterium can . Hopefully , this pathfinder will assist you accomplish that , and diseases wo n’t place upright a luck .
If you ca n’t get enoughSwiss chardgoodness – and countenance ’s be honest , who can ? – scan these illuminating guides next :
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Kristine Lofgren
