Disease Prevention In The Home Garden 2015-07-02

Advise on preventing diseases in the home garden. We all have had the frustration of after much planning, effort, and care in our garden only to have it fail to produce.

Disease Prevention in Home Vegetable Gardens
Patricia Donald
Department of Plant Microbiology and Pathology
Lewis Jett
Department of Horticulture
Vegetable gardening is the number one hobby in the United States. Keeping a garden healthy and attractive requires attention not only to its size and location but also to the soil, water availability, sunlight and air circulation in the garden. These environmental conditions can determine susceptibility to plant diseases. Diseased plants are unsightly and also detract from the enjoyment and fruits of the hobby.

Diseases affect home garden vegetable plants every year. Plant pathogens become established when environmental conditions are favorable. Losses due to disease can be reduced through a combination of proven disease-prevention methods:

• Select adapted, disease-resistant varieties.
• Use transplants that are free from disease.
• Plant closely related vegetables in separate areas of the garden (Table 1).
• Rotate garden areas to prevent planting closely related vegetables in the same area year after year.
• Control weeds that compete with vegetables or harbor plant pathogens.
• Control insects that may carry disease.
• Remove and destroy diseased plant material.
• Remove plant refuse soon after harvest.
• Disinfect garden tools and shears.
• Apply fungicides appropriately and in a timely manner when resistant varieties are not available.
• Maintain a balanced soil fertility program.

In addition to diseases caused by pathogens, many nonparasitic disorders cause serious problems in vegetable production. The following disorders may mimic symptoms caused by pathogens: extremes in temperature, extremes in moisture, extremes in one or more nutrients, and herbicide misapplication or carryover. These disorders will not respond to the use of chemicals aimed at plant pathogens and can make conditions more favorable for disease development.