looks like i have rot

[majorcatfish]

kind of a interesting title..
have been eyeing the main garlic patch now for a while, it has not been looking the same as it has over the last couple years. this years crop is definitely infected with "white rot" <sclrotium cepivorum>and more unlikely going to loss the whole bed to it , plus everything i have read it may be many years before growing any of the <alliums family> in there.
from what i have read this fungus is very hard to eliminate completely...


garlic in the raised beds......

have been reading up on soil treatments to kill the spores it has been very reading and the treatments range from.
flooding the area with water...sounds like all that would do is spread it more
fumigation of the area....wonder how much that would cost? probably out of my budget
soil sterilization....putting black plastic down and cook the area over the summer
using garlic granules for horses, the principal to this method is to spread them and water it in tricking the spore pods that there are alliums roots developing and for them to germinate once they bloom and find out theres no food for them they die.. really like this idea since will be able to keep growing other crops during the season.

also read before you plant any seed garlic to put them in some hot water 115* this will help kill any pathogens
on the outer paper of the clove. makes sense....
to be on the safe side this will the last year for my 3 year old garlic seed.....

 

[ziggy]

Have you had fungus issues before? I grow onions last year but lost most to what someone told me was onion root maggots.

 

[majorcatfish]

thats the first thing i thought of... carefully dug around a few of the really sick ones and put the dirt and garlic in a box and proceed to "csi the situation" no bugs, so dug out couple books on garlic/onions as well some web pages everything points to white rot.

last year during june/ july we had rain every day plus it was seasonally cool compared to other years, so my guess is the conditions were prime for the growth of the fungus.

 

[majorcatfish]

carefully dug and removed any infected plants today, probably removed 300 out of 400 that was planted in there..

fingers crossed for the rest of them..

if anyone grows anything in the allium family<onions/leeks/shallots/garlic this is some interesting reading about this serious fungal disease.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=226
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/factsheets/garlicdiseases.pdf
http://bcseeds.org/white-rot.php
http://westernfarmpress.com/aids-allium-crops-garlic-industry-develops-white-rot-control-program
http://cetulare.ucanr.edu/files/137883.pdf

 

[ErnieCopp]

I do not know anything about growing garlic, but we have lots of other fungus problems around here and Kocide Copper Spray works best for me on the different kinds. If it is a fungus, check the books and see if Copper will help.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Yep, copper is my 'go to' fungicide.

 

[majorcatfish]

have been reading books and web articles since thursday, copper will not touch this fungus.....
in a couple articles it talks about using Diallyl disulfide, garlic oil or garlic chips as a stimulant into tricking the spores into germinating.

Diallyl disulfide (DADS) (which mimics natural garlic and onion sulfur compounds) or garlic oil is sprayed on
fallow fields and incorporated.
The field can be planted with a non-host, but no onions or garlic can be planted for 1 year after application
Sclerotia germinate, expecting host presence, and lacking a carbohydrate source, become exhausted and die.
DADS, and other similar compounds can reduce sclerotia levels in the soil by 90-98%.

incorporating garlic chips does the same as above, it's recommend to applying them over a 4 year period before planting any allium intothat area.

will agree copper is great for certain fungus and diseases and used here when warranted.

 

[wolffman]

Before planting garlic in an area, I like to precede it with a cover crop of Brassica (turnips, mustards, etc). You can use seed that is meant for wildlife forage crops. When you have a good stand, till it in the soil and let it decompose. The brassicas have chemicals in them that suppress many types of fungus.

You are right, the fungus is very hard if not impossible to get rid of. Commercial growers have it, but suppress to acceptable levels with heavy doses of chemical fungicides.

Crop rotation is a must, preferably minimum of 3 years. Organic growers here in the states will go as long as 7 years. Yikes, you've got to have some space to farm like that!

One last thing, right before we plant, we separate the cloves and soak them in rubbing alcohol for 2 hours. Don't worry, it wont hurt the cloves. This should kill any residual bad guys from the prior season.

Neato fact: Every leaf you see on the plant represents one layer of skin on the bulb.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Neato fact is interesting. I just learned a few years ago that each strand of tassel leads to one kernel of corn.

Ernie

 

[Mike]

Yep, copper is my 'go to' fungicide.

I can attest that copper works. I picked up some Bonide Copper Fungicide based on Sam's suggestion last year and it certainly did help.