Eggplant is a rather demanding culture. In addition to favorable conditions, these representatives of the Solanov family need protection from diseases and pests. Without timely preventive measures, plants are easily infected, and without proper treatment they die.

To grow healthy, tasty vegetables, you must follow agricultural practices throughout the growing season. If you follow the rules for growing and caring for eggplant seedlings, diseases and pests are less likely to attack a healthy crop.

Care errors

Eggplants often look sick due to improper growing conditions. At the same time, every mistake of the gardener results in a symptom:

  • the location of the leaves relative to the stem and their shape change - this happens from a lack of phosphorus;
  • the leaves become smaller, the stem becomes thinner, the skin turns pale on the fruits - this is a sign of a lack of lighting;
  • few ovaries, slowed growth, rot appeared - this often happens when watering with too cold water;
  • leaves become whitish - a sign of a lack of nitrogen;
  • the fruit becomes cracked with a lack of moisture;
  • the leaves darken, curl up into a tube - a symptom of a lack of potassium.

To return the plants to their previous healthy appearance, it is necessary to start looking after them more carefully, eliminating all previous mistakes.

Diseases of eggplant

Eggplant diseases also have a number of characteristic symptoms. After reading their description, you can diagnose the plant and solve the problem by taking the necessary measures.

Late blight

Aphids on eggplant seedlings: what to do

Cause: Phytophtora fungus, which reproduces by means of zoospores. They are washed off by rain into the soil, or fall on the aerial parts of other plants. Not only stems and leaves, but also the root system are affected by the fungus.

Symptoms: It manifests itself in the form of rusty spots that affect the aerial parts of the plant.

Note! Control measures: Treat all the bushes with Bordeaux liquid, 0.2% copper sulfate. It is advisable to spray in the evening before dew falls. If there are few infected plants, you can remove diseased leaves and burn them.

A popular remedy for fighting late blight is widespread: garlic infusion. 200 grams of chopped garlic is poured into 3 liters of water. Leave to infuse for 14 days. The resulting liquid is diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio and sprayed with eggplants. Additionally, plant leaves are sprinkled with wood ash, which contributes to the death of the fungus.

Another popular method is processing with a solution of sodium chloride (100 g per 5 L of water) or kefir (1 L per 10 L of water). Salt is a good antiseptic, kefir creates an acidic environment that is poorly tolerated by late blight.

Prevention: eggplants are not planted in areas where Solanaceae were grown or were grown last season. Thickening of plantings and exceeding the norms of fertilizing with nitrogen are unacceptable: they reduce the immunity of the plant. Seedlings can be sprayed with Anthracol or Quadris. Adult plants are treated with an acrobat, ridomil or mancozeb approximately 7 days before flowering. The treatment is repeated a week later and later, after 14 days. Several times a season can be used for the prevention of phytosporin or bactofit.If suspicious symptoms appear, Hom or Tridex preparations are used.

Important! Fruits affected by late blight should not be eaten.

White rot (sclerotinosis)

Cause: a fungus that occurs when excessive moisture and cold water is used for irrigation. It causes the appearance of sclerotia inside the stem, which prevents the upper part of the plant from feeding.

Symptoms: White bloom and discoloration on the stem. In more advanced cases, dark moist spots on the leaves. Sick fruits become watery, slimy, covered with white spots, turning into black sclerotia.

White rot (sclerotinosis) on eggplants

Note! Control measures: the affected parts of the plant are removed, the cut sites are sprinkled with wood ash. Spraying with Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate is effective. A diseased plant is fed with a complex mineral fertilizer - this will support it. During the fight against the disease, it is important to monitor the cleanliness and ventilation of the plantings. This is especially important under greenhouse growing conditions.

Prevention: careful handling of the plant will avoid the appearance of wounds through which the disease gets inside. If there is damage, they must be sprinkled with ash.

Blackleg

Cause of occurrence: a fungus that attacks thickened seedlings. To provoke its appearance by too abundant watering of the beds.

Symptoms: The appearance of dark spots and grayish bloom on the stem of the eggplant. As the disease progresses, it moves to the root, affecting it. This can lead to the death of the plant.

Note! Control measures: when it comes to greenhouse cultivation, it is necessary to air more often. Reduce watering to a minimum, sprinkle the soil between the bushes with wood ash. It will not be superfluous to treat plants with fungicides, for example: phytosporin, bactofit, gamair. In severely advanced cases, the affected plants will have to be burned. After that, the soil is allowed to dry out and sprinkled with wood ash.

Prevention: eggplants, the seedlings of which are quite often exposed to this disease, must be sprayed with milk whey or a solution with trichopolum (1 tablet per 1 liter of water). It is unacceptable to grow seedlings in drafts and water them with cold water. It is advisable to use peat tablets for planting. Or plant young plants in separate pots.

Small midges appearing on pepper seedlings and eggplant on the windowsill can also provoke the appearance of a black leg. Adult insects are collected from walls and ceilings with a vacuum cleaner, and larvae that live in the soil are destroyed by chemical means.

Viral mosaic

Cause: a virus that persists in the soil for several years. May be carried by insects. Plants damaged during transportation or planting are mainly infected.

Symptoms: Light or dark green spots on leaves, yellow markings on fruits. If the disease has affected the underground part of the plant, external signs may not appear.

Note! Control measures: the affected plants are removed from the site and burned. All instruments are disinfected. There are no chemical or folk remedies that can effectively treat mosaic.

Viral mosaic on eggplant

Prevention: eggplant seeds prepared for planting are immersed in a hydrochloric acid solution (200 ml per 1 liter of water) for half an hour, and then washed with running water. The seedlings, after planting in the ground, are sprayed with milk with the addition of soap shavings (20-25 g / l). The procedure is repeated once every 10 days. You can replace this solution with phytosporin or uniflor-micra.

For a more effective fight against the disease, it is recommended to alternate the funds.

Gray rot (Alternaria)

Cause of occurrence: a fungus that activates at high humidity and temperatures above 20 ° C. It is able to persist in soil and in the remains of affected plants.

Symptoms: Round brown spots on the leaves, wet soft areas on the fruit, gradually increasing in size. Fruit markings can be grayish or black in color.

Note! Control measures: treatment with phytosporin, colloidal sulfur, copper sulfate, anthracol, trichodermine, chorus or other fungicides. If the eggplants continue to hurt, the affected plants are burned, carefully removing their remnants from the beds.

Prevention: 7 days before planting in the ground, seedlings are treated for diseases with phytosporin, zircon or HOM. The procedure is repeated after 2 weeks. Some colloidal sulfur can be added to the planting holes. Spraying with garlic infusion is carried out weekly during the season.

Black bacterial spot

Cause of occurrence: a bacterium that penetrates into the leaves of eggplant through the stomata, and into the fruit through minor damage. High temperature and humidity contribute to the onset of the disease.

Symptoms: small black spots with a yellow edging that appear on the leaves of eggplant, gradually increasing in size. Bloated areas with watery edges appear on the affected fruit.

Black bacterial spot on eggplant

Note! Control measures: processing of eggplants with phytoflavin-300. In case of severe damage, the plants are burned. All parts of the plant are removed from the site, including seeds, in which bacteria can survive. If the infection began in a greenhouse, it makes sense to completely change the soil in it.

Prevention: Thinning of too dense plantings, adherence to the irrigation regime and crop rotation will help protect the eggplants. Treating purchased seeds before planting or purchasing pre-treated seeds.

Dry rot (phomopsis)

Cause: Phyllosticta hortorum Speg mushroom, which affects not only eggplants, but also peppers, strawberries, and potatoes.

Symptoms: the disease is expressed in the appearance of brown spots on the leaves of eggplant seedlings, turning into putrefactive foci. On adult plants, it manifests itself in the form of rot, ringing the root part of the stem. Brownish spots with a light center appear on the leaves, covered with black dots. On diseased fruits, dry brownish-brown spots appear, covered with black specks of spores, which eventually begin to get wet. Gradually, rot covers the entire fruit, destroying the pulp.

Note! Control measures: treatment consists of treating plants with fungicides or Bordeaux mixture.

Prevention: use of varieties resistant to disease, seed dressing, careful removal of plant residues from the soil, avoidance of waterlogging of the soil.

Phomopsis can appear on fruits after collection, during storage or transportation.

Stolbur (phytoplasmosis)

Causes of occurrence: a virus transmitted by leafhoppers. It affects all parts of the plant. Mostly found in the open field.

Symptoms: discoloration (darkening) and crushing of leaves, deformation of flowers and ovaries. The fruits affected by the stolbur grow small, ugly, and underdeveloped. The stem of the plant becomes lignified or sclerotic.

Note! Control measures: phytoplasmosis, like mosaic, is not treatable. Diseased plants will have to be destroyed completely.

Prevention: in order to prevent the spread of the disease by insects, it is necessary to spray the plants with insecticides. Confidor, Aktara, Mospilan will do. Treatments begin at the seedling stage. Timely removal of weeds from the site is important, on which insects can settle. Do not forget about the disinfection of seed and working tools.

Pest control

Insect pests can carry many diseases of Solanaceous crops. Therefore, one of the main preventive measures is to combat them. Knowing how to treat eggplants from pests, you can avoid introducing infections on them and grow a decent crop.

Aphid

What to plant after eggplant next year

An eggplant pest familiar to many, attacking both seedlings and adult plants. It is a small greenish beetle that gathers in colonies on the underside of leaves. It sucks the sap from the plant, which leads to poor flowering, slow growth and the appearance of small, rotting fruits.

On a note!It is advisable to fight aphids without the use of chemicals in order to avoid their accumulation in the fruits. You can use an infusion of 70 grams of onions, chopped and filled with warm water (10 l). The mixture is infused for a day, filtered and sprayed with eggplants. Instead of onions, you can take garlic (60 g).

An infusion of chamomile is effective (1 kg of raw materials per 10 liters of water), which is left in a dark place for 12 hours, then the eggplants are filtered and processed.

Slugs

Gastropods, 5-6 mm long. They feed on leaves and fruits, gnawing holes in them. It is a carrier of many diseases.

Eggplant slugs

Slugs don't like dry, well-lit and ventilated places. Therefore, it is important to remove weeds in time, avoid waterlogging, and provide the plants with good ventilation. You can sprinkle the paths in the greenhouse with coarse sand, crushed shells, salt. It is difficult for slugs to wade over such "rough" surfaces. You can sprinkle the previously loosened soil with ground pepper or dry mustard.

Whitefly

Small white midges that live on eggplants and feed on their juice. Damages the leaves, causing them to dry out and infecting the eggplant with diseases.

Note!You can get rid of adults by hanging sticky trapping tapes near the plants. The first pairs of larvae can be removed by collecting them by hand. If there are too many insects, you cannot do without chemicals. You can spray eggplant with fufanon (1.5 ml per 1 liter of water), actellik (1 ampoule per 1 liter of water) or verticillin (25 ml per 1 liter of water).

It is advisable to regularly inspect the eggplant leaves. Each hole or speck can be a signal of an insect attack. The sooner it is stopped, the better.

It is simple to protect eggplant seedlings and adult plants from diseases. It is enough to carry out preventive measures on time and respond in time to the occurrence of alarming symptoms. Proper cultivation and care of a capricious plant makes it too difficult for viruses and bacteria to prey.