Diseases of narcissists: pests, description and control of them

Narcissus diseases and pests are not very dangerous. But still, it is better to know what ailments this plant can affect, especially if you grow these flowers for sale or plant them.

Diseases of narcissists

Botrytis or gray rot. This disease can appear in the spring, if the weather is rainy and cold enough, during storage it begins to progress even more. Rot appears in the form of brown depressed spots at the base of the leaf, which increase over time. In this case, the leaves themselves acquire a yellow tint, deform and dry out, and the flowers begin to rot. Daffodil bulbs become covered with black dots, a grayish fluffy bloom appears on them. Prevention of botrytis is a high-quality inspection and selection of bulbs, after digging them up. In the presence of diseased specimens, absolute disposal of them. Immediately before planting, all daffodil bulbs must be treated with fungicides, for example Topsin M, Topaz (0.4%), etc.

A viral disease such as mosaic looks like stripes and spots of yellow and green that appear on flowers or leaves. They begin to bend, thicken and shorten, the plant becomes smaller. Daffodils can become infected with this virus when they are cut or from pests (ticks, aphids, nematodes). Mosaic can be stored in flower bulbs. Preventive measures in the fight against this disease are timely weeding and destruction of pests. But the affected plants cannot be cured, such are subject to burning. Rot of the bottom (in another way, fusarium). Appears at the time of storage if the bulbs were dug up in the heat. Fusarium infects them, starting from the bottom, and reaching the top. If the disease is not so pronounced, then the symptoms are practically not visible, and if it is strong, then its softening occurs. The rot of the bottom affects the entire plant, its growth slows down, the leaves turn yellow and die off. Directly shallow planting, as well as late excavation, cause an acceleration of the course of narcissus disease. Prevention of fusarium:

1.Remove all infected and just suspicious-looking specimens;

2. transplantation of plant bulbs (the depth should be large);

3.Early digging up the bulbs;

4. Correct storage (temperature should be up to 18 C, not higher).

Insect pests

Nematodes are small parasites that suck out cell sap from all parts of the plant. In this case, the curvature of the shoots occurs, the leaves become wavy, turn yellow, and the flowers lose their attractiveness. The bulbs initially soften when cut across to reveal beige circles. Then the affected bulbs dry up. Nematodes are very fond of moist soil with a high humus content. For prophylaxis, the bulbs need to be treated with water (43.5 C) for about 3 hours. You can fight nematodes with "Nematos", "Carbation" or "Fitoverm", but no remedy gives a 10% guarantee. All affected plants must be destroyed. The root onion mite loves already diseased and diseased bulbs, although it also damages strong, healthy specimens. These pests enter the plant through the bulbs, where they create cavities of different sizes and multiple passages. Over time, the leaves turn yellow and dry out, and the daffodil itself becomes weak and does not survive. Prevention: 1. Before planting, make a sufficiently deep digging, it is even better that there is a turnover of the formation, becausethis insect lives in the remains of various plants; 2. when the digging has been carried out, all the bulbs must be treated with Fitoverm, Keltan, Aktellik or left in water at 50 C for 10-15 minutes, then dry thoroughly; 3. Storage is carried out at a humidity of no more than 70%. During the growing season, a tick can also infect a plant, in which case they need to be dealt with with the above means.

Hoverfly (small and large daffodil fly). That those that others are very similar in their appearance and damage done. Hoverfly larvae can overwinter in the flower bulb itself, as well as directly in the soil. With the onset of summer, mature individuals lay their eggs near the plants. After that, the larvae infect the bulb from all sides, it begins to rot and exude an unpleasant odor. The following actions serve as preventive measures: in the spring, all diseased daffodils are subject to digging up and mandatory destruction. To reduce the risk of the appearance of these insects, you need to loosen the soil, sprinkle with ash, mulch. All bulbs should be soaked in warm water (43 C) for 4-6 hours before planting. Immediately after digging, it is better to avoid storing the plant bulbs in the sun. If flies nevertheless attacked the plants, they can be destroyed with insecticides, for example, "Karate", "Decis", etc. Of course, the best fight against disease and pests is prevention. But if, nevertheless, daffodils get sick, they can almost always be cured by knowing what remedy to use for what.