Who ate lily bulbs in the garden. How to protect tulips from mice: proven methods from experienced gardeners. The most obvious reasons for the "disappearance" of tulip bulbs

Happy are those gardeners who from year to year do not have to rack their brains on how to protect tulips from mice. Small nimble rodents can cause a lot of trouble, penetrating the site in search of food. This situation is quite common: when planting new tulip bulbs in a flower bed in the fall, and imagining how beautifully all this will bloom in the spring, gardeners, after the snow melts, are horrified to find dug planting holes with eaten remains of the bulbs.

The main ways to protect tulips from mice

Moreover, for hungry mice it does not matter whether expensive varieties of tulips were planted or the most common ones - all bulbs can be completely destroyed.

Even if you plant tulips in different parts of the garden, rodents will still find all the plantings, and the result will be no less deplorable. There are two options left:

Even if you plant tulips in different parts of the garden, rodents will still find all the plantings.

• refuse to grow tulips and other bulbs, which are to the taste of rodents,
• or find an effective way to keep tulips from mice, once and for all ending this problem.

If you do not intend to deprive yourself of the pleasure of admiring the spring bloom of bright tulips and no longer wish to feed voracious mice with carefully grown bulbs, adopt the methods that many gardeners use. One hundred percent effective means for protecting tulips from rodents has not yet been found, so try different ways, and you will definitely succeed!

Video about planting bulbs

Most often, from experienced flower growers, you can hear advice to surround plantings of tulips with other bulbous flowers that rodents do not like: hazel grouse or daffodils containing poisonous substances scare away mice and serve as a kind of barrier on the way to tasty tulip bulbs.

With the side of the mouse, they try to bypass the flower beds where the black root grows. This flyer, also known as cynoglossum, can serve as an additional flower bed decoration with its charming flowers, and at the same time make rodents stay away from tulips, as mice are frightened by ripe cynoglossum seeds clinging to fur.

However, in some cases, no "living barriers" of flowers help protect tulips from mice - rodents may not touch daffodils or hazel grouse, but all tulip bulbs are destroyed.

With the side of the mouse they try to bypass the flower beds where the black root grows

Folk methods for protecting tulips from rodents:

• about twenty minutes before planting, spray kerosene on tulip bulbs placed in a bag from a spray gun - it forms a thin film with a strong odor that repels mice (kerosene is harmless for bulbs);
• instead of kerosene, planting material can be treated with Vishnevsky ointment;
• generously pour red ground pepper on the bulbs planted in the ground;
• a flower bed with planted tulips can be periodically sprayed with an infusion of valerian roots.

The cardinal way to scare mice away from a flower bed with tulips is to throw lit firecrackers into the discovered mouse passages, covering the exit from the hole with a stone.

A cardinal way to scare mice away from a flower bed with tulips is to throw lit firecrackers into the discovered mouse passages

In specialized stores for gardeners, poison for rodents is sold in the form of briquettes or granules. It is enough to bury it in several places in the garden. You can also lay out universal baits designed for field mice, rats and moles. It is desirable that the baits use a fast-acting poisonous substance, otherwise the tulip bulbs will be destroyed before the mice can be dealt with.

Restrict rodents access to planted bulbs

One popular way to keep mice out of tulips is to use them with small holes. Moreover, inventive flower growers are not limited to factory baskets, which are specifically designed for growing tulips. Any homemade landing containers are used.

So, instead of purchased containers, various unnecessary plastic containers can be adapted for tulips: bottles from 1.5 to 5 liters (halves of bottles or bottoms), buckets of mayonnaise or paint cut to the desired height, transparent boxes for cakes and other food containers. The main thing is to make more holes in the bottom of the plastic containers so that the water does not stagnate.

One popular way to keep mice away from tulips is to use baskets or containers to plant the bulbs.

Gardeners also use plastic crates left over from fruits and vegetables (available from the market), drums from old washing machines, and fine-mesh metal mesh crates. When choosing between these options, it is important to understand that mice can even fit into a 1x1 cm cell due to their amazing flexibility.

Baskets, containers and other containers for bulbs are good not only because they save from rodents. With such a planting, the varieties do not mix, the children do not get lost, and after withering, the flowers can be dug up along with the container from the flower bed and transferred to a more inconspicuous place.

Someone may say that planting bulbs in containers only protects them from below, while mice continue to quietly penetrate tulips from above. To prevent this from happening, tulips are covered with spruce branches or attached to baskets and boxes with bulbs on top of the same containers, limiting access to planting material from all sides. If only such protection did not interfere with the growth of tulips.

If you annually lose the bulk of tulips due to rodents, and the question is: “How to protect tulips from mice?” is very burning for you, use the above methods in combination. Get cats on the site, put ultrasonic repellers, mousetraps, dip bulbs before planting in Vishnevsky ointment and roll in red pepper, plant tulips in containers and destroy mouse holes.

In addition, you can shift the timing of planting tulips, focusing on the period of mouse migration. Track when the rodents begin to dig holes, and after that you can dig their moves and plant the bulbs in the ground - it is highly likely that the mice will not restore their homes in the frozen ground, which means they will leave your tulips alone.

Everyone who grows tulips in their summer cottage has noticed more than once that sometimes the planted bulbs simply disappear. Do not attribute this only to the process of decay or the spread of rodents. Despite their status as luxurious flowering plants and elite bulbs, even the best varieties of tulips retain many characteristics from their wild ancestors. Tulip bulbs are able to "disappear" for another reason.

Tulip bulbs. © Alison Smith

The most obvious reasons for the "disappearance" of tulip bulbs

The two most common opinions about the "disappearance" of tulips from their planting site are also the simplest options:

1. Tulip bulbs are sensitive to waterlogging and can simply rot without a trace in adverse conditions.
2. Mice-voles, and other rodents love to feast on bulbous plants and, in the absence of protection measures, they may well eat the bulbs of planted tulips.

The fight in both cases is simple: adjust the soil characteristics and care, and when planting, protect the bulbs by planting in nets.

Babies instead of a replacement bulb

But if you find empty areas of soil in place of the planted bulbs, do not rush to despair. Perhaps a surprise awaits you in a few years.

If you planted new varieties of tulips, then perhaps the bulbs are not destroyed at all. New hybrids are especially inclined to release a lot of small children instead of one or two powerful and large daughter bulbs. If you don't find any traces of new-fangled bulbs that faded in the first year, then it's possible that there are simply too many child mini-bulbs that need to build up mass for a few more years in order to survive in the winter.

Such mini-children, in most cases, inevitably die due to their non-viability, along with the mother's onion. But the strongest bulbs sometimes survive without showing signs of life and, forgotten by everyone, then release flowers quite unexpectedly after 3-5 years.

The life of a tulip bulb is usually two years. In the first year of life, it exists in the form of a kidney inside the mother's bulb. A year later, in the summer, the mother bulb dries up and dies, and the buds laid in it develop into full-fledged bulbs. The main young bulb is called the replacement bulb, the bulbs that develop from other buds are called daughter bulbs, and the small bulbs that develop in the axils of the covering scales are called babies. In many species of tulips, the development of small bulbs is suppressed: the plant gives all its resources to a single replacement bulb.

If you grow old, time-tested varieties of tulips, then such an unpleasant surprise does not threaten you. Such tulips always form one or two large, very high-quality daughter bulbs, capable of releasing flower shoots next year. But lovers of new products should not despair either: you can save the plants by digging up the babies in time. Just make it a rule not to leave them for the usual few years in the soil, but to dig them out after the first flowering anyway.

How to save new varieties of tulips?

1. After the flowering of new products, be sure to fertilize.
2. Wait for the leaves to turn yellow, dig up and separate the miniature bulbs, no matter how tiny they may seem to you.
3. After drying, place the children for storage in the summer in a dry, cool room.
4. In the fall, during the planting period of tulips, plant these small, seemingly unviable bulbs along with the rest.

If planted in fertile soil, they will have time to take root well by the arrival of frost and will be able to withstand almost any winter. The next season they will not bloom, but after two or three years they will delight you with flower arrows no worse than full-fledged adult bulbs. And such a generation will no longer repeat the unpleasant surprise of its ancestors.

There are one hundred percent pests in the country, which any gardener knows by sight, and about which, so to speak, you can’t say a good word. It's mice, of course. They are the worst enemies, feeding on absolutely everything, including the bulbs of their favorite flowers, for which it happens that a lot of money was paid. It is a sacred thing to fight them with all the means available to you. However, it is quite difficult to find justice for nasty rodents, although it is not a sin to sometimes use extreme measures. Methods and ways to save tulips, lilies and other bulbs from mice, rats and other rodents will be discussed in our article.

In fact, there are 2 methods for keeping tulip and lily bulbs from mice:

1. Initially, plant the bulbs in special pots (containers or boxes) so that rodents cannot simply get to them.
2. Apply various repellers when planting bulbs (pour into the hole).

By the way! To make sure your tulip bulbs and lily bulbs are protected from rodents, you can apply both methods of protection at the same time.

By the way! But either rodents are usually bypassed (because they are poisonous), so they can be planted without any protection.

By the way! You can protect tulips and lilies by simply mixing them with daffodils and hazel grouse, which rodents hate to smell.

How to plant tulips and lilies in autumn so that rodents do not eat them in winter

The most popular and modern method of protecting tulips or lilies from mice is planting bulbs in special baskets or containers(you can even take the most common plastic vegetable crates).

Thus, you will not only protect the planting from rodents, but you can also later easy to dig bulbs for storage, Besides without losing children.

Advice! The basket must be buried to such a depth that its upper edge also remains at the level of the soil, or even 1-2 centimeters higher.

It is quite logical that such a container will not protect the bulbs from above (and it really is), therefore, in order to definitely protect tulips and / or lilies from mice, they can be planted in closed boxes with large openings (mesh baskets). G the main thing is that they do not interfere with the growth of the flowers themselves.

Worth knowing! For example, a water rat does not dig from above and does not run on the surface of the soil. Another thing is mice, the most noticeable pests on the site.

Or install from above and drop in protective net(metal or plastic, which has fiberglass inside).

Attention! Many gardeners complain that often mice gnaw through plastic boxes, therefore, for guaranteed protection, it is optimal to use exactly metal structures (grids).

Video: how to plant tulips with a net to protect against mice and rats

By the way! On our website you can find detailed instructions on how to how to plant in autumn ,

Besides, in order to protect against rodents, it is desirable to plant other bulbs, for example, the same and .

Ways to scare mice from tulips and lilies

Dealing with mice is not easy. To do this, although not radically, folk methods of scaring will help.

Birch tar

One of the most popular ways to protect the bulb is to use birch tar.

So, in order to protect the bulbs of tulips and other flowers from mice, you need to pour a small layer of sawdust (a handful) mixed with tar into the hole when planting, namely, 1 liter of sawdust will need 1 liter of water and 20 ml. birch tar. Ideally, the repellent mixture should be infused for 2 days.

Important! Just do not process the bulbs themselves, but you just need to pour sawdust moistened with tar into the hole when planting.

Although, as an option, you can soak the bulbs for 1 hour before planting in a solution of birch tar (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water).

By the way! If you don't have sawdust, you can mix tar with sand.

Video: how to plant tar tulips to protect the bulbs from mice

As an option! Similar to birch tar, you can use tar soap, planing it on a grater and sprinkling it with sand when planting in a hole.

Vishnevsky ointment

An even more ancient way to protect bulbs from rodents is the use of Vishnevsky's ointment. Namely, before planting, you need to grease a little bit each bulb. Mice will not even come close to the flower bed, including shrews.

Red or black pepper

Bulbs already planted in the holes should be sprinkled with hot red or black ground pepper on top.

mustard powder

Similarly to ground pepper, you can sprinkle mustard powder on top of the bulbs.

Rosehip or gooseberry branches

Directly into the holes when planting, you can put thorny branches of rose hips or gooseberries.

What to do if you planted tulip or lily bulbs without rodent protection

In order not to dig up the bulbs, you can just dig a little and pour sawdust moistened with tar on top already on the bulbs. Or dig near the landings prickly branches of wild rose or gooseberry.

As an option! Can shed the plantings with a solution of birch tar(1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water).

Thus, if you want to protect your favorite tulips and lilies from mice and rats, be sure to protect the bulbs by planting them in special containers or boxes, or use special repellents. And then the enemy will definitely retreat!

Video: a convenient way to plant bulbs in boxes to protect against mice

Note! About, how to get rid of mice and rats in the garden and in the country (in the house), read .

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Varietal bulbs are not cheap, and therefore you want to get the maximum result from them. It is all the more offensive to understand that someone got to your plantings first, and you should not wait for flowering. Who eats flower bulbs and what to do with it?

Tender tulips, irises, crocuses, hyacinths and lilies can be destroyed not only by diseases and weather conditions, but also by quite material pests. Moreover, if it is impossible to insure against the first, then the second can and should be fought.

Mice

Most often, tulip bulbs, lily bulbs and dahlia tubers damage mice and rats. In the warm season, they feed on grain, root crops, plant debris, but in winter they do not disdain flowers. True, they gnaw selectively, for example, the bulbs of daffodils, hazel grouse and ornamental onions have a pungent odor and scare away the gray people.

You can understand that mice are your opponent by the characteristic passages in the ground on the ridge, lying at a depth of 10-30 cm, as well as the absence of bulbs. The rest of the pests only damage the plantings, and the mice destroy them completely.

It is best to regulate the number of mice and rats on the site helps the cat

There are several ways to keep your bulbs safe from mice. It should be understood that not all of them may be effective in different areas, since mice will cope with any obstacles in hungry winters.

• Planting flowers in baskets for bulbs, increased in height with cut 5-liter plastic bottles;
• pre-planting treatment of bulbs with kerosene, Vishnevsky ointment, red ground pepper;
• planting bulbs loved by rodents mixed with unloved, sharp-smelling plants;
• planting bulbs in trenches filled with soil mixed with branches of gooseberries, wild roses and other thorny bushes;
• layout in the bed of poisoned baits for rodents (only for the winter, provided that other animals do not have access to the ridges).

But moles, contrary to popular suspicions, do not eat flower bulbs, but they can also cause their disappearance. If it is moles that are divorced in abundance on your site, then the flower garden will sooner or later be on their way. Then the bulbous may suffer, as the mole digs a tunnel, regardless of obstacles; or they can simply fall into an already dug one, find themselves at too great a depth and no longer ascend.

Slugs

The fact that slugs eat the tender flesh of flowers is no secret to anyone. But the trouble is, they destroy the bulbs with no less appetite. Tulips, hyacinths and lilies are most often affected by slugs, but other tuberous and bulbous plants are in danger.

Timely and proper care of plants allows you to get high-quality flowers and tulip bulbs, but you should not forget about the health of plants. To do this, it is important to learn how to recognize diseases, know how to deal with them, and, more importantly, be able to prevent these diseases. Preventive measures to protect tulips include the following:

Choosing a site for tulips that meets the requirements of this plant;
- thorough preparation of the soil before planting;
- application of organic fertilizers only under the previous crop and within the required norms;
- timely top dressing with mineral fertilizers with exact dosage, especially nitrogen fertilizers, the excess of which helps to reduce the resistance of plants to diseases;
- strict observance of the crop rotation - tulips should be grown in the same place no more than once every 4-5 years. Soil disinfection gives good results;
- careful selection and culling of diseased and suspicious bulbs, planting only healthy planting material;
- observance of the required depth and density of planting bulbs;
- timely carrying out of care activities, maintaining a good sanitary condition and cleanliness of the tulip collection;
- timely cleaning of bulbs, drying with good ventilation;
- mechanical damage to the bulbs is unacceptable, it is necessary to cull the damaged bulbs;
- use of disinfected containers for storing bulbs and tools for cutting flowers;
- removal and destruction of diseased plants along with roots and leaves.

Of course, the above measures do not give an absolute guarantee that tulips will not get sick, but compliance with these measures will significantly reduce the degree of damage to plants by diseases, the zone of their distribution will be reduced and the loss of bulb yield will decrease.

Tulips, like any other ornamental plants, are damaged by a large number of different diseases and have numerous pests. Within our country, more than 30 fungal, viral and bacterial diseases of tulips are known, but many of them are quite rare. The greatest harm to tulips is caused by such fungal diseases as gray rot, fusarium, sclerocial rot. Of the viral diseases, variegation is the most dangerous. Non-communicable diseases do not pose a serious danger and arise as a result of adverse external conditions.

Fungal diseases of tulips

Gray rot(pathogen - Botrytis tulipae) is most pronounced in rainy and cool weather, which contributes to the rapid spread of the fungus. The disease spreads very quickly, which is why it is often called a "fire". Tulips planted on heavy soils are especially affected. Gray rot affects all above-ground parts of the plant (leaves, stems, flowers and buds), as well as bulbs. Moreover, the bulbs are affected both during the growing season and during storage. Usually planted diseased bulbs or soil serve as a source of infection. On the affected parts of the plant, yellowish-gray depressed spots of various sizes and shapes appear. In a humid environment, the spots increase rapidly in size, and they are quickly covered with a gray coating of fungal spores. The tissues of a diseased plant dry up, gradually soften and become ash-gray, it seems that the plant is burned - hence another name - “tulip burn”. The stem of a diseased plant is bent, the buds do not develop, and if flowers are formed, they are deformed, ugly in shape. The growing season of diseased plants is significantly reduced, so the bulbs do not have time to grow to normal size and gradually shrink.

Affected bulbs have yellow-brown spots in a reddish halo on the outer scales. During storage, the affected bulbs soften, darken and shrivel. Sometimes with gray rot, cracking of the bottom of the bulb is observed from the center to the edges. Black sclerotia of the fungus appear on the surface of the covering scales of diseased bulbs, which become a new source of infection. If the tulip is severely affected by rot, the bulb rots during storage, and if it is weak, the disease in the form of spotting may go unnoticed, and the bulb is planted in the soil. In the spring, such a bulb will give a weakened, twisted shoot, which will gradually become brown, covered with a gray bloom and die. The spores of the fungus from such a plant are carried by the wind and infect healthy plants. In the soil, the spores of the fungus remain viable for 4 years. Therefore, in the spring it is necessary to carefully examine the seedlings of tulips and destroy all diseased and suspicious plants.

Gray rot can affect tulips at all stages of development, but they become especially susceptible during the budding period. The incubation period under favorable conditions is 1-3 days. The spread of the disease is facilitated by increased soil and air humidity, dense plantings, insufficient lighting, excess nitrogen in the soil and spring frosts. Gray mold affects almost all varieties of tulips, but not all of them are susceptible to the disease to the same extent. Usually early varieties suffer less from rot, having time to finish flowering before the maximum development of the disease. Of late flowering tulips, parrot tulips are relatively stable.

Control measures: to prevent damage to the bulbs by gray rot in large flower farms, they are dusted with a mixture of TMTD, sulfur and ether-sulfonal in a ratio of 2: 1: 1 at the rate of 8-10 g per 1 kg of bulbs. TMTD is also used in the form of a solution of 0.3-0.5% concentration for dressing the bulbs before planting for 30 minutes. However, it should be remembered that dressing protects the bulbs from soil infection for a short time. Therefore, during the growing season of tulips, to protect against secondary infection, it is necessary to spray the plants. The number of treatments depends on weather conditions, the degree of infection of the soil with the infection and the condition of the plantings. As a rule, 2-3 treatments are usually sufficient. For spraying, use a Bordeaux mixture of 1% concentration or euporen 0.5-1% concentration, which is considered the most effective tool for combating gray rot. It is advisable to spray tulips three times: at the beginning of the growing season, during the budding period and after flowering.

As a result of many years of observations, flower growers noticed that the presence of sufficient potassium and magnesium in the soil reduces the incidence of gray rot, while improving the quality of the bulbs. And planting tulips in an area where bulbous plants have already grown increases the likelihood of disease by 4-10 times, compared with growing them in a new place. Those flower growers who try not to use chemical plant protection measures on their site can do without them. At the same time, it is important to comply with the entire range of agrotechnical measures, timely culling and destroying diseased and suspicious bulbs and plants, which will significantly reduce the degree of damage to tulips by gray rot. In addition, to improve the soil, it is recommended, after digging up the bulbs, to sow plants that produce phytoncides (calendula, marigolds, nasturtium, mustard, etc.) in the vacated area, followed by their autumn digging and embedding in the soil.

Root rot. Pathogen- mushrooms of the genus Ruthium, usually P.ultimum.

Brown spots on roots caused by the fungus Pythium sp.

In the early stages of the disease, the symptoms are reduced to partial decay of the root system, which, however, does not significantly affect the viability of the plants. Serious cases of infection lead to short stature of tulips, a decrease in the decorativeness of flowers, the roots become transparent, watery with brown streaks, break easily, later turn completely brown. Pathogen activity and disease risk increase with increasing soil moisture and soil temperatures above 0°C. Susceptibility to the disease depends on the variety.

Control measures
For cultivation in open ground, greenhouse, boxes use fresh soil.
The infected substrate is disinfected with a fungicide.
It is very important that the soil is well structured and drained.

Botrytis rot. Pathogen- mushroom Botrytis cinerea.This pathogen usually invades damaged or weakened plant tissues.

Infected bulbs become dark brown and soft. They form large dull black sclerotia. Infected tulips (the Dutch call them "spotted") become brittle and may break suddenly. The flowers of diseased plants are dull in color. Severely infected specimens lag behind in development or do not germinate at all. High humidity increases the disease, which is spread by spores (conidia) and is more common on long-stored, late-planted bulbs. The use of fresh peat or steamed soil also contributes to the activation of pathogens, since these substrates do not contain natural antagonists of the pathogen.

Control measures:
A little (20%) coarse-grained sand or disinfected soil is always added to pure peat.
Before planting, the bulbs are treated with a fungicide, and then they are sprinkled with a layer of coarse sand.
Tulips are grown in open, well-ventilated areas.

Soft rot. The causative agent is some strains of the fungusPythium ultimate.From the infected bulbs (they become pink, watery and emit a characteristic unpleasant odor as in a Fusarium lesion), short shoots develop. Seedlings and roots look healthy at first, then rot. With a later (during cultivation) infection, the tips of the leaves turn yellow, the plants droop, the buds dry out just before flowering. Bulbs are usually affected in the first few weeks after planting, when the soil temperature is 12° and above.

Soft rot on bulbs
Photo from the Floriculture magazine - 2003 - No. 2

Control measures:
Same as root rot.
In addition, the bulbs are treated with a fungicide. In the first two weeks after planting the tulips, the temperature in the greenhouse is kept below 10-12°C.

White (sclerocial) rot. Pathogens - Scleritinia bulborum, Sclerotium tuliparium. There are several varieties of this disease. In one case, white rot affects the growth point and neck of the bulb, which are covered with a white felt coating, later turning brown. Sometimes the disease manifests itself in the form of weeping rot around the growing point of the bulb. Gradually, the rot covers the entire bulb, and it dies without giving a sprout. Since tulips affected by white rot die during the growing season, planting material cannot be a source of infection. Infection occurs through the soil, in which the spores of the fungus can remain viable for up to 5 years.

Acidic soils and high humidity are especially conducive to the spread of this disease. The first sign of infection of plants with white rot is uneven shoots in the spring. Affected bulbs usually do not germinate or produce very weak seedlings that gradually turn yellow and die. A characteristic sign of this rot is also the presence of a healthy root system in a diseased plant, which is not affected by the fungus. Watery spots appear on the shoots of affected plants, which turn bluish-gray.

Control measures: the soil, previously well-treated, is shed a month before planting the bulbs with a 2.5-3% solution (up to 6%) of carbation at the rate of 10 l / m 2. The soil treated with a 6% solution is watered. Sick bulbs, together with the aerial part of the plant, are removed with a clod of earth and destroyed. The place of excavation is sprinkled with ashes. To prevent this disease, it is also necessary to observe a cultural rotation and return tulips to their original place no earlier than after 5 years. Do not plant them after lilies, daffodils, irises and crocuses, also affected by this disease. If it is impossible to transplant tulips to a new place, the infected soil must be disinfected with a 1.5% formalin solution at the rate of 10 l / m 2. After processing, carried out at a positive temperature, the soil is tightly covered for 2-3 days. Formalin also disinfects tools, tools, boxes with which the infection can be spread.

Typhulosis- one of the varieties of sclerocial rot. Pathogen - Typhula bolealis. The first signs of the disease are reddish sprouts, non-unfolding leaves, stunting, emerging buds remain underdeveloped. Affected plants show yellowing of the roots, which then die off. The bottom of the bulb rots, and the plant dies completely. Typhulosis spreads especially strongly after a warm winter and a humid spring (low positive temperatures and humidity are favorable for the development of this disease). The source of infection is usually lightly infected bulbs that have fallen into storage and on the beds. The carriers of the disease are weeds on which the causative agent of the disease lives, as well as the soil that serves as a carrier of spores of the fungus.

Control measures: removal and destruction of affected plants, timely weeding and removal of weeds from the site, thorough inspection and culling of bulbs during storage and their dusting with chemicals before planting. The site, after digging up the tulips, must be dug deep with the turnover of the reservoir, since at great depths the spores of the fungus do not germinate and die over time (after 70-80 days). Bulbs dug out from the site where typhulosis was observed, it is desirable to pickle in a solution of 0.5% potassium permanganate. If chemical disinfection of the soil is carried out (1.5% formalin solution at the rate of 10 l / m 2), then deep digging can be abandoned.

Fusarium, or wet rot causes great damage to tulips. Pathogen - Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. tulipae. Most often, the disease manifests itself by the end of the growing season, the development of the disease is facilitated by an increase in air temperature to 20 ° C or more. Infection occurs through the bottom and roots, and in a young bulb through the covering scales. Plants with Fusarium bloom poorly, their peduncles are short and thin, size The roots of such tulips are poorly developed and have a yellowish-brown color.

Fusarium infection
Photo from the Floriculture magazine - 2003 - No. 1

Fusarium can cause great damage during storage of the bulbs. During storage, bulbs affected by Fusarium rot, and during this period, large losses in the yield of bulbs are possible. Brown spots appear on the bottom of the infected bulb, clearly delimited along the edge by a red-brown line. Gradually, the spots darken, the rot penetrates the bulb, and it rots, releasing a sharp specific smell. Sick bulbs in storage are a serious source of infection, and the disease can spread quickly as spores land on healthy bulbs. This is also facilitated by the temperature in the storage (above 25 ° C) and high humidity. Spores that have fallen on healthy bulbs during storage can cause their death already in storage or in the next growing season. The causative agent of Fusarium is highly resistant to adverse environmental conditions and remains viable for a long time. The greatest activity of the fungus is manifested at a temperature of about 25 ° C and air humidity over 90%. Tulips differ greatly in their resistance to Fusarium, but there are no varieties that are absolutely not affected by this disease.

Control measures: annual change of site and return to the previous one no earlier than in 5-6 years, timely digging of bulbs, thorough inspection of plantings and bulbs in storage and culling of diseased and suspicious bulbs. Highly effective in the fight against fusarium have drugs such as uzgen, fundazol and benlayt. 2-3 weeks before planting or immediately before, the bulbs are treated with a suspension of the drug (0.2-0.25%) for 30 minutes. In order for the drug to better adhere to the bulbs, you can apply dusting of pre-moistened bulbs.

Rhizoctonia disease. Pathogen- Rhizoctonia solani.The symptoms of this disease vary depending on the cultivation method. So, when grown in a greenhouse, orange-brown spots and stripes appear on the seedlings. Later, the affected tissue cracks, the ends of the lower leaves are folded back, but the flowers look healthy. With a more intense infection, the lower leaves and the underground part of the stem are damaged, on which oval, deeply depressed spots are formed. Such tulips are stunted and break off easily. When cultivating in boxes, after bringing them into the greenhouse, small brown-black spots and stripes are visible on the shoots. Despite the damage to the ends of the lower leaves, the plants bloom normally. Susceptibility to the disease depends on the variety. The fungus infects many agricultural and horticultural plants through the soil, including potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, chrysanthemums, cereals. Therefore, infection can occur even if the previous crop was not tulips. The pathogen develops well at 15-18°. The disease is favored by high humidity and the acidic reaction of the substrate, thickened planting.

Symptoms of infection with the fungus Rhizoctonia solani on the leaves
Photo from the Floriculture magazine - 2003 - No. 2

Control measures:
The infected substrate is steamed, the soil bordering the greenhouse is treated with a fungicide, which is carefully mixed with the top (10 cm) layer.
Distillation boxes are washed and dried well.
With a 5-degree forcing technology, tulips are planted in such a way that the top of the bulbs remains above the substrate.
Plantings in boxes are mulched with coarse sand or fine gravel, without falling asleep on the tops of the bulbs.
Damaged leaves are removed.

Rhizoctonia. Pathogen- Rhizoctonia tuliparum.This fungus does not produce spores and usually infects bulbous plants at soil temperatures below 13°C. It spreads by contact-mechanical means, through planting material. With the constant cultivation of tulips in the same planting site, they can suffer greatly from the disease.

Typical symptoms of rhizoctoniosis on the bulb

Affected plants do not come out of the soil. They have a well-developed root system, but the infected seedling develops normally at first, but soon begins to rot. Sometimes the soil around the bulb and shoot is permeated with mycelium. Often it contains sclerotia, shape, color, the size of which varies greatly. Large brown spots with gray “mold” appear on the scales of the bulbs. On a cross-section of a bulb, which usually rots, characteristic brown rings are visible. The focus of infection is usually well visible due to plants that are stunted and die prematurely. In heated greenhouses, at 20 °, the development of the disease stops.

Control measures:
Fresh substrate is used in boxes, it is updated in open ground.
Infected soil is steamed or treated with a fungicide.
Infected substrate is not stored near greenhouses.
Sick plants are destroyed.
Distillation boxes are cleaned, washed and dried well.
Planting material is treated with a fungicide.
Late planting bulbs significantly reduces the risk of disease.

Trichoderma. Pathogen- Trichoderma sp.This fungus is usually present in peat-based substrates. Infected roots become glassy, ​​covered with fungal hyphae and rot over time. The ends of the leaves of diseased plants become light gray. At a later stage, the affected tissue turns white and quickly dries out. Tulips are more likely to get sick when forcing late in boxes with a pure peat substrate. Susceptible cultivars include 'Ad Rem', 'Angelique', 'Coriolanus', 'Kis Nelis', 'Pax", "Prominence", "Rosario", etc.

Brown coloration of the roots caused by the fungus Trichoderma sp.
Photo from the Floriculture magazine - 2003 - No. 2

Control measures:
Pure peat is always mixed with coarse sand or uncontaminated garden soil in equal proportions, fine-grained sand is poured into the bottom of the box with a layer of 1 cm.
In the rooms where rooting takes place, a high relative humidity (90-95%) is maintained so that the roots growing through the cracks of the boxes do not dry out.

Penicillosis appears on tulips during the growing season at high humidity, affects bulbs that have been stored for a long time for spring forcing. Sick bulbs are covered with yellow-brown spots with a bluish bloom, plants lag behind in growth and form weak flower stalks. The death of the plant occurs only with a strong infection with the disease. This disease is not as harmful as sclerotial rot, and usually accompanies gray mold or other diseases of tulips. Infection of healthy bulbs with penicillosis is possible through mechanical damage in the scales and bottom.

Control measures: the main attention to prevent penicillosis should be paid to compliance with the rules for storing bulbs and creating optimal conditions for the growth and development of tulips during the growing season. If affected bulbs are found in storage, they should be pickled in a solution of potassium permanganate and dried.

Viral diseases of tulips

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variegation- the most common viral disease of tulips. This disease is as old as the history of the tulips themselves in Europe. Back in 1576, Professor Clusius noted the appearance of variegated banding in tulips. But for a long time the reason causing it was unknown and the sign of variegation was considered varietal. From the very beginning of the cultivation of tulips, varieties with variegated flowers were considered the most valuable, many flower growers sought to obtain such tulips. It is obvious that almost all tulips with variegated petals were infected with viruses, and only in some this trait was genetically fixed. Varieties with variegated or striped petals still exist today. And only in 1928 it was established that variegation is a disease of a viral nature. This virus not only changes the color of the flower, but also affects other decorative and biological features: infected plants are weaker, their flower stalk is shorter, and the weight of the bulbs also decreases. Such tulips will continue to bloom and grow for many, many years, but the variety gradually degenerates - the disease destroys the main characteristics inherent only to this variety. Such plants are no longer of value and should be discarded. Although even today there are lovers who like colorful tulips.

This disease is caused by the mosaic virus, or mottling. It affects only plants of the lily family. In diseased plants, the formation of a coloring pigment, anthocyanin, is disrupted. The virus changes the color of the flower, it becomes heterogeneous. Depending on the initial color of the variety, the virus on the flowers manifests itself differently. So, in pink, purple and lilac varieties, the color of the flower becomes heterogeneous: strokes appear on the edge of the petals on a white or yellow background, and in the middle of the petal there are asymmetrically arranged stripes against the background of the original color of the variety. Red, dark red and purple tulips have their own color intensified in the form of strokes and stripes of a darker color. In this case, it is much more difficult to distinguish viral plants. It is even more difficult to recognize the presence of the virus in white and yellow varieties, since hatching on such colors is not noticeable at all. But upon closer examination, one can detect symptoms of the disease: a decrease in flowers and the general habit of the plant, narrowing of the petals, especially in the lower part. Strokes and faint stripes of a pale green color sometimes appear on the stems and leaves. Near the stem, the petals do not touch each other, and gaps seem to form between them.

The variegation virus spreads with the juice of diseased plants, and various types of aphids, thrips, leafhoppers, bedbugs, whiteflies and other insects carry it. Since the mass appearance of these insects is observed in the second half of May, then varieties of medium and late flowering are affected by the pest virus, mainly. Early-flowering varieties, including varieties from the Kaufman, Foster and Greig classes, are also susceptible to this virus, but by the time aphids appear, the aerial part of these tulips has already died off, and infection of the bulbs becomes impossible. Often infection occurs as a result of mechanical damage and when cutting flowers - through cutting tools.

Control measures: there are no special pesticides to combat the variegation virus, so the only way to reduce the likelihood of infection of tulips is to carry out preventive measures, namely: removal and destruction of diseased plants along with the bulb, infected plants are buried in deep pits and sprinkled with burnt lime. To prevent the disease in the vicinity of tulips, it is better not to plant lilies, on which the virus can be without visible signs of illness, and planting tulips after lilies is simply unacceptable. Another measure to prevent mottling is the thorough disinfection of tools for cutting flowers. In order to avoid the transfer of the variegation virus from diseased plants to healthy ones, one knife cannot be used to cut flowers and decapitate. Experienced flower growers usually use several dozen razor blades for cutting. After use, the cutting tool is disinfected with potassium permanganate, alcohol, soda solution or formalin, or simply boiled. The chance of transmitting the virus is further reduced if the flowers are broken off by hand. One of the preventive measures is the cultivation of large bulbs from the baby, since it is believed that in most varieties of tulips the baby is immune to the mottling virus. And since the main carriers of the virus are aphids, it is important to monitor their appearance on tulip plantings and fight them in a timely manner.

Control measures: removal and destruction of infected plants with a clod of earth. Timely destruction of weeds that can serve as a source of infection. The soil after diseased plants must be disinfected, and the land used for forcing must be steamed. After such treatment, the spores of the fungus die. And one of the main preventive measures is strict observance of cultural circulation. Even when planting absolutely healthy planting material in an area where diseased tulips have already grown, re-infection cannot be avoided.

Non-infectious diseases of tulips

Mostly, these diseases appear during forcing and are usually caused by adverse external conditions.

The appearance of "blind" buds most often occurs during forcing, but can also occur when growing tulips in open ground. When planting tulips too early, when the soil temperature is still quite high, the bulb actively starts to grow, but the roots develop poorly. This violation of the growth process leads to the appearance of "blind" buds. Another reason for the appearance of “blind” buds is bulbs that are sick with Fusarium. It has been established that bulbs infected with Fusarium emit ethylene, which has a detrimental effect on healthy bulbs and causes the appearance of “blind” buds. Planting diseased bulbs leads to the fact that healthy bulbs growing nearby do not bloom.

Control measures: compliance with the terms of planting and storage conditions of the bulbs, careful culling of tulips infected with Fusarium.

drooping peduncle also commonly observed during distillation. A glassy spot with droplets of moisture appears on the upper part of the stem. The tissue of the plant in this place is wrinkled, and the stem droops. Such a lesion can appear anywhere on the stem or on the leaves, but it usually appears in the upper, most actively growing part. This disease is associated with a deficiency of calcium in the tissues of the plant with too rapid growth of the tulip caused by high temperature. Calcium, in comparison with other elements, is much more slowly absorbed by the plant and transported by it for a longer time. More often, the disease manifests itself in plants dug out too early, the bulbs of which did not have time to ripen.

Control measures: maintaining the correct temperature regime, restraining too active growth of tulips during forcing by lowering the temperature. In addition, it is useful during active growth to water the tulips with a 1.5% solution of calcium nitrate or apply fertilizers containing calcium before planting in the soil.

lime disease observed during bulb storage. The bulbs, as it were, are saturated with lime, while becoming hard and white. The disease manifests itself in the case of premature digging of tulips, when the bulbs have not yet matured, as well as at elevated temperature and humidity in the storage.

Control measures: compliance with the terms of digging bulbs, maintaining optimal storage conditions.

Gum treatment bulbs is caused by excessive sunlight. Plants become most sensitive to light at the end of April and in the first half of May. The disease often affects them during this period. Yellowish and bluish-brown spots appear on the storage scales of the bulbs, from which a colorless liquid begins to ooze, forming sagging when dried. Such bulbs are not carriers of infection and are quite healthy, normal plants grow from them. However, disease spots can become a site for pathogens to enter the bulb and cause the plant to become infected with another disease.

Control measures: timely digging of bulbs, shading them when harvesting to avoid sunburn. Pickling bulbs in a solution of potassium permanganate. Maintaining optimal storage conditions.

Pests

Root onion mite- the most dangerous pest that damages not only tulips, but also many other types of bulbous and bulbous plants. This insect is less than 1 mm long, light yellow in color, shiny. The tick penetrates between the scales of the bulb, bites into its tissues, while the bulb quickly rots and may no longer germinate. If the bulb nevertheless germinates, then it gives a stunted weakened plant, an escape. During the growing season, the growth of such tulips is delayed, they turn yellow, the quality of flowers deteriorates, and the leaves die prematurely. Such plants usually become targets for other diseases and die quickly. In some bulbs, small passages and cavities filled with brownish powder can be found - this is a typical sign of mite damage.

Bulbs can also be damaged by onion mites during storage if the pest remains on old scales and roots. It reproduces especially well at a temperature of about 25 ° C and an air humidity of more than 70%. Under unfavorable conditions, ticks go into a dormant stage and can remain viable for a long time. In mite-infected bulbs, the outer surface of the scales is gradually covered with brown dust, the bulbs rot and dry out. The pest spreads through the soil, with planting material, or is carried on tools during tillage.

Control measures: careful inspection of the bulbs during digging and storage and removal of mite-affected plants. Collection and destruction after excavation of all plant residues. Before laying for storage, the planting material must be pickled for 10-15 minutes in a 0.3% solution of Celtan or Rogor, then dried and stored under normal conditions. You can sprinkle the bulbs with chalk, which sticks to the body of the mites, and they die from drying out. An effective way to deal with onion mites is to heat the bulbs. Affected bulbs are immersed in hot water (35-40 ° C) for 5 minutes. It is better to plant the treated bulbs on a separate bed. If a tick is found on tulips during their growing season, they are sprayed with a 0.2% solution of Rogor or Celtan, but it is better to dig up and destroy the infected plants. On a site infected with onion mites, it is impossible to grow bulbous and bulbous plants for 3-4 years. For a preventive purpose, after digging up tulips (or other bulbs), plants resistant to this pest are planted on the site: tagetes, feverfew, tomatoes, radishes and others.

greenhouse aphid attacks tulips during forcing. This insect is up to 2 mm long, oval, yellow, green or pinkish in color, wingless (winged individuals appear during the breeding season). Aphids appear on the stems, leaves and peduncles of tulips, but can also damage the bulbs. The pest feeds on plant sap. Parts of the plant damaged by aphids become deformed and may die. But aphid brings much more harm as a possible carrier of viral diseases, especially variegation.

Control measures: good results in the fight against aphids are obtained by the use of various pesticides. The use of insecticidal plants (feverfew, tagetes and many others) that are planted next to tulips also has a healing effect. It is also important to strictly observe their dosage when applying fertilizers, since overfeeding with nitrogen reduces the resistance of plants to diseases and pests, including aphids.

onion hoverfly damages mainly daffodils and amaryllis, but also occurs on tulips. The onion hoverfly is a greenish fly up to 1 cm long. But the main harm to tulips is not caused by the fly itself, but by its larvae, which appear in June and (the second generation) in September. The larvae penetrate the tulip bulb through the bottom and make moves in it. Affected bulbs do not grow well and do not produce flower stalks, the leaves of such a tulip turn yellow and wither ahead of time, and if severely damaged, the plant may die. Fly larvae overwinter in bulbs, in soil and in storage.

Control measures: removal and destruction during the growing season of plants affected by onion hoverfly, otherwise the pest can move on to healthy bulbs. After digging, the bulbs can be disinfected in a 0.75% solution of karbofos for 5-10 minutes. You can destroy the larvae in the bulb by applying heat treatment. Keep the infected bulbs in hot water (at a temperature not exceeding 43 ° C) for 2 hours. As an effective method of combating this pest, deep autumn digging of the soil with a layer turnover is also recommended. Reduces the spread of onion hoverflies by mulching the soil with peat, as it prevents egg laying. Repels flies from planting tulips by dusting the soil with naphthalene. As a prophylactic, it is useful to plant plants that produce phytoncides along the perimeter of the beds with tulips. Watering tulip plantings with infusion of wood ash (500 g per 10 l of water) at the rate of 5 l / m 2 is also effective.

Purple Owl causes the greatest damage to tulips in the larval stage. The lilac scoop itself is a butterfly with a wingspan of up to 5 cm, which lays eggs on plant stems in August-September. Its caterpillars are reddish-lilac in color, bite into the tulip stem at the root neck and make moves in it, then the caterpillar moves to a neighboring plant, and so on. Often, plants damaged by caterpillars die. The eggs of the lilac scoop hibernate on plants and plant debris.

Control measures: timely weeding, collection and destruction of plant residues. In May-June, dusting the lower part of the stems of tulips with naphthalene or other preparations is used.

Khrushchi(May beetle larvae) damage the roots and bulbs of tulips. A white fleshy larva 4-6 cm long, with a dark brown head, develops in the soil for 4-5 years, feeding first on humus and then on plant food.

Control measures: an effective tool is deep digging of the soil with the turnover of the layer and the collection of larvae. This is also facilitated by frequent loosening of the soil.

wireworms damage tulip bulbs during their active growth, gnawing their passages. Such bulbs easily rot and are affected by other diseases. Wireworms are the larvae of the click beetle that look like pieces of copper wire, which is where they get their name from. Beetles lay their eggs in the soil near the root neck of plants. Particularly favorable for laying are places overgrown with weeds, especially couch grass and thistle, which are the main food of wireworms. Beetles and larvae overwinter in the soil.

Control measures: timely and systematic removal of weeds, deep digging and loosening of the soil. Reducing soil acidity by adding lime, chalk or ash, as wireworms prefer acidic soils. Laying baits (pieces of potatoes, beets) and planting bait plants (wheat, oats, corn, barley) also help to reduce the pest population. The introduction of ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate into the soil in the amount of 20-30 g/m 2 creates unfavorable conditions for the reproduction of beetles and leads to a reduction in the number of their larvae.

Medvedka Causes significant damage to plants, gnawing their stems and roots. This insect is brown in color, 4-5 cm long, its front legs are adapted for making moves. The bulk of the passages is at a depth of 2-4 cm, the pest goes deeper only for wintering and for laying eggs. Around its nest, the bear destroys all plants so that the nest warms up well (it is usually located at a depth of 10-15 cm), which serves as a good guide for finding and destroying its nests. You can also detect the presence of a bear on the site by numerous holes and passages in the soil, which become especially noticeable after rain or watering.

Control measures: bear nests are destroyed during deep loosening of the soil or digging, while the eggs and larvae thrown to the surface die. The most common pest control method is laying traps. Starting in spring, sheets of plywood, slate, iron, etc. are laid out on the site, under which the insect crawls to bask. It remains only to regularly review the traps and destroy pests. The use of bait pits is especially effective. In early autumn, holes up to 0.5 m deep are dug on the site and filled with manure. Insects settle in such pits for the winter. After that, with the onset of frost, manure from the pit is scattered, and the pests die. In the same way, you can deal with bears in early spring. To do this, small heaps of manure are laid out around the site, in which the bears arrange oviposition. Periodically, once a month, heaps of manure are examined and pests are collected. You can catch the bear and water traps. To do this, banks filled with water are buried in the ground so that it does not reach the edges by 8-10 cm. Once in the water, the pest cannot get out of it. It remains only to bypass the traps every morning and destroy the pests that have fallen into them.

Slugs and snails cause a lot of trouble, especially in wet weather. They eat young shoots and leaves of tulips, gnaw holes in the bulbs.

Control measures: effectively in the fight against slugs, dusting the soil with tobacco dust or other means. In addition, traps are laid out around the site (pieces of plywood, boards, wet rags, bunches of fresh grass, etc.), under which quite a lot of slugs gather. Traps are regularly inspected and destroy pests.

mouse rodents cause damage to tulip bulbs during their growth and especially during storage.

Control measures: laying out poisonous baits in storage, dusting the bulbs with iron minium, which reduces the attractiveness of the bulbs for mouse-like rodents, arranging mousetraps.

N. Malova "Tulips" - M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2001. - 96s.
IBC materials "Forcing bulbs: diseases and control measures" // "Floriculture" - 2003 - No. 1,2