Regular irrigation, mulching, and fertilising are some of the practices that can help you prevent your crops from viruses, nematodes, fungi, and bacteria that can be the cause of various plant diseases. The use of a fungicide is also a practice that can help in the better management of diseases in plants. With the proper use of a fungicide, you can prevent, kill, and mitigate the growth of fungi in your crops. However, it is not effective against nematodes, bacteria, or viral diseases. Here are a few things that you should know if you are planning on using a fungicide in your garden:
Fungicides can be majorly classified into two categories:
Preventive: Preventive fungicides, as the name suggests, prevents your plants from fungi growth and fungal diseases. Fungicides like these must come into direct contact with the fungus. Also, they need to be re-applied to new plant tissues as they grow or if the product washes out.
Curative: Curative fungicides are used as a cure for a fungal infection in your plants. However, it should be noted that they are only effective if the disease is caught in an early stage.
The first and foremost thing that you should know is when to use a curative fungicide in your garden. Since preventive fungicide is used as a prevention method, it can even be used in your garden before you see the first signs of diseases in your plants (24 to 72 hours after infection occurs). But in the case of curative fungicide, it must be noted that it should only be applied when plants actually need it. Also, there might be times when your plants would be suffering from a disease in which the application of a fungicide might not be helpful. Thus, it is important to determine that your crops are suffering from a fungal disease before using a fungicide.
There are different types of textures of fungicides like dust powder, liquid, and wettable powder. Each of these fungicides works differently. So, you would have to use different distribution methods for each of them. However, no matter which one you use in your garden, one should be extremely cautious during the application process. It is recommended to wear protective gear that will limit your exposure to the chemicals. Moreover, it is important to ensure that you use the correct amount and distribution method and apply it at the right time of the year. Usually, all fungicides come with all this information. One should follow all these directions to ensure that the fungicide works properly and protects your crops from fungal infections.
We hope that this will help you understand how and when you should use fungicide in your garden to help your plants grow into healthy crops.