Preparations That Help To Speed Up The Development Of Plants And Protect Them From Diseases

2023 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 20:34

How to strengthen plants

Healthy vegetables

The most serious reason to be engaged in gardening today is to get organic vegetables. Therefore, plant protection should be based on the use of agents that enhance the resistance of plants to infections in the form of active and passive immunity and biofungicides.

And it is precisely to increase the resistance of plants to diseases and some pests that there are so-called immunity inducers (otherwise - immunomodulators) - substances that activate protective forces. The first drugs of this type, called "Immunocytofit", "Novosil", "Symbiont-universal", have been known for several years. However, their action, based on the production of so-called phytoalexins, is relatively narrow.

For a more reliable prevention of some infectious plant diseases, it is advisable to alternate different immunomodulators, while it is better to use more modern ones. Examples of such drugs can be considered drugs based on chitosans.

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Strengthen and nourish

The term chitosans means that their main active substances are derivatives of chitin - a substance contained in the skeleton of arthropods, including insects, as well as in the cell wall of fungi. The peculiarity of the action of such drugs is that chitosans manifest themselves as signaling substances that trigger the activity of genes responsible for various defense reactions. Thus, they, in contrast to more familiar drugs, allow the use of a larger number of defense mechanisms. However, their combined use with "Immunocytofit" or "Symbiont-universal" provides a stronger protective effect. The enhancement of plant growth under the influence of chitosans is primarily explained by their ability to release nitrogen, which, as you know, is a nutrient for plants.therefore, to some extent, such preparations can be considered a source of organically bound nitrogen.

Several chitosan preparations have been invented, but Ecoel and Narcissus, as well as Slox-Eco Artemia, are produced for gardeners (in small packaging). Each of them is interesting in its own way, for example, the feature of "EcoGel" - the addition of silver ions (to suppress harmful bacteria) and the magnetic structuring of water during the production process. "Narcissus" has residues of succinic and glutamic acids, which have a stimulating effect. Moreover, only "Narcissus" is officially approved for use.

It is worth noting that most immunomodulators (or immunity inducers) stimulate, in addition to protective properties, growth and development, that is, they are stimulants in the broad sense of the word.

Similar drugs

Other means also have the ability to stimulate immunity and plant growth. For example, humates, "Silk", "Zircon", partially - "Epin".

Experiments with cabbage

Humic fertilizers

Potassium and sodium humates are widely known among gardeners, but to broaden the horizons and understand the features of the action, I will cite some of the properties of humic and fulvic acid salts.

So, these natural substances increase the energy of the cell: they accelerate metabolic processes, including respiration, increase the supply of nutrients to the plant, accelerate the synthesis of nucleic acids and protein, activate protein and carbohydrate metabolism, and improve the biochemical composition of plants. They also intensify the consumption of moisture and carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere. In practice, this manifests itself in the form of accelerating awakening, increasing the energy of seed germination, accelerating the growth and development of the aboveground and root systems, as well as stimulating flowering, fruiting, and ripening of fruits. As a result, this leads to an increase in the yield of agricultural crops, as well as to an increase in the content of sugars and vitamins. At the same time, the resistance of plants to stresses of various natures and unfavorable factors (frost, drought,solar radiation, etc.). And this gives the preservation of productivity when the development conditions deviate from optimal. In addition, these drugs reduce the accumulation of nitrates. They intensify the recovery processes in damaged plants (accelerating the recovery of cells damaged by pesticides, harmful substances and pathogenic organisms).

However, one feature of their action must be taken into account - a significant dependence on concentration. On some crops, a stimulating effect is observed from solutions with a concentration of up to 0.1%. That is, a good effect requires strict adherence to the concentration, in addition, long exposure is required to stimulate seed germination, therefore, with short-term soaking, fertilizers "Baikal EM-1" and "Gumistar", as well as "EcoGel" are more effective.

As for "Gumistar", as an extract from vermicompost, it contains humic and fulvic acids (another kind of humic acids), as well as chitinase enzymes, which have a depressing effect on pathogens and pests.

Silk. Its active principle is triterpene acids, the mechanism of action of which is to activate the processes of photosynthesis. The treatment of plants with Silkom helps to increase the productivity and resistance of plants to various epiphytoties (similar to epidemics in humans - mass diseases, for example, late blight).

"Zircon". The mechanism of its action is based on the unique properties of hydroxycinnamic acids (HCC), namely, caffeic acid and its derivatives - chicoric and chlorogenic acids, isolated from Echinacea purpurea using an original production technology.

The drug "Epin-Extra" is used to eliminate the effects of stress from cold or heat, while it can increase resistance to disease. However, the active ingredient is epibrassinolide, a plant hormone that, even with the slightest excess of concentration, can cause oppression or burns of the plant.

At the same time, preparations based on chitosans ("Narcissus", "Ecogel") are harmless to both plants and people, even if the concentration or total dose is exceeded.

In conclusion, it can be noted that sufficient plant resistance to diseases simultaneously with a high growth and development rate is possible with a sufficient supply of all nutrients. At the same time, chitosan preparations produced as growth and immunity regulators are able to feed plants with organically bound nitrogen, and such fertilizers as "Baikal EM-1" and "Gumistar" also have protective properties.

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Bow Experiment March 2, 2010

What does practice show?

The first tests of "Narcissus" were carried out back in 1996-1998 at the All-Russian Institute of Selection and Technology of Horticulture and Nursery. As a result, a significant increase in the keeping quality of apples and strawberries was noted. In addition, the addition of the drug to fungicides increased their effectiveness, in particular against cytosporosis. It is also noteworthy that the combined use of "Narcissus" with "Fitoverm" was very successful (with a biological efficiency of up to 99%) against nematodes on strawberries.

In general, there is an increase in yield by 25-35%.

Last year, I also conducted two experiments with "Narcissus": on tomato seeds and on onions. We can say that the drug proved to be quite effective as a stimulant and fertilizer. For example, spilling the soil with the Narcissus solution increased the germination of tomato seeds by 44%, and soaking the onion bulbs for only 1.5 hours out of the recommended 6-12 hours (to comply with the principle of single difference) increased feather length by 30-47%. Good results were also obtained in 2010 from the combined use of "Eco-gel" with "Baikal EM-1" on onions and room roses - there was a noticeable acceleration of growth, while the rose's bud awakenability increased. In my opinion, fertilizer "Baikal EM-1" enhances the effect of chitosan by accelerating the process of dissolution, splitting and release of nitrogen from it. This indicates a relatively high content of finished enzymes in the preparation, since chitosans are considered bactericidal substances.

Two years ago I tested the "EcoGel" preparation on tomatoes. We can say that under its action the seeds germinated 1-2 days faster, and the germination rate was about 80% higher.

In general, both drugs work: "Ecogel" is more powerful, but for use on the site it turns out to be ten times more expensive, therefore, "Narcissus" received more distribution and registration.

In the beginning of the season, I decided to test the preparations "Zircon", "Epin", "Baikal EM-1", NV-101, "Lignohumat", "Alirin-B" and "Narcissus" as stimulants. The experiment was carried out on the seeds of a tomato hybrid Spartak. The best impact on the friendliness of their germination was the drugs Narcissus (an increase of 27.3%), Baikal EM-1 (+ 20.7%), Alirin-B (+ 17.3%). The vitalizer, the drug HB-101, also had a good effect. The fertilizers "Baikal EM-1" and "Lignohumat" had the best effect on germination, increasing it by 13%. At the same time, the preparations "Epin-Extra" and "Zircon" slightly increased the germination rate, while reducing the germination energy.

As you can see, the fertilizers Lignohumat and Baikal EM-1, the growth regulator Narcissus and the biofungicide Alirin-B turned out to be the most effective stimulators of germination. Considering that "Alirin-B" is primarily intended to suppress infections, then the treatment with this drug can also be considered an etching.

Alexander Zharavin, agronomist

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