what is the best organic way to get rid of blight and fungus in the garden?
Cut off affected branches as soon as you spot signs of blight. If only one of your plants is affected, remove that plant from the garden. Fungus is a bit more difficult. There seems to be a shortage of cures for phytophtora. This fungus infects many different plants – everything from rasberry bushes to cherry and cedar trees. I found a contact in Washington DC that might have some advice. They published a study of the effect of phtophtora on cherry trees. The address is: U.S. NATIONAL ARBORETUM, 3501 NEW YORK AVE., N. E. WASHINGTON DC 20002 FAX: 202-245-4579 They might be able to help you out. I also found an article at http://ucs.orst.edu/~niederhf/HRNEWS41.html The article summarized a research project involving fungal problems with apple trees. From it, I derived two possible solutions to your problem. You could plant a cover crop of wheat on the ground beneath your cedar trees. The roots of some varieties of w
Diseases caused by fungi and fungal-like organisms Black Rot and Gummy Stem Blight Black rot is caused by the same fungus, Didymella bryonia that causes gummy stem blight. Black rot is the fruit-infecting phase of the disease, and is most common on butternut squash and pumpkins View photo 2.7. The black rot fungus penetrates the rind, allowing entry to other organisms that cause the whole fruit to rot. Gummy stem blight refers to the foliar and stem-infecting phase of the disease View photo 2.8, which is commonly seen on muskmelons and watermelons. On foliage, symptoms begin as water-soaked areas or pale brown spots. Brown cankers develop on stems, and a brown to black exudate may appear (gummy stem). The fungus can be seed-borne and may also overwinter in the soil. Infection by powdery mildew increases the opportunity for gummy stem blight infections. Cultural Control: 1. Crop rotation to a non-cucurbit crop for 2 years. 2. Plant disease-free seed. Do not use seed from an infected fru
