Organic control of Allium "White rot".

[realfood]

This is the second year of my trialling of this method of combatting white rot in alliums, and another resounding success for the method.
Previously, I used to loose about 30% of my allium crops to white rot. I have just lifted the last of my alliums this year and only one garlic head showed any sign of white rot.
There is still time this year for you to treat the beds that you intend to use for growing alliums next year, with ground up garlic cloves.
For the method, see this page http://www.growyourown.info/page173.html

Has anybody else been trialling this method and what results did you get?

[peter]

Realfood, could be my Android, but.I get a single page which ends as the proposed method starts, with " These “sclerotia” will become dormant over the Winter, but in"

[oldherbaceous]

The link is coming up fine here.

[peter]

The link is coming up fine here.

Good, it's just me then.

[Catherine]

Very interesting information. Thank you. Will try it as we had it last year. Though this year our onions are looking really good, which is more than can be said for our peas and sweet peas.

[Kleftiwallah]

I grew a reduced number of garlic(s) this year due to white rot. I found that the hard necks fared far better than the soft necks. Next year I'll grow just hard necks.


Cheers, Tony.

[Ricard with an H]

As a result of this thread I pulled the three Flowering-alium plants up that had failed to produce flowering heads.

No sign of little black things things and lots of bulbs that appear unattached now I disturbed them. Presumably a new site with better-drained soil and more sun.

[farmer jon]

this has been trialled commercially with onion waste for at least 10 years. as the link suggests , the idea is to trick the spores into starting their life cycle but as the host dies then they cannot complete it & just die therefore reducing the number of resting spores in the ground.

[Johnboy]

Hi Farmer Jon,
Certainly many experiments have been carried out but we always hear about the trials going on and that is far as it ever seems to get as we never seem hear any conclusive results.
I think we owe Real Food a debt of gratitude for sharing with us his findings which seem to be very promising.
I, for one, will be following the information to the letter because last year Shallots here were very seriously affected and it is the first time this have ever occurred here in well over thirty years.
I haven't got another twenty years to wait to see if the spores have died out so anything that can help me cleanse my soil if very welcome
I say a big thank you to Realfood.
JB.

[Stephen]

This sounds excellent. I'll give it a try next summer. Thank you.

[realfood]

Pleased to be of help.

[AmyLeBlanc]

I found the Kitchen Garden Reader Forum while doing some reading/research about using biostimulation to manage Allium White Rot. A gentleman - turns out to be realfood - was using this method and commented about it in a post … I'd like any feedback answering some questions: is there a real problem with White Rot in England? Is biostimulation being done commonly? Are there other techniques that are working?

We have earned two SARE (Sustainable Agriculture, Research, and Education) grants from the USDA to study biostimulation for small producers, using a typical 4-year rotation. The first lab results showed a definite reduction in the presence of the pathogen, but we'll be doing three more to even out variables.

Again any and all feedback and suggestions will be appreciated!

Amy

[realfood]

Yes, white rot is a common problem in the UK, as can be seen from the frequency of questions about it on gardening forums. It seems to be a common problem in temperate areas of the world where alliums are gown. White rot becomes inactive in cold or hot temperatures. Perhaps this is why Professor Fred Crowe of Oregon State University was interested in organic control, as it was a problem in Oregon's temperate climate for farmers growing alliums. Also, I think that there are new restrictions on the use of some of the chemicals being used by farmers to combat white rot.
Originally, I read a transcript of a talk he gave to farmers about the problem. I took out the important information for amateurs and altered the quantities of garlic to make them suitable for us amateurs. Several people have now tried this organic method and have reported back to me with good results.
It is the only organic method that I have heard of.
From Amy's post, it seems that it has worked in the SARE trial. I hope that Any will keep us informed as to any future results.

[Tel]

I am grateful for previous advice on this subject having suffered from this devastating 'rot' four years ago after 30 years of disease free veg. growing.
I treated the area affected after harvesting, firstly with a Jeyes Fluid soak, after two dry days with the garlic mix spray. No alliums have been grown on the bed up until this year. So far this season the onion bed is looking superb, but today I have found one sick plant - deffo rot.
I am hoping that I don't lose many this time. Last year on a different bed I had a superb crop (considering the god awful summer).
I use a 4 year rotation. I don't want to wait 20 years for clear ground.

[Loter1952]

Hello,

I have late joined this forum but I read all the comments its useful for me and I want to ask a question that what are the benefits of organic pest control.