Powdery Mildew Use Milk Method # 2
Begonia Care: Curing powdery mildew fungus with whole milk; Note: ratio is 9 parts water to 1 part whole milk. Mix well and spray plants 2 times (twice) a week for powdery mildew.
Your begonia plants will thrive and be cured of powdery mildew fungus and it works well on roses and vegetables.
Store unused powdery mildew milk mixture in cool place between applications; works like a champ every time.
Scientists discovered milk is high in calcium and a regular dose of milk protects begonias’ against powdery mildew fungus.
Recipe Curing Powdery Mildew Fungus
1 cup of whole milk
9 cups of water
Eliminate Powdery Mildew
Milk Controls Powdery Mildew
Article quotes a report that appeared in the New Scientist, Oct 1999; with its high calcium content milk is particularly good for our teeth and bones. Now scientists have discovered that it is good for our begonia, cucumbers and courgette as well. They found that a regular dose of milk can protect the vegetables, and begonia flowers against a destructive form of mildew.
Spraying twice a week with diluted milk is even more effective than the best chemical fungicides. The discovery could solve the problem for the growing number of organic gardeners who refuse to use chemical sprays.
Milk has been used by generations of farmers as a cure for Black Spot on roses. The latest findings show it has far wider applications.
The research centers on a mold called powdery mildew, which appears as a white growth on the leaves of cucumbers and courgettes. It damages the begonia plants, causing their leaves to shrivel and stunting the growth of the vegetable and begonia flowers.
Until now the only cure for the fungal growth has been chemical fungicides. The discovery was made by Brazilian scientists looking for cheap ways to kill common pests, the magazine the 'New Scientist' reports.
Upon noticing how the by products of milk processing factories killed powdery mildew on courgettes they tried it out with real milk. To their surprise it worked just as well.
Spraying heavily infected begonia plants twice a week with a mixture of one part cow's milk and nine parts of water was as good at stopping mildew as chemical fungicides, they found. In many cases the milk worked faster and was more effective according to Dr Wagner Bettiol from the environmental laboratory of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation.
The process is now being used by Brazilian farmers as a cheaper and organic alternative to chemicals. It could be adopted by organic farmers and gardeners in the UK. Rob Hayward of the Soil Association, the body that regulates organic farming, said: "If this works, it could be very useful indeed.”
The scientists have yet to pinpoint the natural chemicals in milk which wipe out the growth of the mildew. They are now looking to see if milk has any other uses in the garden. Although the scientists have only tested it on courgettes and cucumbers, it might also turn out to be an effective weapon against powdery mildew on other plants.
The disease affects hundreds of vegetables, trees, fruit and flowers including peas, cherries, grapes, apples, peaches, lilac, begonias' and roses and if the disease is serious enough farmers can suffer a dramatic drop in yields. It is believed that the disease was carried over to Britain from the USA. It was the first to be successfully treated by chemicals in the 1840's. Traditionally lime sulphur and sulphur dust is used.
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