• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Homestead on the Range

Abundant Living in Flyover Country

  • The Lifestyle
  • The Farm
  • The Garden
  • The Skills
  • The Business
  • The Sunflower State

Black Rot

July 13, 2016 by hsotr

Black Rot

Black rot is a particularly unpleasant fungal disease affecting:

  • Members of the cabbage family.
  • Apples.
  • Grapes.
  • Boston ivy.
  • Virginia creeper.

Several fungi species are involved.

Note that the black rot which affects squash and pumpkins is just a phase of the disease known as gummy stem blight.

The spores of the black rot fungus spread rapidly in hot, humid weather, traveling on the wind and in splashing drops of water. They can also penetrate wounded plant tissue. The fungus overwinters on the ground and in dead or dormant plants.

Symptoms

  • Reduced plant vigor.
  • Stunted plants.
  • Yellow V-shaped lesions on leaf margins of cabbage crops.
  • Circular tan spots with purple border on leaves of apples, often called frogeye leaf spot.
  • Black leaf veins.
  • Yellowed leaves.
  • One-sided heads on cabbage family plants.
  • Rapid head spoilage after harvest.
  • Branch and shoot cankers.
  • Root decay.
  • Small white dots with reddish-brown ring on grapes.
  • Reddish spots on apples which grow and blacken.
  • Early ripening.
  • Rotten apple cores.
  • Mummified fruit.

Treatment

Black Rot

Treatment of vegetables is not practicable. Affected plants should be destroyed. Fungicides (copper for organic gardens) should be applied to remaining vegetables to avoid the spread of infection. Once the growing season has ended, let the soil rest for two or three years to kill remaining spores.

Grapes and apples should be treated with regular fungicide applications. Take care to remove all mummified fruit from the plants and the ground, or black rot will return in the spring. Burying mummies through cultivation is effective.

Prevention

Black Rot

Minimizing plant stress and maintaining good garden sanitation are the keys to preventing black rot:

  • Choose varieties well adapted to your area.
  • Plant in a location with plenty of sunlight and air flow.
  • Rotate garden vegetables.
  • Keep fruits well pruned to allow air circulation.
  • Do not work with plants when wet
  • Take care to avoid wetting leaves when watering the garden.
  • Control weeds.
  • Make sure plant nutritional needs are being met.

Complete Series

Garden & Orchard Diseases

Garden & Orchard Diseases

Keep Reading...

Filed Under: The Garden Tagged With: Fruit, Plant Health, Vegetables

Avatar for hsotr

About hsotr

Motivated by her experience growing up on a small farm near Wichita, Kansas, Michelle Lindsey started Homestead on the Range to supply Kansas country living enthusiasts with the innovative resources that they need to succeed and has now been keeping families informed and inspired for over five years. Michelle is the author of three country living books. She is also a serious student of history, specializing in Kansas, agriculture, and the American West. When not pursuing hobbies ranging from music to cooking to birdwatching, she can usually be found researching, writing, or living out the country dream.

Before Footer

Footer

Stay Posted

Enter your email address to receive new posts via email.

Topics

Animal Health Birdwatching Books Breeding Cattle Dairy Dogs Draft Animals Enterprises Faith Family Field Crops Food Fruit Goats Health & Fitness History Horses Insect Pests Links Livestock Marketing Music Native Americans Nature Nutrition Ornamental Plants Outdoors Pastures Pets Planning Plant Health Poultry Quotes Scripture Passages Sheep Small-Scale Farming Soil Stewardship Supplies The West Travel Vegetables Water Weather

More Resources

  • Our Books
  • Our Guides
  • Our Newsletters
  • Quick Start Pages
  • The Gallery
  • The Homestead Bookshelf
  • Your Path to Abundant Living in Flyover Country

Affiliate Disclosure

Throughout this site you will find affiliate links to items that we have read or used and highly recommend. If you decide to use the links to make a purchase, please be aware that we will receive a small compensation. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure. Thank you!

  • About
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Use
  • Updates

Copyright © 2013–2021 All rights reserved. No content on this site may be reproduced in any way without prior written permission. By using this site you are agreeing to our terms of use.