Common Plant Diseases and Their Remedies

Like all living things, plants have their share of diseases, which could affect not just one plant but all plants in a garden. Here are three of the most common types of plant diseases and their remedies.

BACTERIAL LEAF SPOTS. Bacterial leaf spots are caused by microscopic organisms. This disease can affect ornamental and crop-yielding plants in warm-wet environments, and is discernable in dark, necrotic-looking spots on leaves.

In certain cases, the disease can cause leaves to have a brownish or yellowish color which tends to be brittle and break apart easily. Generally, the disease affects more the older leaves of a plant compared to newer ones, but can quickly spread to new leaves if not properly handled. The simplest remedy to bacterial leaf spots would be to remove the affected leaves to prevent the infection from spreading to other leaves. “Debris” like infected leaves that have fallen off a plant should be removed to better prevent an infection from spreading.

There is no known chemical-based treatment for bacterial leaf spots, which makes the practice of manually removing infected leaves from plants the best way to deal with the disease.

BLACK ROOT ROT.

As its name implies, black root rot is a plant disease that affects the root systems of plants. It is mostly observable on the above-ground portions of a plant, and typically manifests in plants having a less-vigorous growth appearance or stunted growth when compared to other, healthy plants. The condition typically affects plants that are growing in unhealthy damp soil conditions.

Treating a black root rot infection can be tricky since it affects a plant’s roots. CONTINUED ON

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