Prior to the onset of disease symptoms, you can spray a commercial copper fungicide on young plants. Increasing airflow and allowing the garden bed to dry out a bit can help to stop the spread. After the seeds have been thoroughly rinsed, spread them out and allow them to dry overnight.ĭespite your best efforts, infection can still occur, and the bacteria can colonize very quickly in warm, humid conditions. Note that this treatment will only kill pathogens that are present on the outside surface of the seeds, and bacteria could potentially survive under the seed coats. Place about a tablespoon of seeds in a container, such as a glass jar, and add one cup of hot but not boiling water, and one tablespoon of chlorine bleach.Īllow the seeds to soak for about 15 minutes, and then rinse with cool water until the smell of bleach is gone. You may be able to kill pathogens that are present on the seed surfaces, even on seed that you’ve purchased, by soaking seeds in a bleach solution to sterilize them.
These types of bacteria have a very long shelf life of up to ten years, so if you’ve had an outbreak, you should forgo saving seed from infected plants or others grown nearby. You’ll also want to avoid overwatering, but be aware that rain may still spread the bacteria.Īnother way that the bacteria can be introduced into the garden is by planting infected seed. If you see signs of leaf spot, note that the disease is commonly spread by splashback from watering, and that this can be prevented in part by using drip irrigation or watering at the ground level rather than using sprayers or sprinklers. Photo by Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,, via CC BY-SA.
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