Want to learn more about plants?
Explore our easy-to-read educational Blog
Signs of damage
- Dark spots. They are especially common on the upper surface.
- The noticeable activity of the sap-sucking insects. It can be a sign of feeding, appertaining of the sticky secretion they produce, etc.
- Sticky honeydew. Since sooty mold often grows in it, this symptom is very important.
How to prevent
Drought and high temperatures contribute to the problem because insects like aphids, which are connected to sooty mold, are especially active when there’s not enough moisture. So you need to water your plants regularly. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that control of pests helps with sooty mold control. If you have noticed some problems with sap-sucking insects in your garden, it is better to use some chemicals to control their population. You can wash leaves with some of them to prevent the appearance of this mold.
Heal
Before treating this disease, you need to find out what has caused it; the sooner you indicate the source of a problem, the better. So start treating the original problem; it’s probably something caused by pests. After this, you can just wash off the mold from the leaves. For this purpose, neem oil is great because it is effective with fungi and with pests as well.
Go Premium to continue reading
Also you’ll get unlimited access to disease identification and all the other beneficial features