Showing posts with label fungus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fungus. Show all posts

Monday, 29 April 2013

Bordeaux mixture preparation

The formulation below is to make 10 liters, to make other quantities just keep the proportions between the ingredients. The "bordeaux mixture", calda bordalesa, is made of a dissolution of copper sulphate and lime water.

a) Dissolution of copper sulphate(1 liter):
The day before and four hours before the mixture’s preparation, dissolve the copper sulfate. Pour 100 g of copper sulfate within a cotton cloth, tie and dive into a plastic container with 1 liter of warm water;

b) Lime water:
Pour 100 g of lime in a bucket of 10 liters capacity. Then add 9 liters of water slowly.

c) Mixing of the two ingredients:
Add gradually and always stirring, the copper sulphate solution (1 litre) into the lime water bucket.

d) Test of the knife:
To see if the final mixture is not acidic, we dive a clean knife made of common steel for 3 minutes in the final mixture.
If the blade is dirty, which means it acquired a brown color when removed from the mixture, indicates that the solution is acidic. It should be added more lime in the mix, but if not dirty, the “bordeaux mixture”(calda bordalesa) is ready to use.

Monday, 22 April 2013

Preventing fungus attack

The potatoes are really pretty now. About two years ago we weren't cautious and the potatoes foliage was attacked by the mildew and all the harvest was burnt.
This year we are being very cautious. We already have give them twice the bordeaux mixture (portuguese "calda bordalesa") which is a natural fungicide, made from copper sulphate and slaked lime, to prevent the attack of fungus, specially the mildew.