What Is Bordeaux Liquid?

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

On a suburban area, in whatever style, the landscape is not made, there is always a place for plants. Even the most avid gardeners will sooner or later face problems when breeding them. Flowers, trees, shrubs, fruit and vegetable crops - all of them are often damaged by pests and diseases. Nowadays, many modern plant protection products have been developed and invented. However, old and proven methods are not forgotten either. Using Bordeaux liquid is one such method. It is a fungicide and is used to control a variety of garden pests, fungi and to disinfect tree wounds

Application

Bordeaux liquid has been used for a long time. It is subject to such plant diseases as scab, caused by a microscopic fungus, which often affects apple trees, pears, potatoes, rust that affects plant leaves with spots, late blight is very harmful for potatoes and for many cultivated plants, curl is an infectious disease in which leaf deformation occurs, coccomycosis - a fungus that infects leaves, especially stone fruits, and other ailments.

Preparation of the solution

In order to prepare Bordeaux liquid, you should choose a glass, clay or enamel container. Do not take metal dishes, as they can oxidize. For a solution of Bordeaux liquid, you will need quicklime and copper sulfate powder. To prepare 10 liters of 1% Bordeaux liquid, you will need 100 g of copper sulfate and 100-130 g of lime. Dissolve copper sulfate in 1 liter of hot water, then add 4 liters of cold water. Quench lime in a separate non-metallic container with 1 liter of hot water and bring to 5 liters with cold water. The solutions are mixed separately from each other and filtered through cheesecloth. Then everything should be well cooled and the solution of copper sulfate should be poured into the lime mortar (not vice versa). The result is a clear turquoise liquid. Usually, for the preparation of Bordeaux liquid, the ingredients are taken in exactly such proportions; to increase the concentration of the solution, the amount of ingredients increases proportionally, but the volume of water remains the same (10 liters). In different sources, you can find a different ratio of ingredients, this may depend on the quality of the lime used. A ready-made solution of Bordeaux liquid cannot be diluted with water. Both vitriol and milk of lime must be properly diluted before mixing with each other. To find out if the Bordeaux liquid is well prepared, you need to dip an iron object into it, such as a peeled nail, wire or blade. If a reddish bloom appears on the lowered object, then the liquid has not been prepared correctly. Due to an excess of copper in the solution, the plant may burn. To achieve the desired copper concentration, milk of lime can be added to the solution. An excess of lime does not spoil the quality of the solution, so you should not be afraid of excess. Use Bordeaux liquid on the same day. For storage during the day, you can add about 10 g of sugar to a 10-liter solution.

Plant processing

Bordeaux liquid is used not only for treatment, but also for the prevention of plant diseases. For highly effective plant protection, treatment should be started in early spring during the period of bud swelling. Usually a 3% solution is used. Plants should not be treated during flowering and two weeks before harvest. Bordeaux liquid is compatible with many pesticide fertilizers, therefore it is a fairly universal remedy. The concentration of the product, the period and time of treatment for each plant are individual, therefore, before using Bordeaux liquid on a particular plant, all the nuances should be studied.

Precautionary measures

Bordeaux liquid is moderately toxic. In order to avoid poisoning with this solution, food and water should be protected from its ingress, the ingredients should be stored in tightly closed containers in a well-ventilated area. Protect skin, eyes and mucous membranes while working with this solution. To do this, you need to wear protective clothing, gloves and goggles. If Bordeaux liquid enters the gastrointestinal tract, a person may experience symptoms of poisoning, such as: headache, weakness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and thirst. At the first signs of poisoning, you should immediately induce vomiting, wash the stomach with a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate. Further treatment is symptomatic, drinking plenty of fluids, if necessary, you need to consult a doctor.