Phytosanitary prevention rules for farms
Phytosanitary prevention rules for farms
The health of our farms makes use of some principles similar to human health and most are of a preventive nature.
The first step is to promote the proliferation of useful insects such as ladybugs, bees and dragonflies and the conditions necessary for the growth of earthworms. So goodbye to chemistry (pesticides, herbicides, etc.), to deep processes without any sense, and to synthetic fertilizers (nitrogen on all) that will be replaced by natural integration techniques, including green manure with legumes, grassing, the recovery of salts by burning the residues of pruning and subsequent reintegration of the ash into the soil and the addition of organic substances (manure, pollen, pomace, exhausted pomace, etc.).
Subsequently we must periodically check the leaves and branches to check for any mold and parasites in order to eliminate the immediate removal of the elements that show cryptogamic infestations.
Make sure of the good hygiene (as for us) of the plants, through spraying when it is appropriate with jets of water and milk or water with low concentrations of Marseille soap. The results are incredible and the motivations lie mostly in favoring useful insects.
Among the techniques of good health should not be neglected the cleaning of the soil (especially at the end of the winter) from the foliage possibly present after the cleaning of autumn, to avoid excessive nesting of many pests, including mushrooms; remember in this regard to remove from the ground also the branches derived from pruning and always remove from the plant the branches that have rather deep breaks or because affected by cancer. In this regard, it is advisable to burn or otherwise bring the infected materials away from the orchard and, after burning, to reuse the ash as fertilizer (we maintain the fertility of the soil).
After pruning and cutting, treat with an iron sulphate solution (500 g per 10 liters of water) and immediately cover the cuts and wounds on the branches with healing paste.
Carefully clean the collar of the plant, the stem and main branches with a fiber brush taking care not to damage the living part of the tree and provide for the elimination (for the polloniferous plants) of the suckers that remove vitality to the plant, debilitating it and predisposing it to parasitic attacks.