How can I prevent root diseases like Pythium in my cucumber crops?

There are several steps you can take to help prevent potentially costly root diseases, such as Pythium, in cucumber crops. Here are three ‘top tips’ to help you prevent and manage these diseases:

1. Start with healthy young plants: make sure your seedlings are disease-free; inspect their roots and overall health before transplanting.
2. Promote proper drainage: ensure your substrate has good drainage to prevent waterlogging, which favours Pythium development, and avoid over-irrigating.
3. Protect roots: use the biofungicide ASPERELLO^® T34 Biocontrol^®*, containing the antagonistic fungus Trichoderma asperellum strain T34. 100% natural, it preventively colonises crop roots limiting space and nutrients for harmful soil fungi.

With multiple modes of action, ASPERELLO^® forms a natural barrier against pathogens, while promoting healthy roots and plant growth. It makes fragile roots less vulnerable to Pythium.

Ideally, to protect young plants start ASPERELLO^® applications at propagation. For best practice, we recommend treating seedlings when placed in their rockwool cubes; with a further drench treatment of the planting holes, before placing the cubes on the slabs in the greenhouse.

In a less than ideal situation, where no application was made during propagation, we recommend drench/drip treating plants after placement on the propagation cubes on the slabs. For best results, this treatment should be repeated after 8 to 12 weeks.

(*Check product authorisation in your country.)