Dark sores appeared on carrots: how to check the cause

If the top of the carrots was healthy, and after harvesting, dark depressed sores are visible on the root crops, cavernous spotting associated with soil organisms Pythium is possible. Ulcers are often dry and stretched across the root, but one spot is not diagnosed.

On several root crops, check the nature of the damage. After working the tool, a cut or trace of impact is usually noticeable. When wet rot, the flesh is soft, watery, sometimes with an unpleasant odor. If the depressions are dry and the surrounding tissues are dense, infectious rot cannot be considered proven.

Immediately sort the harvest: select carrots with wet and softened areas, store them separately with dry sores and use them earlier healthy. Already formed depressions will not disappear, spraying excavated root vegetables at random is not necessary.

It also matters which areas have more damage. The risk is higher where water stagnates and the soil is long damp. Next season, ensure the diversion of water, avoid overhydration and change the place of sowing carrots, alternating it with other crops. If ulcers appear massively from year to year, you need a diagnosis of the cause, and not the selection of drugs by the appearance of spots.

The period of relevance for the Kostroma region: mid-September - late November (cleaning, sorting and laying carrots for storage).