How to Treat Powdery Mildew Using Homemade and Organic Remedies

If you live in a temperate zone, chances are that you have encountered powdery mildew in your garden.

Powdery mildew is a worldwide menace, with hundreds of species of fungi that may cause it, and the ability to infect more than 10,000 species of plants.

According to Master Gardener Jim Cooper of the Washington State University Extension, it has been estimated that, when you factor in the total loss of crop yields and plant growth, powdery mildew produces the greatest losses of any single plant disease throughout farmers’ fields as well as home gardens.

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Infected leaves appear as white or gray spots in the early stages of an infection. They may quickly enlarge to completely cover the infected plant parts with a nasty blight.

While these fungi do not usually kill their hosts, they do debilitate them.

However, there is hope!

In addition to weather patterns and symptoms to watch for, if you are looking for a home remedy or organic treatment, read on.

There are many options that I will cover in this guide, as follows:

The fungi that cause powdery mildew are unusual in that they need their hosts to be alive, because of the intimate relationship they have with the plants.

That is thought to be the reason why they don’t kill their host. They need the plant’s nutrients to survive.

And unlike most types of fungi, they cause more severe cases of disease in warm, dry weather.

A mild case may go away on its own. But without intervention on the part of the gardener and a little extra TLC, a severe infection can mean the end of your precious