Curry Leaf plant is very good in aroma and one of the best medicinal plants. It is native to Asia, and can be grown in any place where it won’t freeze. Curry leaf plants have a few pest problems, the aroma of the leaves acts as a repellent for many pests. Curry leaf plant is susceptible to Scale, powdery mildew, phytophthora, and phyllostictina murrayae.
Curry leaves plant is suffering from fungus disease caused by a fungus called mildew, White Rust, the fungus is not visible to our naked eyes. To solve this Mix 3 tablespoons of petroleum-based oil available in horticulture, 1.5 tablespoons of baking soda in a gallon of water. Spray this on leaves.
Note: Read till end of the post for complete details to solve fungus problem.
These are possible reasons for your curry leaf plant suffering from fungus.
Reasons for appearing fungus (white spots) on your curry leaf plant:
1. Fungus
Most of the time cause of the white spots is white fungus powdery mildew caused by different organisms, depending on the host plant, high humidity promotes the development of disease. which appears as white, powdery-looking blotches on leaves.
Spores require dry plant tissue, put strong bursts of water during early morning, and let it completely evaporate by nightfall.
In addition to this treatment and make it to recover plant with natural products contains baking soda, horticultural oil, neem oil, sulfur & copper.
White Rust usually spreads by air and water normally this kind of fungus affects vegetables plants & ornamentals, First, this comes as white, yellow spots on top of the leaves. Later it can be seen in the undersides of leaves develops small spore-filled blisters and later spread to stems.
If this fungus affects only a few leaves, the first recommendation is to remove those leaves and destroy them. Severe infections required for the removal and destruction of the entire plant.
Most effective way to control is prevention, including cultural controls and use of sulfur-based fungicides.
Downy Mildew looks like fluffy white growths that convert grey developing undersides of leaves. Here it usually spots yellow on top of the leaves.
The infected plant can be deformed, badly infected leaves may drop. Young plants and new foliage are most susceptible to downy mildew.
To prevent this supplement cultural controls with copper based fungicides.
2.Moisture Contains Salt
If you are near to sea then this is another environmental cause, If weather contains moisture of sea water.
Basically its salt droplets that appears on the leaves of the curry leaves plant.
3.Pests lay eggs on the leaves
If the above two are not the reasons then it may be pests that lay eggs on leaves, to overcome this you can spray the mixture of turmeric powder, cow urine to the plant once a week.
There is also another tip, you can also plant tulsi plant near the curry leaf plant. They attract mosquitoes and the problem of curry leaf plants will be reduced.
How to fix the white spot from all the above problems?
Fungus will be grown on plants due to plant poor health, so let’s work on that first.
1. Remove the infected Leaves, Dead twigs (Pruning)
Prevention is better than cure, Remove the infected leaves at the earlier stage before it spreads to other leaves, plants. The same applies to Dead twigs.
Infected leaves, dead twigs should be cleared and destroyed each winter or in the early stage of spring. If possible this should be practiced during the dormant season.
If you don’t have a pruner consider buying one, because this helps for prune for all kinds of plants. Here is the link to buy one from amazon [For valid purchases we may earn commission from amazon, Our recommendation is not the costliest tool but we suggest the good one].
2. Humidity
If you are near to sea then this is another environmental cause, If weather contains moisture of sea water.
Basically its salt droplets that appears on the leaves of the curry leaves plant.
More humidity affects more to young plant.
3. Temperature
Temperature also matters, if it is freezing or too hot outside then also it affects the plant. Normally it will be around 26 -36 degrees Celcius to be a healthy, curry leaves the plant.
4. Exposure to Sun
You need to give at least 5 hours of sunlight exposure to plants, to get enough nutrients from the sun. If you put these in some corner of the estate, please replace the location to where it gets at least 5 hours of sunlight.
otherwise if you keep your plants inside and you cannot give enough sunlight. If you cannot give enough sunlight to plant inside, these full spectrum led light lamps are available for rescue. Click here for the link in amazon [For valid purchases we may earn commission from amazon, Our recommendation is not the costliest gadget but we suggest the good one].
5. Watering Frequency
Don’t water daily when your plant is suffering from a white spot, mainly more cold develops more fungs, so way less water helps to protect your plant.
Water only when the top inch of soil is dry, but water deeply when you water to prevent salt build-up in the pot. keep water off the leaves, wet leaves, Watering at dawn and into the ground, helps greatly.
6. Fertilizer
Fertilizer needs to be supplied per season amount, you may be stimulating overgrowth, disease vulnerability. Fixing this requires new plants. though you could drench the soil and try flushing out the soil. then add some slow-release after. If you do this you need to fertilize once every month or at most two.
7. Other Remedies
Use these remedies should be applied carefully, when applying use gloves, pants, long-sleeved shirt, socks, shoes, and eye protection. Move plants outs before applying if they are inside.
To get rid of fungus we can use these natural remedies:
1. Baking soda
Mixing Baking soda in water and spraying plant is one of the ineffective ways to solve the white spot problem. If care is not taken properly, running of the stem, washing off stems, and washing off rain, the solution will not stick to the plant and it may fall on the root and cause any problem.
If you still want to try out this solution mixture of 0.25 ounce of baking soda to 1 gallon of water, which may stop the growth of some fungi, such as mildew but doesn’t kill them.
When soda washes off , the fungi resume growth. you can spray this at any time of the year, but use it sparingly.
2. Horticultural oil and baking soda
Petroleum-based horticultural oil mixed with baking soda is one of the effective ways to control this problem. Mix 3 tablespoons of petroleum-based oil available in horticulture, 1.5 tablespoons of baking soda in a gallon of water. Spray this on leaves, the stem of the curry leaf plant until they are completely wet, where you find a white spot.
Don’t use this solution more frequently than every 14 days and on young plants, shoots, or if there is a chance of rain forecast, or temperature is above 90F or below 32F.
3. Neem oil
This is a natural plant-based solution derived from the seeds of the neem tree. It is biodegradable, not harmful to humans, pets, beneficial insects (may be toxic to fish).
On a dry day with no wind, thoroughly drench plants, leaves, stem with neem spray. As preventive measure needs to be applied every week when it is possible.
Once you feel it is reduced spray it biweekly to prevent recurrence.
4. Sulfur powder or spray
This also one of the natural solutions, apply the sulfur products exactly as mentioned in the product label and avoid using them when the temperature is above 85F. It is non-toxic to fish, bees, and birds, especially to humans. although you should wear a respirator during spraying and avoid eye and skin exposure. Don’t apply or spray more frequently, monthly once max.
5. Copper fungicides and soaps
You will get copper-based products in powders, dust, liquid concentrates, and ready-to-use formulations that are against these two fungi. Read carefully on the product label, dosages timing safety, precautions.
These are considered safe to bees, birds but toxic to people, pets, and fish. Don’t overdose it can accumulate in soil and damage the roots of the plant.
Tip
Use these remedies should be applied carefully, when applying use gloves, pants, long-sleeved shirt, socks, shoes, and eye protection. Move plants outs before applying if they are inside.
Final Thoughts
If nothing works out, destroy the infected plants, sanitize all the pots with boiling water, or else dry out and empty and exposing to extremely hot direct sun for a week or two on the terrace or something.
I have a problem with my curry leaves plant. It is staying indoors at the moment as it is winter time in Washington. It has a brown thing (for lack of a better word) underneath the leaves and also on the stem of the leaves. I do not know whether these are aphids.
In the past, this had killed several of my curry leaves plants. When it was outside during the summer time, this problem was not there. Please advise on what to do. I would like to send a picture if I have access to an email.