Protection methods

- During cultivation

The fight against bacterial infections of the salad is quite delicate because they often rage late and we do not have effective products. The copper * treatments are very effective and have only a preventive action (you can visit e-phy dealing bactericidal employees on witloof chicory - Production chicory , the witloof chicory - root production or escaroles and curls ). Copper hydroxide appears to be the most effective form, in association with zineb or mancozeb. It should be noted that some strains of Xanthomonas campestris pv. copper vitians tolerant are reported in the literature. Remember that salads are very sensitive to copper. It is for this reason that the various forms of copper which can be used are used at lower doses than on other crops.

Free water promotes the growth of this bacterium, it is necessary to avoid if possible the irrigations by sprinkling. They should be done in the morning rather than in the evening, so that the plants dry quickly during the day. This type of irrigation is particularly dangerous near the harvest, especially if the sprinkling is not well managed over time. We should be wary of the quality of the water used; avoid watering with water in which plant waste has decomposed.

should be avoided Work in plots when the plants are wet ; the risk of transmission of bacteria by contact is high.

The shelters will be well ventilated in order to dry the vegetation following morning water condensation or sprinkler irrigation.

We will eliminate the maximum amount of plant debris at harvest and we will avoid burying them in the ground because the bacteria maintain themselves there relatively well. If we cannot do otherwise, they will be incorporated deeply.


- Next crop

As with other bacterial infections of the salad, producers will have every interest in implementing prophylactic measures to limit the installation and spread of this bacterium.

As this does not keep very long in the soil, it is in the interest of carrying out soil crop rotations which are also effective against -borne pathogens.

Particular care should be taken in preparing the soil. be favored Good drainage of the latter will . In production areas where it will be possible, we will choose to plant crops at a rather dry period of the year. Plots located in well-ventilated locations will be more readily used, facilitating drying of the leaf blade. The proximity of sensitive and / or already contaminated crops will be banned. The weeds , especially those belonging to the Asteraceae family, must be destroyed.

We must not forget to remove or to disinfect all equipment (pots, stakes, string ...) used in the previous crop and that could come into contact with sick plants. For this, you can use bleach (titrating 12 ° chlorometric, soaking for 24 hours and rinsing with water) or formalin water (2 to 5% commercial formalin, soaking for 1 hour and storage under a 24-hour plastic film), or a commercial product * ( e-phy ) .

Of free seed bacteria are used. Their disinfection with bleach is difficult to envisage since many seeds are now coated. Seed production in contaminated areas and the use of overhead irrigation in seed carrier crops should be avoided. The manuring of the plants must be balanced, without excess nitrogen.

In France, a based antibacterial treatment copper- is recommended at the 8-10 leaf stage on chicory.

There is currently no salad variety resistant to Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians . However, differences in varietal sensitivity are observed in nature. Indeed, the intensity of the damage varies between types of salad and cultivars. In the USA, more severe attacks have been noted on romaine and "butter" lettuce than on "crisp" batavias.


* As the number of pesticides available for a given use is constantly changing, we have nevertheless chosen to indicate in each sheet the name of a few active ingredients approved at the time of writing. We will try to update this list, as withdrawals and new approvals occur. Despite this, we advise you to always confirm your choice by consulting the e-phy site of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries which is an online catalog of plant protection products and their uses, fertilizers and growing media. approved in France. This also applies to all biological products based on microorganisms or natural substances.