Basil leaves yellow/brown spots

13 years ago

I have two basil plants that are recent transplants into containers. Neither of them are doing well. The first one I believe endured some root trauma when I transplanted it from the pot, accidentally ripping some of them at the bottom. Also, the weather at the time of transplant was extremely rainy for the next 3-4 days, with cool (high 50s-high 60s) for the most part. The leaves were pretty limp and floppy. And then some brownish-yellowish spots showed up on a couple of the leaves. About 5 days ago, I bought another basil plant, of the same brand (Bonnie), and transplanted it to a pot as well. The weather for the past few days has been sunny and warm, now, but both plants now have brown, dry patches on them, but they dont look like the photos of leaf-spot that I have seen on the internet. The brown patches are not circular,,, they are more long.

There is no discoloration of the stem--which I keep reading is part of the signs of fulsarium wilt... however, some of the pictures of leaves with fulsarium wilt do look somewhat similar to what my basil leaves are experiencing...

Is it possible that the brown patches are due to trauma from transplanting, sunlight, or the excessive rain? What else should I look for? How long will it take to kill the plants if they do have fulsarium wilt or some sort of blight?

A couple of days ago I watered the plants with some fish emulsion to help if there was any root damage during the transplant, but Im not really seeing any improvement.

Thank you for any help you can give me!

Michelle

Comments (2)

cyrus_gardner
13 years ago
It seems to be a common problem with pot planting basils.

I think there are several reasons for that:

-- Small container, root bound plant.
-- Since a pot needs watering more frequently, nutrients, especiall niroget goes down the drain.
-- Uneven temperatue; due to small size of pots, the root temperature will fluctuate
a great deal within 24 hours.
-- When the plant becomes root bound, cannot retain enough moisture and thereby nutrient.

As Daisyduchworth always says, do not under estimate a basil plant's size.
The root size has a corelation to the top size.
JMO
nandina
13 years ago
Two suggestion:

1. Purchase enough coir to spread under the basil plants covering the soil completely. This prevents any fungus from splashing up on the leaves. Coir does not support fungus growth. I use this same method on my potted tomatoes and potted peppers. Urge everyone to do this on any potted plants prone to fungus infections.

2. I find that a weekly spray using what has been dubbed the Aspirin Technique stops fungal/blight problems on basil, tomatoes and peppers. Simple to make. Fill a gallon jug with water. Add two chewable baby aspirin (81 milligrams each). Allow to sit uncovered 24 hours. Pour into large container and buzz with hand blender. Pour in spray bottle. Add two drops of regular lemon detergent that does not have degreasers or antibacterial products added. Spray plants throughly in early morning or evening. Water base of plants with any left overs.
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