The Plant Doctor is currently traveling and his column will resume next month. Sorry for the disappointment!
Ask the Plant Doctor – July 2012
Dr. Kaviraj guides our plants on the road to good health, with homeopathy!
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About the author
V.D. Kaviraj
V.D. Kaviraj is a Dutch homeopath, author, researcher and pioneer in Agrohomeopathy. He is also Vice President, World Homoeopathic Association UK Chapter. He has written textbooks on various aspects of homeopathy including "Homeopathy for Farm and Garden", which is now available in seven languages. The revised and enlarged edition with 376 pages has just been published : http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Homeopathy-for-Farm-and-Garden/Vaikunthanath-Das-Kaviraj/b8241
HI, Doctor Kaviraj! I desperately need your help. My entire tomato crop is being attacked by a disease called Septoria leaf spot as well as tomato blight. All the lower leaves and branches die and fall off and it progresses upwards on the plant quite rapidly. What remedy do you suggest? Please tell me how to make up the dosage in imperial terms if possible. I have a 3 gallon backpack sprayer to apply your remedy with. Thanks so much for your help, Kaviraj! Michael
PS My friend Laura Rogers has 30x potency she will send me on your recomendation
Ferrum sulphuricum
Septoria blotch (Mycosphaerella spp., NO Fungi).
Blotches on leaves, irregular in shape, tan to brown, occasionally silvery with yellow rims. Along leaf veins, blotches have straight margins. Black specks, which are fruiting bodies, can be seen inside the blotches. The fungus survives in wheat residues. After rain in fall, the spores are produced in great quantity, spread by wind, and can be carried over long distances in waterlogged areas, particularly in the hills, where spores are carried by running water. Infection is most likely in newly sown crops. After three weeks to a month, small black fruiting bodies form on the leaves. This is the time to spray Ferrum sul. In moist conditions spores are produced and are carried from leaf to leaf by rain splash. In heavy rainfall, crop loss of up to 30% has been recorded. It is much less likely to spread in dry spells lasting for up to a month. It does not affect grazing animals since it is a less lethal fungus than Secale or Ustilago. It is more similar to black spot than to ergot or smut.
Glume blotch, Septoria nodorum blotch (Leptosphaeria nodorum):
Blotches on leaves that are yellow or tan to brown, oval shaped, turning to grey as they enlarge. Leaves die with yellow tops. Chlorotic appearance. Fruiting bodies are grey-brown with specks within blotches. Later in the season the stems and glumes become infected. Heavy infection often results in loss of the whole ear. Grey and brown blotches with shriveling of the grain. Seed loss may be complete. Fruiting bodies with spores are frequently found on both stem nodes and glumes.
The fungus survives in stubble and stalk debris. It affects wheat, barley, barley grass and brome grass. Spores develop after rain and are wind dispersed over large areas. Early sown crops are easily infected. The ideal environment for infection is during warm, wet weather with heavy frequent rain. Spores spread from plant to plant by rain splash.
A major disease of tomato plants is blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans. If you have potatoes growing nearby, then it is worth your while to see if they are infested too, because they infect each other. Various forms of mildew and blight are also common tomato afflictions, which is why tomato cultivars are often marked with a combination of letters which refer to specific disease resistance. The most common letters are: V – verticillium wilt, F – fusarium wilt strain I, FF – fusarium wilt strain I & II, N – nematodes, T – tobacco mosaic virus, and A – alternaria.
Hello Doctor,
Want to know in what indian langauges your Book has been printed and from where do i get it.
With Regards,
Sathya
Dear Doctor,
My coconut sapling near to 5 feet is affected with Crown Chocking need ur help for curing it. It is also infected with termites near the root.
Hi Sathya, first question first. Several people have asked me if they could translate my book in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and some other languages. I have given permission to translate the first edition, of which i hold the copyright. I have not heard anything since, so I would not know if they have finished the work or if it has been published.
As to your second question, I think the termites cause the problem at the top. Use Camphora 6X as the remedy.
Thanks Doctor was eagerly waiting for ur Reply. I was very eagerly waiting for ur Reply. Kindly let me know if the book is published in Tamil. By the way i am ordering for the English edition
I have a lot of queries needing your help i will come one by one after applying it.
In our farm we are growing plantain in 2 acres and has just started its yield.In the initial stages it was affected with the aphids they were controlled by pesticides and also it had stem weevil which was controlled to some extent using pesticides and now it has just started to yield but the yield is not good and some plantain trees break at the top and the leaves are also not healthy. I just came across agrohomeopathy and i have just given 1 dose of siliciea-6x by drip irrigation should i repeat the dose in any intervals and should i also spray it. Any other suggestion of remedies to be applied kindly suggest.
With Regards,
Sathya
Sathya, i am residing in Chennai, India. any idea where i can get Dr Kaviraj’s book Homeopathy for farm and garden book
Hi Sathya, you can contact mr Abdul Lethif, who has promised to translate the book in Tamil, but who has not contacted me after his initial request. He is somewhere in Kerala. He also sells complexes as remedies, but that is not agrohomoeopathy. I do not recommend complexes, but only single remedies.
You have done quite well with the Silicea, but in trees you can also use higher potencies. Small plants, small potencies, large plants high potencies is the rule of thumb.
Thanks Doctor kindly suggest me
1. The potency to be used and in what intervals i have to repeat it as have said to much of siliciea will also act adversely
2. Is It enough to apply to roots through drip irrigation or should it be also sprayed to the plants and
roots?
3. Any additional remedies to be included alongwith Silicea for better yielding?
With Regards
Sathya
Ok here goes.
1. I explained that potencies can be high for trees and must be low for small plants. At the top of this page is the potency and application rate for small plants and the same counts for trees, except that for trees you can use a 200C or even 1M.
2. It is enough to apply just on the roots. We take medicine by mouth also and do not put it on our heads. That said, sometimes with a wound, we apply locally and during flowering we should apply Silicea also to the whole tree, because that will give more flowers and thus fruits.
3. During flowering and fruiting, you can apply a dose of Phosphorus – for trees 200C – but not at the same time as any other remedy. You should leave at least a week between doses.
Thanks Doctor Sorry if i am troubling you with queries
One more thing i wanted clarification is the frequency of application for my Banana Trees
With Regards
Sathya
I do not give a frequency, because it is not needed. Why don’t you just wait and see what happens? Why all this crazy impatience and no trust in the remedies? Did you think the problem came on overnight? No. It took time. So it will take time and you let the remedy do its work. If you want to abuse homoeopathy for your financial gain, you are using the wrong method. It is meant for the health of your plants, and this must be your ONLY focus.
Dear Doctor,
Sure, I do really trust the remedies as i undertake homeopathic treatment for quite few years. Only that has draw me into your circle.Yes i will wait patiently applying the remedies and wait for its feedback.
With Regards
Sathya
Dear Doctor,
My hibiscus plant was infected with wooly Aphids i have sprayed it with Thuja 3 days back and it has been controlled to a great extent.
Hi Sathya, that is great news!
There are several remedies to use for aphids.
1. Coccinella
2. Staphisagria
3. Cimicifuga
4. Potentilla
And now you have added Thuja!
Thanks Doctor Will keep following remedies one by one. Just ordered the Book Yesterday.
Respected Sri Kaviraj.
Where can i get Book in India,Sir disclose address of Bookstores in India
With Best Regards
Sreenivas
Hi Dr Sreenivasa, I do not know which bookstores carry my book, but I have copies here. So if you want any, let me know. The price is Rs 2400, plus postage and handling, which depends on how far you live from where I am.
Dear Doctor,
Nice to see my Hibiscus plant blooming with more flowers and the plant also looks healthy after I had applied Silicea for the Plant growth and having tested with thuja for controlling wooly aphids. Will give a dose of phosphorus this week.
Dear Doctor,
Is there any Remedy u can suggest to control Cynodon Grass (Bermudagrass) and Parthenium weeds.
Sathya, Abies canadiensis or Pinus sylvestrus can be used for that. Use 6C or 30C, as available and apply before planting the crop. Use very sparingly, since it must not soak the soil, because then you cannot grow crops.
Dear Doctor,
Where do we apply Juglans nigra and Abies canadiensis or Pinus sylvestrus in weeds.
I think i am not clear on my question wanted to know in which type of weeds i apply Juglans nigra and Abies canadiensis or Pinus sylvestrus. While preparing the field for new planting is it enough for Abies canadiensis or Pinus sylvestrus .
Juglans, Abies and Pinus all inhibit seeds of weeds. They also inhibit growth of the emerged weeds already there. If applied 3 times in a row, on 3 successive days, they simply kill the weeds, but, as I said, do not soak the soil, because then nothing grows!
Thanks Doctor having Juglans will try out on a small plot and Get Back.
What are your recommendations for
verticillium affecting Japanese maples, and for Phytophthora ramorum affecting Quercus agrifolia and chrysolepus? Associated azaleas, rhododendrons, and Pieris have also been affected.
Doctor please give me a remedy for SOFT ROOT of my ginger plants
could you please advise me the rot disease of ginger plant
yellow vein mosaic in urd crop(black Gram) control by suitable homeopathy madicine—will you please reply to my question