Heat Related
Problems and Solutions
Summer has finally arrived with its soaring temperatures along the
·
Choose plant materials that are heat tolerant.
·
When hot temperatures are predicted, irrigate your lawns and
garden before the temperatures rise.
·
Use mulches to reduce evaporation of water from the soil
surface and to keep soil temperatures cool
Although
good soil moisture can help plants to survive high temperatures, some damage
may still occur.
·
Your garden may give you obvious signs that watering is
needed. Leaving footprints in your lawn
is a sign to irrigate. Symptoms of heat
stress may not be as obvious. Tomatoes
exposed to the hot sun may turn light brown and become leathery on the exposed
side. This problem can be reduced, but
not relieved altogether, by adequate watering.
·
Leaf Scorch occurs in maple, chestnut, beech, walnut and
other assorted trees during high temperatures and drying winds. Scattered areas in the leaf, between the
veins or along the margins turn light or dark brown, with all the leaves on a
branch affected uniformly. The canopy of
the tree looks scorched; leaves may dry and fall. Lack of fruiting bodies distinguishes scorch
from a fungus leaf blotch. Sun scald,
sometimes called sun burn is caused by a combination of too much light and heat
and insufficient moisture. Trees with
thin, smooth bark, and newly planted trees are most susceptible. Mature trees can also sun scald when the
trunk or branches are suddenly exposed to the sun after vigorous pruning or
when neighboring trees are removed.
Paint the exposed trunk and scaffold branches with white interior water
based paint, diluted 50% with water, or commercial whitewash to prevent
sunburn.
·
Tip burn is common in lettuce and potatoes and is evidenced
by marginal browning of the leaves and small brown or bleached spots in tissues
near larger veins. Regular irrigation
and moderate fertilization reduces tip burn.
A more effective solution is to grow varieties resistant to heat.