Bordeaux mixture – an effective fungus treatment authorized for use in organic farming

Bordeaux mixture—a combination of copper sulfate, lime, and water—is an effective fungicide and bactericide that has been used for decades to control diseases of fruit and nut trees, vine fruits, and ornamental plants. These natural minerals, when mixed in the correct order, provide long-lasting protection to plants against diseases

It is widely used in the garden to treat plants, vegetables and fruit trees.

Following recommended doses and uses for this product is nonetheless necessary to avoid contaminating nature.

Basic Bordeaux mixture facts

Purpose and use – fungicide, algicide
Content – water, copper sulfate and lime
Most relevant plants – grape vine, fruit trees, potato, tomato

What is Bordeaux mixture?

It is a blue-colored fungicide. Its main ingredients are copper and lime.

Spraying is the most common type of use, but sometimes people lather it on trunks with a wide paintbrush. It helps fight most types of fungal diseases. Fungal diseases are due to mushrooms and fungus. Bordeaux mixture is often used against downy mildew, scab, fruit leaf curl, canker or European brown rot.

Recommended dosage is maximum ⅓ to ⅔ oz. (10 to 20 g) for 1 quart (1 liter) water. However, this depends on the concentration of the initial powder or liquid: be sure to read the label of the product you’re using.

When to use Bordeaux mixture

The first Bordeaux mixture treatment should be applied at the end of winter. Doing this during the winter deep cleaning is a good time to eliminate mushrooms that may have overwintered among plants.

It is often used in spring when diseases develop. Indeed, moisture and warmth are the two conditions that trigger fungus growth. Bordeaux mixture is also used in the autumn after leaves have fallen off trees.

• Spraying at this moment helps avoid that any given disease overwinters in the garden.
• It is important to destroy any sick leaves that have already fallen to the ground.
• Spray Bordeaux mixture on the entire tree: branches, trunk, and eventually neighboring areas.

Preventive use is effective to defend against fungal diseases (mushrooms).
Most targeted diseases are:

• Blight
• Apple scab
• Peach leaf curl
• Knot or canker
• Rotting fruit, European brown rot
• Black spot disease (maple tar, for instance)

It is almost useless to spray Bordeaux mix when the fungus has already appeared, because its main purpose is preventive.

But it can be argued that spraying when the disease has appeared can nonetheless contain its spread.

Read more

***

Source: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7481.html

THE BORDEAUX FORMULA

Although there are many formulas for preparing Bordeaux mixture, generally a ratio of 10-10-100 works well for many disease-causing pathogens. The three hyphenated numbers represent the amount of each material to add.

The first number refers to pounds of copper sulfate, the second to pounds of dry hydrated lime, and the third to the total gallons of water. Thus a 10-10-100 Bordeaux mixture would be comprised of 10 pounds of copper sulfate, 10 pounds of lime, and 100 gallons of water.

A more manageable amount for the home gardener would be a 1-gallon mixture of 10-10-100 Bordeaux, which would contain 1/10th of a pound of each of the dry ingredients, which would be 3 1/3 tablespoons of copper sulfate and 10 tablespoons of dry hydrated lime in 1 gallon of water. You can purchase copper sulfate and hydrated lime at most garden centers.

THE MATERIALS

Copper Sulfate

Powdered copper sulfate, often referred to as “bluestone,” is a finely ground material that dissolves relatively quickly in warm water. Ordinary, lump copper sulfate isn’t satisfactory, because it is slow to mix into the solution. Store copper sulfate in a dry place. If it gets moist, it becomes lumpy and difficult to work with. Fixed copper fungicides shouldn’t be used in making up a Bordeaux mixture.

Lime

You can use either dry hydrated lime or slaked lime to prepare Bordeaux. The most important point is to use fresh lime. Don’t use lime from last season, and purchase only what you can use in the current season.

Hydrated Lime

Use only good quality hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide). The hydrated lime should be fresh and not carbonated by prolonged exposure to air. Hydrated lime is a dry product commonly used to make plaster and is readily available under several trade names. When mixing lime, protect your eyes, nose, and mouth by using a dust- and mist-filtering respirator.

Slaked Lime

Slaked lime is prepared by adding “quick” (hot, burned) lime (calcium oxide) to water to produce calcium hydroxide. Slaking quick lime in water can produce heat sufficient to boil the water, so regulate the amount of lime you add to the water at any one time, so the mixture doesn’t splash. Wear goggles or safety glasses to protect your eyes and stir the mix with a wooden stick while adding the lime to the water. The slaking chemical reaction takes 1/2 to 2 hours, so prepare the lime mixture before you plan to spray.

To make slaked lime add 1 pound of quick lime per gallon of water. This results in a mixture the consistency of milk. Slaked lime makes a superior suspension, but it requires more time, effort, and containers than prepared hydrated lime. If using slaked lime, follow the procedures in the Stock Solutions section below.

MAKING THE BORDEAUX MIXTURE

The effectiveness of a Bordeaux spray depends almost entirely on following the correct procedure for mixing. You can prepare Bordeaux directly in a spray tank equipped with an agitator, or if you don’t have a power sprayer, you can prepare smaller amounts for use in a hand sprayer. If you use a hand sprayer, you’ll first need to mix up stock solutions of lime and copper sulfate as described below. No matter how you mix the ingredients, you’ll need to use the spray solution soon after you prepare it, since the mixture will deteriorate upon standing.

When applying Bordeaux, be sure to wear protective clothing, including goggles, because the spray deposit is corrosive, can permanently stain clothing, and is difficult to wash off.

Dry Form

If both materials are still in dry form you’ll need to use a tank with an agitator. Follow these steps to make a tank mix of 10-10-100 formula. Use a ratio of 1 gallon of water, 3 1/3 tablespoons of copper sulfate, and 10 tablespoons of hydrated lime for each gallon of spray mixed.

Start flowing water into the spray tank. When you have put about 1/3 of the water into the tank and the mechanical agitator is in operation, start washing the copper sulfate into the tank through a screen with water from the supply hose. A wooden paddle is useful for working the copper sulfate through the screen. Don’t hurry it through the screen; give the copper sulfate time to get into solution in the tank. By the time 2/3 of the water is in the tank, all of the copper sulfate should be mixed in.

In a plastic bucket or other corrosion-resistant container, mix the dry hydrated lime into a portion of the remaining water. Then slowly pour the lime suspension into the copper sulfate and water mixture. Finish filling the tank to the correct volume of water. You can include the rinse water from the mixing container.

Continue agitating the tank while adding the ingredients and applying the spray. A bypass agitator system usually isn’t adequate for preparing a tank mix of Bordeaux.

Apply the Bordeaux the same day you prepare it. After you have used up the mixture, immediately rinse the equipment at least three times, since the mixture is highly corrosive to metal tanks and pump parts. Add a small amount of vinegar to the rinse water to neutralize any leftover residue.

Stock Solutions

The old-fashioned way of making a Bordeaux mixture is to prepare “stock” solutions of lime and copper sulfate that you later mix by pouring them into water in a sprayer. This method also works best for making small quantities of Bordeaux.

Using a plastic bucket, dissolve 1 pound of copper sulfate into 1 gallon of warm water. You can store this solution indefinitely in a stoppered, glass container.

For the lime, use the slaked lime suspension described above or mix a solution of 1 pound of fresh hydrated lime in 1 gallon of water. This mixture needs to stand for about 2 hours before use. You can store the lime mixture indefinitely as well in a stoppered container. Preparing a stock mixture of lime eliminates the need to obtain fresh hydrated lime each time you prepare a Bordeaux mixture.

Be sure to clearly label both stock solutions and store them where children can’t get into them, since these materials, especially the copper sulfate, are very toxic and corrosive.

To make 2 1/2 gallons of a 10-10-100 Bordeaux mixture, measure 2 gallons of water into a strong plastic bucket. Shake the copper sulfate solution vigorously before adding 1 quart of it to the 2 gallons of fresh water. Always add the copper to the spray water before adding the lime. Shake the lime mixture, and add 1 quart to the 2 gallons of water. Keep stirring the spray water mixture while adding the copper and the lime and continue stirring or shaking for several minutes before pouring it into the sprayer. The mixture now is ready to use.

Be sure to constantly shake the sprayer while using it to avoid clogging. Read the label directions carefully on the copper sulfate regarding the proper protective equipment to wear when preparing the stock solutions and when spraying. Bordeaux performs best if nothing is added to the prepared mix described above.

This formulation of Bordeaux mixture will be adequate for practically all home-garden, disease-protection needs. If you wish to maintain Bordeaux mixture on a tree throughout the entire winter rainy period, you can reapply the spray, or use a slightly stronger mixture—1 1/2 quarts of each stock solution to 2 gallons of water. In spring when buds are opening or on sensitive plants, use a slightly weaker mixture—1 pint of each solution to 2 gallons of water—or use a fixed copper spray.

*****

In this video you can see Bordeaux mixture being mixed by hand and sprayed onto the vines