How Do I Save My Ginger Plant?

While starting to grow your ginger might be smooth-sailing in the beginning, you may encounter problems later on. These problems may become so dire that you need help to save your ginger plant. 

Ginger plants may need saving when their leaves become brown, yellow, or white, curling, or if they become sun-scorched.

The best advice to help you save your ginger plants can be provided by identifying the symptom. Based on symptoms, here are ways to save your ginger plant. 

Reasons Ginger plant may need saving

Let us look at what may cause the ginger plant to die and ways to save the plant.

1. Ginger Leaves Curling 

Ginger leaves may become curled even while they are green. Slowly they will change colors from green to yellow and ultimately brown. Eventually, the condition of the plant deteriorates and it will start to rot. Stems may begin to ooze and making an incision will test for this. 

This condition is also known as bacterial wilt as it is caused by bacteria that travel through soil and water.  

Solution

Controlling the chances of bacterial wilt will depend on your ability to carry out hygienic growing practices. The bacteria causing bacterial wilt travel easily to other plants through water and soil. 

• Infected plant matter should be removed and disposed of effectively. 
• Soil should be left bare for a while when in question. 
• Avoid planting plants vulnerable to this condition straight after an infection.
• Also, preventing runoff water can be done by planting on mounds of soil, 30 cm mounds are adequate. 
• Planting mint and lemongrass months prior to planting ginger can help release compounds that control the population of the bacterial wilt bacteria. 

2. Ginger Leaves Turning Brown

Upon seeing your ginger leaves turn brown, you may think they are dying! But, there is no need to jump to conclusions as brown ginger leaves may not be permanent. There is a range of reasons why your ginger leaves are turning brown. 

Reasons for ginger leaves turning brown are not enough/excessive sunlight, insufficient nutrients, lack of water, or just incorrect location. 

Solution 

Slightly browning ginger leaves can be made green while you are better off cutting off leaves that are completely brown and dead! Curing brown ginger leaves is possible by making conditions more acceptable for the ginger plants. This involves:

• Offering ginger plants more water but not making it dry or very wet.
• Place your ginger in partial shade when conditions predict extreme heat and high sun exposure. If they are browning due to sunburn, move them to shade immediately. 
• If growing ginger in pots, be sure to add more nutrients when they become depleted after some time. 
• Position your ginger in such a position that they receive enough of all conditions.

Want to know more about ginger turning brown? 7 Reasons For Ginger Leaves Turning Brown + Solutions 

3. Ginger Leaves Turning Yellow

When ginger leaves change color, it can be a sign something is lacking or in excess! To solve it, you must find out what it is. 

Ginger leaves turn yellow due to the following reasons:

1. Overwatering
2. Bacterial rot
3. Fusarium yellow
4. Dry rot

Most cases of yellowing of ginger foliage is due to overwatering and rotting or a disease that is mostly brought about by microorganisms. 

NOTE- Yellow ginger leaves could also be a clear sign of a pest infestation such as grubs, worms, or larvae. 

Solution

To avoid the yellowing of ginger foliage, you will have to focus more on prevention rather than cure. Diseases can be invasive and spread rapidly once they manifest. Luckily, you can follow these tips to prevent a plague of ginger diseases:

• Rotate plants grown in a specific area and remove weeds regularly.
• Avoid overwatering your plants as this can induce the growth of bacteria populations.
• Since most diseases that cause rot do not have any cure. Hence, remove the infected material and dispose of it properly to prevent spread.
• Use treated seeds that have immunity or higher resistance to these diseases.
• Managing pests can be done by applying Neem oil or non-toxic insecticides.
• Planting certain crops such as onion, sorghum, maize, and sunflower can help to avert infestations of ginger (root crop) pests.  

4. Ginger Plant Turning White

An odd reason to need to save your ginger plant is it begins to turn white!  Yes, ginger leaves can start to turn white. This disease also goes by the name Leaf Spot and it circulates by wind and rain.

It starts off as small spots that have a white center surrounded by a yellow halo. The boundaries of these spots are brown in color. These spots then progress to become lesions. In severe cases, these lesions will cover the entire leaf and prevent it from carrying on reactions. 

With time these leaves will start to wither and die from the effects of the lesions. 

Solution

Here’s how you can try to prevent your ginger plants from turning white and needing saving from Leaf Spot disease.

• Leaf Spot disease can spread quickly, you must identify and remove infected plants before it has a chance to affect more plants. 
• Prune off infected areas and separate that ginger plant from the rest of your plants.
• You can use Neem oil and other insecticides containing Benomyl, Boron, or Zineb.  

Acting fast is essential to make sure your ginger plants do not get infected with Leaf Spot disease. Not only can it destroy your ginger plants, it can also spread to other plants that are vulnerable to this bacteria. 

5. Excessive Watering 

Naturally, ginger won’t accept an excessive amount of water. That’s because the beneficial part of ginger is its rhizome which sits in the ground. Wet or waterlogged conditions will not suffice for this plant. The rhizome will begin to rot in these conditions. 

In turn, the rotting of the below-ground parts will start to affect the above-ground parts, leading to the deterioration of the whole plant. Because of this, you have to adjust your watering habits. Take into consideration the soil, season, and location of your ginger plant. 

Also, it will make a difference whether it is planted in a pot or on the ground so take note of this!

Solution

While ginger plants do like being watered often, they do not like wet conditions, especially not for prolonged periods of time. To satisfy both these conditions, the best way is to meet the plants halfway. 

Test the soil before watering. The soil should be dry but not too dry before you give it a thorough soaking. In summer conditions, ginger pants would be watered once or twice a week. 

Potted ginger plants do tend to dry out more easily. However, if not fitted with enough drainage holes, it could hold excess water and lead to ginger plants rotting. 

6. Sun Scorched Ginger Plants

You will find ginger plants growing best in sunny locations rather than shady or full shade locations. But, occasionally it can become too much for the ginger plants. Extremely high temperatures and prolonged sun exposure can cause over-evaporation of water.

In turn, leaves can become dry, brown, and brittle-like. Taking a look at weather forecasts can help to predict when the weather will take a turn for the worst. Doing this can help to keep your ginger prepared for extreme weather. 

Solution

Sun scorched ginger leaves are a result of many combined factors. High temperatures, dry air (low humidity), drought, and heat waves can bring about sun scorching conditions. Here are a few ways to avert sun scorching and stop it before it kills your ginger plant. 

• Water your ginger pants properly during the summer season and move them to a slightly more shady spot if necessary. 
• Make sure to check their soil very often to make sure it is not excessively dry.
• If it is a pot, bring it indoors out of sweltering temperatures, and also you may need to water it a bit more than usual. 
• Try to mist the plants or provide a humidifying device to keep the foliage from drying out. 

Conclusion 

There are a number of reasons why you would want help to save your ginger plant. Some important reasons include:

Discoloration of foliage (ginger leaves turning brown, yellow, or white), curling of leaves, and sun-scorched leaves, are all instances when your ginger plant needs saving. 

Solutions involve managing watering habits, providing fertilizer, and removing infected plants to avoid the spread of disease to other plants, among other solutions.  

Check more about Common Ginger Diseases – Effects & Symptoms + 5 Tips to manage 

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