Can Apple Cider Vinegar Control Powdery Mildew?

Done spending money on fungicides? Are plants welcoming powdery mildew again? Are fungicides too expensive to be bought this often? Congratulations! You are about to find the cheapest most effective way to deal with powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew is a fungus disease that can be identified by the appearance of white powdery spots on the leaves and stems. It does not just take away the plant’s beauty but also reduces the yearly fruit yielding. One powdery mildew infected plant can take the whole garden under the spell as the spores are usually carried by the wind, infecting the plants nearby.

This disease may sound deadly but it can be cured with both DIY and commercial fungicides within just a matter of days. The commercial fungicides for powdery mildew are a little expensive, not everyone can afford them for something that most likely to say hello again in the next season. 

In our previous “how to control powdery mildew with neem oil? post, we discussed how neem oil can effectively cure and prevent powdery mildew, and today we will be debating how apple cider vinegar can be a great fungicide?

Apple cider vinegar has been used for weight loss, improving skin, cleaning, treating plant diseases, preserving food, a thousand other purposes. The apple cider vinegar is made by crushing and squeezing the fermented apples. 

Now, let’s answer the question that is coming to your mind first.

Can apple cider vinegar control powdery mildew?

Yes, it’s true apple cider vinegar can control powdery mildew. It is as effective as commercial fungicides. Apple cider vinegar can be used for both curative and preventive purposes.

Still in doubt?

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, chose apple cider vinegar to clean the wounds a hundred years ago. Isn’t that enough to believe that if it can heal the wounds how effective would it be in restoring the plant’s health? 

Well, if you need a more authentic reason to use apple cider vinegar to control powdery mildew, powdery mildew doesn’t do well with low pH levels and this fermented apple juice surprisingly has the lowest pH. The apple cider vinegar works by reducing the pH of the surface it is applied on, making it unfavourable for the powdery mildew to thrive.

Be careful! Apple cider vinegar can burn

Apple cider vinegar is no doubt rewarding but it can burn the plants as well. Yes, you are reading it correctly the raw apple cider vinegar does more harm than good for the plants. To control powdery mildew, make sure you are using the diluted version.

Do not forget to test the DIY apple cider vinegar

The recipe I’m about to share in this article is 100% percent safe if made by following the steps properly. Since we are usually overprotective about our plants and pets, it always good to test the solution before applying it to the whole infected area. If it doesn’t burn or damage the plant for two or three days, it can be used further.

There are no other hard and fast rules of using apple cider vinegar for the said purpose. So, let’s move ahead and discuss how you can use apple cider vinegar to control powdery mildew?

As mentioned above, there are no hard and fast rules to be followed so to nip the evil in the bud, spray diluted apple cider vinegar to the infected parts, let it sit, and do the job. Keep spraying it every week until the signs (white, yellow, or brown spots) of powdery mildew disappear.

To reduce the chances of burning follow the below-mentioned recipe to make the simplest apple cider vinegar fungicide.

• Arrange a gallon of 3.8 liters of water
• Mix three tablespoons (44milliliterss) of apple cider vinegar in the water
• Stir it well

There, you have the cheapest yet effective apple cider vinegar fungicide.

How to spray apple cider vinegar fungicide to treat powdery mildew?

Whether it’s a DIY or commercial fungicide always choose to spray in the morning because then there would be enough hours for the treatment to dry. 

• Remove the heavily infected leaves.

• To make it more effective, wipe off the powdery mildew from the infected leaf or leaves with a clean cloth or rub off the infected leaves together to get some of the powdery mildew rubbed off.

• Spray thoroughly, leaving no infected area covered.

• Keep spraying every week until the issue is completely resolved.

How to spray apple cider vinegar to prevent powdery mildew?

DIY apple cider vinegar can be as great for preventive measures as it is for curative purposes. The powdery mildew appears and thrives well in moderate temperatures (60 to 80F) and shady conditions.

When the temperature reaches favourable terms, the plants are more likely to get infected by powdery mildew. To prevent powdery mildew from happening, spray the diluted apple cider vinegar every fifteen days to prevent it from damaging your garden.

Pros and cons of using apple cider vinegar as a fungicide

Pros

• Cheap
• Quite effective 
• Shows the same results as commercial fungicides
• Can be used for both preventive and curative purpose

Cons

• A little slower than the commercial fungicides 

Since we are discussing how to treat powdery mildew naturally let’s discuss what else you can do to treat powdery mildew if you are unable to arrange apple cider vinegar. There are several other DIY solutions to kill powdery mildew, but I do not want to go off-topic so here we are discussing only one below;

• Take one tablespoon of baking soda
• One tablespoon of liquid non-detergent soap
• One gallon of water
• Mix all the ingredients well

Summary

The fermented apple juice called ” apple cider vinegar” can be used to treat and prevent powdery mildew. Mix 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 3.8 litres of water to make DIY apple cider vinegar.

Do not try to go above the recommended percentage of apple cider vinegar as it can burn the plants. Spray the mixture every week to cure the disease and treat the plant every fifteen days to prevent the powdery mildew from happening (when the conditions are favourable for powdery mildew growth).