What is an organic way to kill/prevent mold on crops?

Question

For a food crop to be considered organic, it must not have certain kinds of chemicals used on it during production. Does anyone know of any way to kill or prevent molds on plants that does not invalidate them as an organic food?

I've heard something about Silver Nitride ... does anyone know how to use it and a supplier for the stuff? Thanks.

Answer 1

Contact:  http://www.ciks.org/index.htm for detailed info on organic cultivation.

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Answer 2

Silver nitrate is as chemical as they come. Probably not something that is useful in organic farming.. or if it is I will rethink buying organic!

To prevent mould, probably key is planting to ensure proper airflow between plants in order to ensure that excess moisture can evaportate in order to reduce the amount of time that a plant is wet, thus reducing the chance that mold will develop, as mold is a wet condition lover.

Watering or irrigating at the proper time of day in order to ensure that plants (leaves especially) do not stay wet. Irrigating roots only, which usually are not prone to mold.

Selecting resistant plants would certainly help. Plants that are prone to mold, there are often mold resistant cultivars that would be available, and due to their resistance, would be less likely to develop mold problems.

Rotating plantings would help, as plants that grow in the same area year after year are prone to the diseases affecting the year before.

Maintaining strong plants through good watering, fertilization, and plantings is probably key. Stong "immune systems" on plants, like people, are less likely to suffer from disease. Many manure preparations are useful for combatting disease and improving plant hardiness.

Utilizing clean cultivation techniques by cleaning all equipment between crops, therefore less likely to spread mold or disease through crops.

Answer 3

One of the best ways I know of is pickling or ensiling where organic acids are produced from the crop itself.  If you maintain the food in an anaerobic condition after pickling has taken place mold will not form.  As far as Silver Nitride is concerned, it is not organic, and if it is an approved "organic" method it just shows how mislead the "organic" producers are.

The two prior answers both assumed you meant Silver Nitrate, not Silver Nitride--both compounds exist, neither is organic, and both are relatively strong poisons.  The Silver itself, in high concentrations, would prevent both mold and bacterial growth.  Dilute silver nitrate solution has been used for an eyewash in infants to prevent bacterial contamination at birth, as a bacteriocide in dentistry to kill the last bacteria in a decaying tooth before inserting a filling, and as an internal bacteriocide, but these are all at very low levels.

Answer 4

There is a "new" fungicide at L&G Centers called Remedy.  All it is is baking soda.  It is effective as a fungicide for many fungal pathogens.  It does not penetrate the cells of the plant--which is a problem for gardeners because when it rains it washes it off.  Since baking soda is edible for humans and it does not penetrate the plant anyway I would say the plant would still be called organic.

Answer 5

I don't know what kind of plants that you are talking about but some molds can be controlled in the greenhouse by spraying with a mild soap solution. I guess it might work in the field as well, but I have never seen it used there.  Silver nitrate is used to help control the growth of mold in tissue culture.  Silver nitrate is a chemical, I don't see how it could be considered organic.

Answer 6

I would first check with my state regulatory board to see what their organic specifications are.

I have used copper sulfate in the past, but it really depends on the plant and the type of mold.