If you notice white spots on your mint leaves. Do not panic, today we will reveal to you how to easily remove white spots from mint leaves.
Who doesn’t love the smell and the looks of a healthy mint? Sometimes that exterior can be ruined by white spots on leaves and stems.
White spots on Mint plant leaves can be caused by both biotic and abiotic agents. Biotic agents include fungal diseases, viral diseases, and Pest infestations. Also, abiotic factors like Improper nutrition, hard water, dust on leaves can also be equally responsible for this issue.
If your mints are having this problem then you need to find out the causes to ensure correct treatment. I will discuss the causes for these white spots, who’s at fault for creating them, and how to successfully get rid of them.
How Does the White Spots Come About?
Either spider mites or other bugs cause the white spots. What happens is that their “mouth” parts are needle-like in shape. And, when consuming portions of the plants, they affect the general coloration as they feed. It’s is because they release chemicals into the leaves in the process.
Also, you might realize that spider mites aren’t the problem. Other mites or leafhoppers can still cause white spots on mint leaves. So, make sure you brush away all visible substances on your mint leaves and wash them before consuming, in case of any concerns.
Is It Okay to Eat Mint with White Spots?
Well, in most cases, we immediately throw away food with peculiar spots on it. After all, nobody would want to take something that could have negative impacts on their health and that of their family and friends. Well, what about mint?
If spider termites are responsible for the white spots on the leaves, then it’s safe for consumption. Also, check to ensure that there’s no disgusting appearance, doesn’t produce a foul odour, or have fungal film on the leaves.
However, if you have doubts on what you are seeing and you can get other fresh mint leaves with no spots then go for the fresh ones. That will be better since you won’t have to worry about the white spots. You prepare your drink and enjoy it. Right?
How Do You Get Rid of White Spots on Mint Leaves?
To get rid of white spots on mint leaves, there are a few options that you can consider:
Clean Your Plant’s Leaves
This method involves cleaning your plant’s leaves using different mixtures. And it requires you to be gentle as you rub a small amount of the mixtures on the mint plant leaves. Therefore, as you put this method into practice, you should have in mind how delicate the leaves are.
As you clean the leaves, you’ll notice that the white spots disappear instantly. The point here is not scrubbing them off, but to help the mint leaf restore its natural properties.
When it comes to cleaning your mint’s leaves, there are a few different mixtures from which you can select for use. They include water and dilute soap mixture, also a mixture known to repel the bug type that is responsible for the white spots on the mint leaves. Besides, you can use a mixture that includes Neem oil.
You should avoid traditional pesticides. It is because they don’t help with the white spots on mint leaves. They can neither get rid of spider mites nor similar problems. For that reason, you’ll just be wasting your money and time applying such pesticides to your mint plant when it won’t even work.
Spread Out Your Mint Plant
Most of the time, people report that they observed more white spots on mint leaves when their mint plants are clamped together in the same place. Interestingly, such observations can occur as a result of the bugs, spider mites (or whatever can cause the problem) finding it easy to move from one plant to the other.
Therefore, the easier it is to move from one plant to another, the more they’ll spread. And that, translated to more white spots.
To counteract such, you should consider spreading out your mint plants. This method won’t eliminate pre-existing spots. It makes it more challenging for the tiny spider mites and bugs to move from one plant to another. This way they won’t be able to take down all your mint plants.
This way also makes it easier to identify infected plants. Also, you’ll be able to select the best possible method you would use to deal with the situation based on the extent of the damage caused by the mites.
Conclusion On White Spots On Mint Leaves
In conclusion, the white spots were most likely caused by the presence of the fungus and its metabolites, and the leaves would have started to rot. As soon as we detected the fungus, we began treatment and followed it up with the recommended fungicide to kill it off. The leaves continued to grow back and we were able to confirm that the fungal infection was gone.
This example demonstrates how our team was able to save the crop and provide a much-needed service to our customers.