Growing cucumbers is a popular activity among summer residents. For cucumber lashes, bright green foliage is characteristic. It testifies to the correct development and health of the vegetable crop. The appearance of yellow spots on the leaf plates is an abnormal phenomenon. Color change can be caused by a number of external and internal factors: weather and climatic conditions, lack of nutrients, plant diseases, violation rules of agricultural technology and care.
So that this does not negatively affect the general condition of the plant, it is important to notice the first signs of the disease in a timely manner, to identify and eliminate possible causes.
Lack of nutrients
One of the most common causes of yellow or brown spots on the tops of cucumbers is a lack of nutrients that support healthy development.
With an insufficient content of micro- and macroelements in the soil, metabolic disorders in plant tissues occur, which in turn leads to a decrease in the level of chlorophyll production. Vegetable crops fall ill with chlorosis. A characteristic sign of the disease is the appearance of yellow spots on the greenery. The location of these spots will help you figure out which nutrient the plant is missing:
- the yellowness between the veins of the leaf, which begins to infect the plant from above, indicates a lack of copper and iron;
- the presence of lesions in the center and edges of the leaf plates of the whole plant indicates a lack of potassium and magnesium;
- yellowing of the leaves, which begins first between the veins, and then spreads throughout the entire leaf blade, is a sign of insufficient sulfur and manganese content;
- discoloration of cucumber bushes grown in alkaline or acidic soils is caused by a lack of nitrogen.
Reference. Cucumber leaves first become covered with yellow spots, then change color completely, and then dry up and fall off.
Unfavorable weather conditions
Specific yellow spots on cucumber leaves may be the result of unfavorable weather conditions.
In hot summer, under the influence of direct sunlight, small damages may appear on the greenery of the plant - dry burnt spots, which are sunburn. This problem can be avoided by watering the bushes correctly. It is necessary to ensure that the residual moisture does not settle in large quantities on the tops and does not attract heat to itself, which in turn leads to the formation of burns.
Important. Insufficient light can also damage cucumber plantings. Everything is good in moderation: plants need sunbathing for proper growth and development.
Drought adversely affects the health of vegetable crops. Due to insufficient irregular watering in hot summer conditions, the foliage begins to turn yellow and dry out. In order to preserve the harvest, it is important to stop this process in time by providing the cucumber plantings with a sufficient amount of moisture.
Air humidity is another important indicator of healthy crop development. This parameter does not depend on the temperature regime and the amount of watering of the plantings. Plants grown in greenhouses usually suffer from high humidity. This is easy to explain - evaporation in confined conditions is slower than in open ground.
Advice. Be sure to open doors, ventilate greenhouses. Make sure that there are no drafts - they are detrimental to greenhouse vegetables.
Diseases affecting cucumber lashes
A common cause of the formation of yellow spots on cucumber tops can be diseases that a vegetable crop is susceptible to. Here are the most common diseases in cucumbers:
- powdery mildew - causes the appearance of small yellow specks, which eventually grow in size and completely affect the plate;
- fusarium - causes discoloration of leaves, damage to the vascular and root systems;
- mosaic - yellowing of the sheet plates occurs according to the mosaic type, their twisting and crushing;
- anthracnose - causes incomplete spotty yellowing of the plates, in place of which brown spots develop;
- peronosporosis - provokes the appearance of yellow-gray spots, plaque, and then drying out of greenery;
- angular spotting - manifested by discoloration of the leaves, the formation of holes on them, from which a dirty pink liquid is released (the fruits are also covered with spots and ulcers, are deformed).
Attention! After finding sick foliage on the whips, urgent measures must be taken.
Treatment of the affected areas with the help of special chemicals will help to establish the normal process of plant life, and increase the resistance of the fruit to damage. Depending on the disease, one of the following drugs is allowed: Fitosporin-M, Baktofit, Trichoderma, Vitoplan, Maxim, Gamair, Vitaros, etc. Solutions of Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate are also suitable for treating sick lashes.
Insects - pests of vegetable crops
The reason for the leafy plates of a vegetable crop strewn with yellow spots is also the destructive effect of various pests. Cucumber plantings are most often susceptible to attacks by whiteflies, spider mites, and aphids.
Timely actions taken will help the summer resident save the cucumber harvest and preserve the plants. The first step is to break off and burn the damaged leaves, and then resort to processing the lashes using special means: "Fufanon", "Actellik", "Detox", "Iskra", etc.
Reference. Not only plants attacked by insect pests need treatment, but also those located next to them.
In order to keep the cucumber plantings healthy, it is necessary to regularly inspect the leaf plates, monitor the health of the whips. The actions of the summer resident taken in time will save the plants and harvest a good harvest of cucumbers.
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