A high, high-quality and tasty tomato crop depends entirely on healthy and strong seedlings. When growing seedlings on your own, you should not make mistakes in care, they can lead to various unhealthy conditions of plants. Today we will consider the causes of yellowing of leaves in tomato seedlings.
Soil quality
Land from the garden or from the greenhouse is not suitable for growing full-fledged seedlings. The reason lies in the density of such soil, which will complicate the germination of seeds. Purchased soil intended for adult plants is enriched with fertilizers, the amount of which will destroy young sprouts.
The ideal option would be a special soil for seedlings, in which the acidity of the soil, the amount of fertilizer, and friability are ideally matched.
Wrong watering
Tomatoes need moderate and regular irrigation. Excessive moisture will compact the soil, which will lead to insufficient aeration of the root system. The seedlings will die, and it will begin with yellowing of the foliage.
With a lack of moisture, the absorption of nutrients worsens, they move from the foliage to the stem, which is why yellowing occurs. As a result, the seedlings simply dry out.
Hard water forms a white or yellow crust on the soil surface. The root system of seedlings begins to draw nutrients from the sprouts, which also causes yellowness.
Mistakes in feeding
Lack, as well as an excess of nitrogen, causes yellowing of the leaves in tomato seedlings. It is important to follow a balanced diet of seedlings. I noticed that with a lack of nitrogen, the lower leaves of the sprouts turn yellow first. If the tips of the leaves turn yellow and dry, this indicates a lack of potassium and increased acidity of the soil.
Growing tomatoes at low temperatures leads to the fact that plants do not absorb useful and nutrients from the soil. In such cases, not only yellowing of the leaves occurs, but the development of the entire plant slows down.
Lack of sunlight
Yellow leaves in tomato seedlings cause insufficient daylight hours. The minimum number of hours of light required for tomatoes is 12. In poorly lit places, seedlings turn yellow.
In regions with short daylight hours, for the full cultivation of seedlings, it will not be possible to do without additional lighting with special lamps. But highlighting seedlings 24 hours a day is not worth it. This will lead to the fact that the iron will no longer be absorbed by the sprouts, and chlorosis will develop.
close fit
Excessively dense plantings reduce the nutritional area of each individual plant, do not allow the root system to fully develop. Crowding causes seedlings to stretch due to lack of light.
Thickened plantings are a favorable environment for the development of phytophthora, which affects not only the foliage, but attacks the entire plant. Seedlings affected by phytophthora will never give a high-quality and plentiful harvest.
List of other reasons
There are a number of other reasons for yellowing leaves. They are less common than the above, but this is no reason not to point them out.
- Fertilizer burn. Poorly diluted fertilizers in water, hitting the foliage, cause a burn, which causes yellowing.
- Sunburn. Watering seedlings in the heat can cause sunburn.
- Animal life. Pets that have access to the seedling room can relieve their need in planting containers. This will not bring any benefit, but it will cause yellowing of the foliage.
- Fusarium wilt. It is the least common, as it most often affects adult plants, and not young seedlings.
Many years of experience in growing tomato seedlings taught me to treat the leaves with Epin's solution for any reason for yellowing. This helps mitigate the consequences caused by any errors. If you know other reasons why the foliage of tomato seedlings turns yellow, share them in the comments.
Read also: We choose the most favorable days for sowing cabbage for seedlings - features of varieties, lunar calendar and folk signs
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