Last year, my beautiful peppers suddenly started curling their leaves. In just a couple of days, the bushes became unlike themselves. If I had not paid attention to this in time and had not taken action, I would have been left without a crop of peppers. Let's see why this happened and what to do about it.
Causes
It is important to start sounding the alarm when the leaves on the plants have just begun to change color from bright green to yellow. If this moment is missed, the sheet will begin to curl up into a tube, and then wither and, in the end, completely dry out. Let's look at the reasons for this phenomenon. Most often this happens due to:
- Leaves grow unevenly. If the midrib is pulled out faster than the blade, the leaf will curl. This phenomenon should not excite me and you. Over time, the leaf will grow up and catch up with the vein - everything will fall into place.
- Deficiency or excess of trace elements. In most cases, leaf deformation is facilitated by a small amount of potassium and phosphorus in the soil. You can also learn about the deficiency of trace elements by changing the color of the sheet to blue-black.
- Wrong care. If the plant does not receive enough light, the temperature jumps, and even watering is not carried out according to the schedule - all this will affect the appearance of the plants, as well as the yield.
- Harmful insects. Most often, peppers suffer from attacks by aphids and spider mites. The latter often damages the roots of peppers. Because of this, the nutrition of the bushes is disrupted, and the leaves turn yellow and fall off. When a vegetable crop is infected with aphids, the leaves become spotted and curled.
- Viral and fungal diseases. On the plant, they appear as red dots and spots. If treatment is not started on time, the peppers will die.
Fighting the causes of leaf curl
Now let's figure out how to treat all the misfortunes that peppers suffer from:
- Fungal diseases. For prevention, I treat the bushes with a Bordeaux mixture. When the first signs of the disease appear, I try to quickly spray the affected parts of the peppers. Another composition can be prepared from onions and garlic or saltpeter. In addition, before planting, I try to introduce wood ash, tobacco dust and slaked lime into the soil. In the autumn, after harvesting, I clean the soil from plant parts, as the fungi overwinter on them, and in the spring they will start to cause trouble again.
- Pests. Usually they quickly deal with plants and crops. When cobwebs appear on the bushes, I urgently treat them with onion tincture. Why do I pour a glass of husk with a liter of water and leave it for a day at room temperature. You can spray peppers with this “brewing” every five days. If pests, or rather their larvae, attacked the roots of plants, the leaves will also curl. In this case, try to treat the soil with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate.
- Micronutrient balance. If, when examining the seedlings, there are no signs of disease or damage by harmful insects, the plant is most likely lacking important trace elements. Primarily potassium. If you do not change the situation, the pepper bush will die quickly enough. For prevention, I feed vegetable crops with wood ash - I scatter it around the bush with a layer of about 3-5 millimeters, and then I moisten the soil around the plant well. More effective feeding with potassium nitrate. A tablespoon of saltpeter is diluted in five liters of water. For one bush use 0.5 liters of the composition.
Conclusion
To grow strong and healthy peppers, as well as get an excellent harvest, you need to follow simple rules. Inspect the plants often and take action if you notice any changes in the leaves.
Read also: Why pepper seedlings are stretched, how to avoid it - useful tips
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#pepper seedling#seedling diseases#garden and garden