Content
All gardeners dream of healthy and beautiful peppers. But even the most experienced farmers can have trouble growing them. The most common problem is that the leaves of the seedlings may curl. Many turn a blind eye to this, and as a result, they cannot count on any harvest. Therefore, you need to be attentive to your plants even from the moment the sprouts appear.
So, let's look at why the leaves curl at pepper seedlings, we will analyze in detail each possible reason, as well as what can be done to protect the seedlings.
Causes
At first, they begin to turn yellow, the shape of the leaf is distorted, deformed, and then the entire leaf is twisted in the middle towards the vein. Gradually, all the leaves curl into a tube, and the plant begins to lose strength and dry out. To prevent such a sad end from happening, you must immediately begin to act. For this it is important to determine the cause of the symptoms.
The most common causes of curling include:
- Uneven leaf growth... The center vein of the leaf can grow much faster than the leaf plate, which causes curling. In this case, there is no need to worry. Soon, the leaves will catch up with the middle vein in growth and everything will fall into place.
- Lack of important elements or excess... Lack of trace elements such as potassium and phosphorus can lead to gradual curling of leaves and wilting of the plant. However, they can change color to black and purple. Excess fertilizer is also bad for pepper seedlings. At first, the pepper grows very quickly, but then the leaves curl, and the ovaries may not appear.
- Improper care... When growing peppers, it is important to monitor soil moisture, sufficient light and temperature. Failure to comply with basic rules can threaten leaf curling and, ultimately, a poor harvest or plant death.
- Pests... The most dangerous for pepper seedlings are aphids and spider mites. Aphid infection can occur as early as spring, as it reacts well to cold and can develop even in frosty weather. Infection is manifested by red spots on the leaves and curling. A spider mite can damage the root of a plant. A cobweb can be seen on the leaves. The mite interferes with the normal nutrition of the plant, causing the leaves to turn yellow, curl and fall off.
- Diseases... In windy and rainy weather, various fungi and viruses actively attack seedlings. They can appear in the form of spots, and subsequently destroy the plant. Top rot is a common disease.
Now that the causes of leaf curling are clear, you need to figure out how you can prevent or cure it.
Fight against fungal diseases
Such diseases can manifest as stains and rot. With a lesion on the leaves, small dots first appear. This will be the first signal that your plant is sick. Further, the leaf begins to curl, and soon it will completely dry out and disappear. If the seedlings are affected by rot, then watery spots will appear on the leaves. In this case, the plant will not dry out, but, on the contrary, will become wet from the spread of fungal spores.
The following tips will help protect your seedlings and prevent fungi from spreading and destroying your crops. The following operations should be carried out:
- to prevent the disease, treat with Bordeaux mixture.If the symptoms of the disease have already appeared, it is necessary to process the affected shoots as soon as possible;
- process the seedlings with infusions of garlic and onions. You can also prepare a solution of saltpeter and spray it on all plants. It is prepared as follows: dissolve 200 grams of nitrate in a bucket of water;
- feed seedlings with calcium chloride (sold in a pharmacy) or calcium nitrate;
- often ventilate the greenhouse;
- before planting seedlings, it is necessary to add tobacco dust with slaked lime and wood ash to the soil;
- it is good to process the leaves with ordinary serum, because the acidic environment prevents the spread of pathogens;
- in autumn, after harvesting, thoroughly clean the soil from plant residues, as they can be carriers of fungi.
Pest control
Pests are the biggest threat to pepper seedlings, because they can destroy the entire crop very quickly. As mentioned above, the most common "enemies" of pepper seedlings can be aphids or spider mites. Signs of such a lesion are very easy to distinguish, because the spider mite leaves behind cobwebs under the leaves or between them. Also a characteristic feature is the rapid yellowing of the leaves.
For cooking, you need to combine 1 liter of water with a glass of dry onion peel. Let it brew for 24 hours. Further, every 5 days we process pepper seedlings with this mixture.
But it happens that pests do not affect the leaves themselves, but the roots of the plant. In this case, the entire sprout suffers, and the leaves begin to curl. This is due to the larvae that are in the soil and damage the root system of the pepper. To avoid this, it is necessary to carefully prepare the soil in the fall, remove all remnants of previous plants and process the soil. Otherwise, from mid-March, the larvae will begin to wake up and hit your seedlings. Then it will be much more difficult to deal with them. But still, there is no need to despair, because there are no hopeless situations, and there is a right for every pest.
To destroy dangerous larvae, it is necessary to prepare a manganese solution. It should not be too saturated in color, a light pink tint is enough. Now you need to water the pepper with this solution. This will help preserve your seedlings, however, it is much safer to prepare the soil in advance. To do this, follow these simple steps. 2 weeks before planting seedlings, the soil must be warmed up. If this is not possible, and the weather is not conducive, just 2 days before disembarkation, you need to pour boiling water over the soil. You can also additionally use a manganese solution for irrigation.
Lack of essential micronutrients
If you carefully examined the seedlings and did not find signs of disease or pest infestation, then most likely your plant simply lacks some elements. The most common cause is a lack of potassium in the soil. If you do not start to correct the situation in time, the pepper may simply die from exhaustion.
The solution to this problem is quite simple. It is necessary to feed the soil with wood ash. To do this, sprinkle the ground around each bush with ash, the layer thickness should be at least 3 mm. After which it is necessary to water each plant abundantly. This option is for those who do not accept purchased soil fertilization chemicals.
A more effective way is to feed the seedlings with potassium nitrate. To prepare the solution, you need to combine two tablespoons of saltpeter and 10 liters of water. For watering one bush, you will need 0.5 liters of solution.
Conclusion
Following the described rules, you will be able to grow strong and healthy plants. As you can see, it is not difficult to deal with even the most dangerous pests. The main thing is to notice the alarming signs of the disease in time and immediately begin to act.
