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Tomato seedlings It is considered less whimsical among gardeners than peppers or eggplants.
But sometimes this culture also causes a lot of trouble. Gardeners complain that tomato seedlings do not grow. This trouble befalls not only novice vegetable growers, but also experienced summer residents are faced with a similar problem. You can solve any problem when you know the reasons for its occurrence. What factors lead to the fact that tomato seedlings grow weak, their leaves dry out or turn yellow, and spots appear on the plant?
Among the main reasons are:
- eating disorder;
- insufficient lighting;
- cultural diseases;
- parasite invasion;
- illiterate picking of seedlings.
To help tomatoes in time, you need to carefully inspect the seedlings. This is especially important if you are growing your own seedlings for the first time. Timely action is the key to your success when dealing with problems with small plants.
Finding out the possible reason
First, let's determine what factors lead to stunted growth or poor appearance of tomato seedlings.
Tomato seedlings grow poorly if they:
Receives insufficient nutrition
This is a guess, but certain signs indicate a lack of useful components. Carefully inspect the tomato seedlings.
When there is not enough nitrogen, the stems become thin, the leaves are small and pale, and the entire seedling is very weak. Feed well with urea (4g per 10l).
Redness of the underside of tomato leaves is observed due to a lack of phosphorus. We feed with superphosphate (12g per bucket).
The ends of leaf blades curl and turn yellow due to potassium deficiency. Potassium sulfate will help. They acquire a marbled color when they lack magnesium, and stop growing due to a lack of iron. For the same reason, tomato bushes begin to turn yellow from chlorosis. Treatment for seedlings - put it in the shade and apply iron-containing fertilizer, as well as magnesium sulfate (25 g per bucket), per leaf.
Illiterately picked
Carrying out this operation requires attention and quality from the gardener. If you let your guard down a little, you can bend the tomato roots or damage or tear them off when replanting, as well as allow air space between them. Any of these factors will lead to poor survival, stunted growth or death of the plant. To avoid this, carefully inspect the root system of tomato seedlings and carefully plant them in the ground, observing all the requirements. If it was not possible to transfer the seedling with a lump of earth, carefully place the root system in a new hole and compact the soil after transplantation.
Problems with caring for small tomatoes
This item, first of all, should include watering. Many vegetable growers believe that the soil should be moist all the time. However, because of this, the seedlings experience waterlogging. The soil in the pot should dry out a little so that diseases do not develop due to stagnation of moisture, and the roots have access to oxygen. Provide the planting box with good drainage.
The second care factor that, if violated, does not allow tomato seedlings to grow is temperature. As soon as the shoots have appeared, the boxes are placed in a cool room. Daytime temperatures are 16°C-18°C, at night we maintain 14°C-15°C. After a couple of weeks, the indicators change - up to 20°C during the day and 16°C at night. After another month, the tomato seedlings should have three leaves and they are ready for picking.
The third is lighting. Tomato seedlings need additional lighting during short spring days. Daylight hours are maintained for at least 14 hours. However, if the seedlings are exposed to direct sunlight, they may get sunburn. And then transparent or white spots appear on the tomato seedlings. This happens when cloudy weather lasts for a long time, and then the bright sun comes out. Shade the plants and spray with Epin.
Diseases and pests
These factors cannot be ignored, so we will look at them in more detail below.
The soil is not suitable for tomato seedlings
This option should be allowed if all the parameters are met, the care is competent, there are no diseases, but the tomato seedlings are sick.
In this case, only replacing the substrate will help.
The list cannot be considered the most complete. The reasons that are most often recorded by gardeners are given. Among the rest, there may be an illiterate choice of variety or failure to apply the recommendations of the lunar calendar.
What diseases and pests stop the growth of tomato seedlings
Infection with diseases or exposure to parasites can not only slow down the development of seedlings, but also destroy entire colonies of seedlings.
Blackleg
Often, a number of specimens fall among the seedlings. The cause is “black leg” - an infectious disease not only of tomato seedlings, but also of other crops. The stems below darken, and “overfangs” form on them. Then the seedlings wither and lie down, the roots begin to rot. Diseased plants will have to be removed. The remaining ones are necessarily transplanted at a greater distance than before. A new soil is prepared, ash (wood) and calcined sand are added to it.
After replanting, the seedlings are sprayed with “Fundazol” and not watered until the soil is completely dry. Be sure to ventilate the room. Fighting this disease is much more difficult than preventing it. It is important to add wood ash to the soil mixture at the stage of soil preparation, and during the period of seedling growth to protect it from waterlogging and elevated temperatures. Inspect tomato seedlings daily. At the first signs of blackleg, use biological products (Fitosporin, Baktofit), pollinate the soil and seedlings with ash. In advanced forms, it is better to remove the plants.
Rot (root and basal)
Here the reason will be overflow of seedlings in combination with low soil or ambient temperatures. We'll have to act very quickly. Need to replant tomato seedlings into another soil. Before planting, wash the roots in solutions of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin.
Septoria (white spot)
The disease is signaled by dirty white spots with a darker border. This is a type of fungal disease.It is transported with the soil and develops at elevated humidity and temperature. Diseased plants are removed; treatment is very problematic and lengthy. It will be more important not to forget to warm up and disinfect the soil before sowing tomatoes.
Spider mite
The main pests that can harm seedlings during growth are spider mites, earwigs, and woodlice. Even if you don’t know what parasites dangerous to seedlings look like, if you notice any colonies, treat them. The drugs Fitoverm, Actellik and karbofos work well.
Conclusion
We examined the possible reasons that lead to poor seedling growth. But, it is necessary to carefully look for unfavorable factors in each specific case. You can understand why seedlings do not grow by constantly monitoring the seedlings. The best way to protect seedlings from problems:
- study recommendations for growing tomatoes;
- think in advance about the possibilities of maintaining temperature conditions, lighting and humidity parameters;
- take care of good soil;
- choose stress-resistant varieties;
- find information on quickly identifying diseases and pests of tomato seedlings;
- get rid of doubts.
The last point is very important. Growing strong, healthy tomato seedlings is much easier than you might think.
This plant is easily adaptable, with good survival rate. Follow the recommendations and your tomato seedlings will grow without problems.
