Content
All gardeners dream of healthy and beautiful peppers. But even the most experienced farmers can have problems growing them. The most common problem is that the leaves of the seedlings may curl. Many people 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 from the moment sprouts appear.
So, let's look at why the leaves curl pepper seedlings, we will analyze in detail each possible reason, as well as what can be done to protect the seedlings.
Causes
First, they begin to turn yellow, the shape of the leaf is distorted, deformed, and then the entire leaf curls 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. To do this, it is important to determine the cause of the symptoms.
The most common causes of curling may be:
- Uneven leaf growth. The midrib of the leaf can grow much faster than the leaf blade, causing curling to occur. In this case, there is no need to worry.Soon the leaves will catch up with the midrib in growth and everything will fall into place.
- Insufficient or excess of important elements. A lack of microelements such as potassium and phosphorus can lead to gradual leaf curling and wilting of the plant. At the same time, 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 follow basic rules can result in leaf curling and ultimately poor harvests or plant death.
- Pests. The most dangerous plants for pepper seedlings are aphids and spider mites. Infestation of aphids can occur as early as spring, as they respond well to cold and can develop even in frosty weather. Infection manifests itself as red spots on the leaves and curling. Spider mites can damage the root of a plant. You can see cobwebs on the leaves. The mite interferes with the plant's normal nutrition, 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 as spots and subsequently destroy the plant. A common disease is blossom end rot.
Now that the causes of leaf curling are clear, we need to figure out how it can be prevented or cured.
Fighting fungal diseases
Such diseases can manifest themselves as stains and rot. When affected by spots, small dots first appear on the leaves.This will be the first signal that your plant is sick. Next, the leaf begins to curl, and soon it will completely dry out and fall off. 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 seedlings and prevent fungi from spreading and destroying the crop. The following operations should be carried out:
- To prevent the disease, treat with Bordeaux mixture. If symptoms of the disease have already appeared, you need to treat the affected shoots as soon as possible;
- treat the seedlings with infusions of garlic and onion. You can also prepare a solution of saltpeter and spray all the plants with it. It is prepared as follows: dissolve 200 grams of saltpeter in a bucket of water;
- feed the seedlings with calcium chloride (sold at the pharmacy) or calcium nitrate;
- frequently 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 treat the leaves with regular serum, because the acidic environment prevents the spread of pathogenic organisms;
- in the fall, after harvesting, thoroughly clean the soil of plant debris, as they can be carriers of fungi.
Pest Control
Pests are the biggest danger to pepper seedlings, as they can very quickly destroy the entire crop. As mentioned above, the most common “enemies” of pepper seedlings can be aphids or spider mites. The signs of such a lesion are very easy to distinguish, because the spider mite leaves behind cobwebs under the leaves or between them. Another characteristic feature is rapid yellowing of the leaves.
To prepare, you need to combine 1 liter of water with a glass of dry onion peels. Let it brew for 24 hours. Next, every 5 days we treat the pepper seedlings with this mixture.
But it happens that pests do not attack the leaves themselves, but the roots of the plant. In this case, the entire sprout suffers, and the leaves begin to curl. This happens 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 cultivate the soil. Otherwise, from mid-March the larvae will begin to wake up and infect your seedlings. Then it will be much more difficult to fight them. But still, there is no need to despair, because there are no hopeless situations, and there is a remedy for every pest.
To destroy dangerous larvae, it is necessary to prepare a solution of manganese. It should not be too rich in color, just a light pink tint. Now you need to pour this solution over the pepper. This will help protect your seedlings, however, it will be 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 favorable, just 2 days before planting you need to water the soil with boiling water. You can also additionally use a manganese solution for irrigation.
Lack of essential microelements
If you carefully examined the seedlings and found no signs of disease or pest damage, then most likely your plant is simply missing some elements. The most common cause is a lack of potassium in the soil.If you don't start correcting 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 chemicals for soil fertilization.
A more effective way is to feed seedlings with potassium nitrate. To prepare the solution, you need to combine two tablespoons of saltpeter and 10 liters of water. To water one bush you will need 0.5 liters of solution.
Conclusion
By following the described rules, you will be able to grow strong and healthy plants. As you can see, it is not difficult to fight even the most dangerous pests. The main thing is to notice the warning signs of the disease in time and take action immediately.
