Content
Surely every gardener has at least once tried to grow tomato seedlings on his own. But unfortunately, not everyone and not always succeeds in this, because even seemingly healthy, grown seedlings can begin to “mope.” So, the most common problem is that tomato seedlings leaves fall. There may be several reasons for this problem. They are often associated with poor nutrition, poor plant watering, the development of certain diseases, or the presence of inappropriate microclimatic conditions. To solve the problem, you should analyze the situation and determine the cause, choosing a method to eliminate it.
Watering
The most common reason why tomato seedlings may turn yellow and fall off is a lack of moisture. Seedlings need to be watered moderately and regularly. At the initial stage, tomatoes should be watered once every 5-6 days. After the true leaves appear, this should be done more often: once every 4 days. Plants with 5-6 true leaves need to be watered once every 2-3 days. This schedule for watering tomato seedlings is a recommendation.It should be adhered to, however, in sunny weather and conditions of low humidity, the soil can dry out quite quickly and emergency watering or spraying can be used to prevent drying out.
It is worth noting that not only prolonged drought can lead to leaf fall, but also excessive watering of young tomatoes. Being constantly in water, plant roots do not receive enough oxygen and begin to rot. A symptom of this damping off is the falling of tomato leaves. Considering such contradictory facts, it should be noted once again that watering tomato seedlings should be regular and moderately abundant.
Lighting
Another very important condition for the normal growth of seedlings is sufficient lighting. So, daylight hours for tomato seedlings should last 8-10 hours. With insufficient lighting, tomato leaves become long and thin. Their color is pale green. The consequence of such a lack of lighting can be the falling of the lower leaves of the seedlings, which are maximally shaded by the young shoots. The problem can be eliminated by artificially illuminating the plants with fluorescent lamps.
Temperature
Tomatoes are heat-loving plants that arrived in our latitudes from the tropics. However, high temperatures can greatly harm young seedlings. So, the temperature is over +300C can burn tomatoes. With such a defeat, tomatoes turn yellow and shed their leaves. Of course, in spring, in apartment conditions, such temperature records are rare, but if necessary, spraying with a urea solution will help save tomato seedlings from the heat.To prepare it, dissolve 1 tablespoon of the substance in a bucket of water.
Low temperatures can damage tomatoes just as much as heat. At temperatures below +100The tomato root system shrinks and stops absorbing nutrients from the soil. As a result of this hypothermia, tomato leaves acquire a bluish tint, seedlings wither and eventually sheds its leaves.
Nutrition
It's no secret that the strength and health of tomato seedlings depends, first of all, on the microelement composition of the soil. In the early stages of growth, tomatoes especially need minerals such as potassium, calcium and phosphorus. At the same time, their deficiency or excess can have a detrimental effect on the condition of the tomatoes. Thus, with a lack of potassium, yellow edges appear on the surface of the lower, old leaves of seedlings, and the leaf plate becomes deformed, curling up up. Over time, these leaves dry out and fall off.
The lack of calcium is reflected in the new, apical leaves of tomatoes. With such an imbalance of the substance, the leaves of the seedlings become pale and curled. Over time, a lack of calcium leads to leaf drop and death of the plant as a whole.
With an excess of phosphorus, pale spots appear on the leaves of seedlings, which over time quickly cover the entire leaf plate. In science, this process is called chlorosis; you can get rid of it by adding complex mineral fertilizers or an ash solution.
Often, tomato seedlings suffer from excess nitrogen.And even if the farmer did not apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers, the substance could get into the soil during the process of its formation. Thus, the soil from the garden could be richly fertilized with manure in the fall. Without having time to rot by spring, it contains a large amount of nitrogen, which can “burn” tomato seedlings.
Insufficient soil volume
After the seed germinates, the tomato root system begins to grow and develop intensively. At the same time, it requires a fairly large volume of soil. So, sometimes, as the tomato roots grow, they fill the entire container with soil and are tightly intertwined with each other. This leads to a lack of oxygen, and as a result, the seedlings become bogged down. So, gradually, first the lower and then the upper leaves of the tomatoes turn yellow and fall off.
By carefully monitoring the growth process of tomato seedlings and promptly replanting the plants in large containers, you can successfully avoid leaf falling due to insufficient soil volume.
Consequences of transplantation
Many farmers sow tomato seeds in a single container, providing for subsequent picking of the grown plants into large insulated containers. The picking process itself is carried out in the presence of 1-2 true leaves. At this time, the root system of tomatoes is already quite developed and can easily be accidentally damaged during the transplanting process. Such plants with a defect in the root system take a long time to take root, experience stress and bleat. Their growth slows down significantly. If the root system is seriously damaged, yellowing and falling of the leaves of the seedlings can also be observed.It is worth noting that overgrown tomato seedlings can be tightly intertwined with their roots and then during the transplanting process they will need to be torn apart, thereby harming the plants.
Problems associated with root damage are also relevant for tomatoes that were planted in the ground. That is why it is preferable to use for growing tomato seedlings peat pots, plants from which do not need to be removed when transplanting. Tomato seedlings should be removed from plastic containers very carefully, keeping the lump of soil on the root.
Diseases
The most common disease of tomatoes is late blight. This disease is provoked by a fungus that can initially infect one bush, and subsequently spread to all nearby crops of the nightshade family.
Late blight can affect not only adult plants growing in open ground and greenhouses, but also tomato seedlings. Infection can occur due to the reuse of untreated containers, as well as garden soil without proper preparation. In addition, late blight fungus can be found directly on tomato seeds.
Tomato disease appears 10-15 days after infection. At this time, dark, sometimes gray-brown spots form on the leaves and stems of tomatoes. If there is high humidity in the room, late blight is also indicated by a “fluffy” white coating on the back of the leaf.The initial stage of late blight may not be noticeable to the farmer at all, while spreading to nearby tomato seedlings. However, over time, the tomato leaves begin to become completely covered with dark spots and fall off.
For the prevention and treatment of tomato seedlings, you can use special chemicals. However, their use should be limited to living rooms. For preventive purposes, you can use spraying with whey, the acids of which suppress the development of fungus.
You can knowingly protect plants from late blight by treating all the elements involved in the process of growing seedlings:
- Tomato seeds must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or wood ash before sowing.
- The soil from the garden must be subjected to heat treatment. To do this, place the container with soil in the oven at a temperature of 170-2000C for 1.5-2 hours. This will kill all pathogenic bacteria, fungi and parasite larvae.
- Plastic containers in which seedlings were previously cultivated should be disinfected. For these purposes, you can prepare a solution of bleach, which must be mixed with water in a ratio of 1:10.
Thus, it is easier to prevent the development of late blight than to later save tomato seedlings affected by the fungus in every possible way. Additional information about ways to prevent and treat this disease can be found in the video:
Conclusion
Tomato seedlings are the result of the persistent, painstaking, daily work of the farmer and it is very disappointing when, for any reason, they begin turn yellow And fall leaves of young plants. However, by noticing the disease in time and determining its cause, you can prevent further development of the problem and maintain the health of the tomatoes. Timely, accurate diagnosis largely depends on the knowledge of the gardener. That is why everyone, even a novice vegetable grower, must have a certain, constantly expanding store of knowledge based on scientific research and the experience of professional and competent farmers.
