Reasons why cabbage leaves curl and what to do
Cabbage is a plant that requires special care from a person. Quite often, she is exposed to various diseases. The most common include black leg, late blight, powdery mildew, gray and white rot. Also, gardeners often face the problem of leaf curling. To get rid of this problem, you need to figure out why cabbage leaves curl.
The reasons
Most often, this problem occurs in young seedlings. There are several main reasons why cabbage leaves curl:
- Lack of nutrients;
- Some gardeners do not properly prepare the soil for seedlings and because of this, the plant lacks nutrients.
Lack of phosphorus often leads to twisting. This phenomenon can appear immediately after the cabbage is planted in a permanent growing area. Also, the leaves are curly due to a lack of potassium. You can get rid of this with wood ash. It must be placed under the base of the cabbage.
Lack of trace elements
The sheets can curl due to a lack or excess of zinc, sulfur, copper and boron.
With a lack of boron, the leaves on the cabbage begin to curl and brighten. In some cases, they turn reddish-purple.
The youngest sheets are the first to feel the lack of copper. They immediately begin to curl up. If you do not timely add preparations containing copper to the soil, the cabbage will begin to turn yellow and dry out. It is best to use mixtures containing sulfur with copper, as they increase each other's effectiveness.
A large amount of zinc affects old leaves. They curl and become more fragile. With a lack of calcium, they not only spin, but also turn very white.
Excess mineral fertilizers
During overfeeding with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, the leaves begin to curl into a ring. At the same time, their plate becomes very dark and brittle. Due to the large amount of nitrogen, the intake of phosphorus is blocked. To correct this problem, you need to use phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which should be applied to the soil during irrigation.
Heat
At an air temperature of more than +30 ° C, the leaves begin to curl inward. When it gets a little cooler outside or indoors, they return to their normal shape. In order for the plant to tolerate high temperatures better, it is necessary to spray it with micronutrient fertilizers or a solution of potassium permanganate.
Lack or excess of moisture
Lack of moisture is observed at high temperatures and low air humidity.
Because of this, the leaf falls down and curls into a tube. With an excess of moisture, they become very brittle and rise upward.
Aphid attack
Some people don't immediately understand why cabbage leaves curl. Quite often this happens because of aphids. This insect causes huge damage to the plant. It sucks out all the cabbage juice from it, which is why the leaves begin to become covered with white spots. Over time, the growth of cabbage slows down and it dies. Therefore, you need to fight aphids immediately after their appearance.
Whitefly attack
This white midge, which looks a lot like a small moth, often attacks cabbage. It lays its larvae on the leaves, which feed on the sap of the plant.
After a while, because of this, the leaves of the cabbage curl. If you don't get rid of the whitefly in time, the cabbage will dry out.
Prevention
Many novice gardeners do not know what to do if the leaves are curling. To return them to their previous shape, it is necessary to properly care for the plant during cultivation.
Watering
Need to know, how to water cabbage properlyso that the sheets do not curl due to lack or excess of moisture. Watering is recommended only in the evening 1-2 times a week. In summer, cabbage is watered every two days. To retain moisture on the surface of the soil, a mulching peat layer of 5-7 cm is made.
Top dressing
Proper feeding will help maintain the optimal amount of nutrients and trace elements in the soil. You need to feed the plant 15-20 days after planting. During the growth of cabbage, the procedure is carried out three times:
- First feeding. To create a mixture, 2 g of nitrate, 5 g of superphosphate and 2 g of potassium fertilizer are mixed with a liter of water. This is enough to fertilize 30-50 bushes.
- Second feeding. It is carried out one week after the first. During the creation of the solution, a liter of mullein and bird droppings are mixed with 10 liters of water. No more than one liter of the mixture is consumed per bush.
- Third feeding. Held in early June or late May. During the preparation of the solution, a tablespoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate is mixed with 10 liters of water. A square meter of the site should be treated with 3-5 liters of the mixture.
Treatment
You can protect cabbage from diseases and pests that cause the leaves to curl up with the help of proper processing. Immediately after planting the plant, tobacco dust with ash must be added to the ground. This will protect her from fleas and slugs.
We fight aphids with a solution of tomato tops: add 3 kg of tops to a five-liter pot of water. The mixture is boiled and infused for about three hours. After that, it is filtered and diluted with cold water.
You can also spray the plant with onion peel solution. To prepare it, boiled water is added to a liter jar with husks and insisted for several days. After that, another three liters of water are added to the mixture.
You can fight harmful insects with the help of spicy plants: sage, mint, rosemary, cilantro. They need to be planted near the cabbage.
Conclusion
Leaf curl in cabbage is a fairly common problem that is not that hard to get rid of. To do this, it is enough to properly care for the plant and know how to process it.
