Why potatoes curl: what kind of disease it is and how to treat it, control measures
Why do potato tops curl up? - the question is not idle. Some gardeners do not pay attention to the change in the shape of the leaves. In the first year, the loss of yield from one or two bushes is invisible.
But in the third year, the gardener notices with surprise: the leaves of the potato curl on all plantings. Bushes are depressed, flowering does not come. Spraying with stimulants is not beneficial.
When harvesting potatoes, the gardener will be in trouble: the tubers are small. Analysis shows a lack of starch (up to 5%). The consistency of boiled potatoes resembles soap. The taste is soft. One thing remains: to feed the tubers to the cattle (who has it).
All troubles can be avoided. It is enough to pay attention to the curly leaves of the plant and take action in time. The disease is suppressed at the very beginning. No propagation occurs. Potato tops reflects the state of culture, shows the ability to form and grow tubers.
Causes of curliness
Leaf reshaping is a symptom of several diseases. All of them weaken plants, reduce yields. Gardeners are required to recognize the signs in the early stages and take action.
Leaves on potatoes become curly for various reasons:
- Sometimes a vegetable lacks proper care. The soil is depleted in minerals (phosphorus and potassium). Nitrogen (manure or compost) does not solve the problem of soil fertility. Her moisture is weak. The illumination is insufficient. The plant responds by stopping development. The leaf curls, fades, photosynthesis stops. No tubers are formed on potatoes. Its yield drops by 50%.
- Gardeners often plant large areas with their favorite crop. They do not have time to clear the weeds. Use herbicides. Potatoes are a vulnerable plant. Leaves curl upon contact with the drug. The bush is oppressed, stops developing. The chemical is carried in by the wind from neighboring plots and farm fields. But this is not a disease. No contamination of surrounding plants occurs. It does not need to be treated. It is enough to remove the affected bush and be careful when using herbicides.
- Mosaic disease causes curly leaves. The plate is curled, the edges become wavy. The disease is easy to recognize: they are curly, change shape, only young leaves. The old ones are not damaged. Because of the mosaic, gardeners lose 50-70% potato harvest.
- Rolling potato leaves - viral disease. The leaves of the plant curl due to the defeat of aphids, bedbugs. They are carriers of the virus. Heat and insufficient watering increase the rolling of the tops. The bushes are stretched, the color becomes brown. Symptoms: tops change shape, potatoes begin to rustle with leaves.With this disease, old plates are rolled along the horizontal vein. The virus accumulates in the underground part of the plant. Seemingly healthy tubers serve as carriers of the virus. The disease leads to a loss of 60% of the crop.
- Rhizoctonia (black scab) endows the tops with curliness. It is caused by fungi. Spores enter the soil with contaminated material. In summer, the leaves first become wavy. Then ulcers appear on all parts of the plant. The core turns to dust. The tubers are deprived of nutrients. The gardeners cannot wait for the harvest: it decreases by 30%. Small, healthy looking roots are infected with fungal spores. With further use, the disease will spread throughout the garden.
All the reasons for the curliness of potatoes need to be studied. At the first manifestations, you need to start a fight. Viral diseases that begin with leaf rolling develop for several years. In the third year (if no measures are taken), the crop is lost by 80%. It is not difficult to win at the initial stage.
Potato rescue methods
Gardeners must know: what ways will help prevent crop loss? The tops are beginning to curl: the disease has already begun. The potato is weakened, the tubers will give a little. It should be carefully dug up and burned. Spill the well with a solution of potassium permanganate.
The danger of leaf rolling is that it is not noticed at first. The damage from the defeat of one or two bushes is insignificant, which cannot be said about the situation in the third year. The ridges with plantings are completely curly. The stems are brittle, the leaves are dry, brown or light green. The process of photosynthesis is inhibited. The harvest is gone.
The gardener is trying to cultivate the field with all available means (folk and purchased). But time is lost. There is no cure for curly potato leaves. The spread of viral infections should be stopped using prophylactic methods.
How should you proceed?
Measures to combat potato curl are based on knowledge of the signs of the disease, the observation of the gardener and careful adherence to cultivation techniques. The recommendations of the breeders should be followed:
- Choose only high-quality planting material from reputable manufacturers. When using your own seeds, you should select medium-sized tubers: they are more resistant to viruses.
- It is not recommended to cut the tubers into pieces: the infection will get inside. If there is a lack of planting material, it is required to disinfect the knife and hands with alcohol, vodka or a strong solution of potassium permanganate (dark pink). The incision sites must be dried, greased with brilliant green or sprinkled with crushed activated carbon.
- Before planting, it is required to reject tubers with broken sprouts. Through damage, the virus will penetrate inside.
- Choose varieties and hybrids that are resistant to mosaic viruses. Breeders recommend planting varieties in problem regions: Lyubimets, Romano, Irbitsky, Slavyanka.
- Store seed material correctly. Avoid getting wet, freezing. It is recommended to green the tubers before laying (a measure to scare off mice).
- Observe crop rotation. It is forbidden to plant potatoes after potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants. It will be struck by the pathogenic flora accumulated in the soil.
- Carry out siderization of the soil before planting potatoes. The event takes place in autumn or spring. Legumes saturate the soil with nitrogen. Cereals - heal, relieve wireworms.
- Monitor the acidity of the soil. It should be in the range of pH 5.0-5.5. The change weakens the plants. Bushes become vulnerable.
- It is imperative to huddle the plants: young root crops should be at a depth of 5-10 cm.
- Fight garden ants. They settle aphids, which carry viruses from diseased plants.
- Monitor soil fertility.Apply mineral fertilizers (the industry produces special complexes for potatoes).
- Remove weeds regularly. They shade potatoes, weaken plants. Aphids nest on them - a carrier of infection.
Bushes with curly leaves should be immediately dug up and removed from the ridges.... They serve as a source of infection and are dangerous for other plantings. Armed with simple preventive measures, gardeners will get a guaranteed potato crop.
Use of chemicals
Gardeners should consider vulnerability young potato sprouts to disease. The use of chemicals at this stage of development is justified.
The drug "Prestige" has the active substances pencycuron and imidacloprid. They are toxic to humans, but are removed from the tubers after 2 months. Gardeners note: potato plantings did not curl when pickling tubers before planting. You should know: the product is not suitable for early and mid-early potatoes.
The main vector of mosaic viruses is aphids. The Green Pharmacy of the Gardener helps to fight against it. The series has several insecticides for spraying potato seedlings... Quite good results are obtained by a folk remedy from an infusion of garlic (an average head per glass of water) diluted in 10 liters of water. Spray planting in the evening.
Gardeners in April treat the area with the drug "Muratsid". It protects the area from garden ants that carry aphids. Pests leave for the season. Potato plantings are protected from viral diseases.
Weeds are home to sucking insects. Their absence is a guarantee of protection against potato mosaics. It is recommended to use herbicides, but with caution. Chemicals of this group also affect cultivated plants.
Prevention measures and adherence to growing rules will help protect potato plantings from curly leaves and get a good harvest.
