Why do strawberry leaves curl and what to do, how to treat the bushes
One of the gardeners' favorite treats is strawberry. Many people who have a summer cottage are engaged in the cultivation of this berry. Some of them are faced with the fact that the strawberry leaves curl.
Why do strawberry leaves curl?
Before treating an ailment, you need to familiarize yourself with the main reasons for twisting strawberry foliage.
Pests
Quite often, this problem appears due to insect attacks on strawberry seedlings. There are several dangerous pests that are most often found on strawberries.
Aphid
Aphids are a small and dangerous insect that appears on many garden and horticultural crops. A pest attack causes the strawberry shoots to weaken and stop growing. Aphids also impair the immunity of bushes, which contributes to the emergence and further development of dangerous ailments.
Signs indicating the appearance of aphids include:
- curling and gradual fading of the leaves;
- the appearance of a large number of ants near the tops;
- drying of the upper stems;
- the formation of a sweetish liquid on the surface of the shoots;
- the appearance of small growths on the stems.
If aphids appear on the plant, they are immediately disposed of. The bushes are treated with fungicidal compounds and folk remedies that repel insects.
Spider mite and strawberry mite
The mite is considered a dangerous parasite that is difficult to spot on strawberry leaves. The insect becomes noticeable only after the global defeat of seedlings.
The main danger of ticks is that they not only damage the leaves, but also worsen the yield of berries.
Among the signs of damage to bushes by ticks are:
- the leaves begin to curl up;
- bushes stop growing;
- the inner side of the foliage is covered with a silvery bloom;
- premature drying of leaves;
- drying of the crop before the end of the growing season;
- deterioration of resistance to low temperatures.
Diseases
Curling of leaves on strawberry bushes can occur due to the appearance of viral or infectious diseases. There are two common diseases that strawberries most often suffer from.
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a dangerous fungal disease that begins to affect garden crops in the first half of May. It is easy to identify the disease in a timely manner, since it is accompanied by pronounced symptoms. At first, shrubs affected by powdery mildew turn pale and do not grow upward. The youngest bushes immediately dry up and die.
The development of the disease is facilitated by an increased level of air humidity and a high temperature, which exceeds 25 degrees Celsius. In such conditions, the fungus infects plants and develops rapidly. If the temperature readings exceed 30 degrees Celsius, the pathogen of powdery mildew will die.
To prevent the development of fungal pathology, the bushes must be regularly sprayed with fungicides.
Viral diseases
Viral pathologies, due to which foliage curls into a tube, include:
- Mosaic. This pathology develops if non-disinfected seeds or already infected seedlings are planted in the soil. Due to the strawberry mosaic, the foliage becomes covered with a yellowish spot, over time it curls and begins to dry out.
- Mottling. A viral disease that spreads between plants with the help of aphids. Signs of the onset of the disease include the weakening of the ovaries, the absence of young whiskers on the bushes and light spots on the leaf plates.
- Rugosity. This pathology leads to necrotic spotting on the stems and curling of young foliage.
Insufficient soil moisture
Some gardeners poorly moisturize the soil in the area where strawberries are grown. This leads to the fact that the seedlings absorb nutrients worse, which is why their leaves curl.
In order for strawberry bushes to develop normally, they must be properly irrigated. Watering should be done at least four times a week in the evening or morning. At the same time, you cannot use cold water, since due to hypothermia of the soil, the berries can get sick with viral diseases.
Lack of nutrients in the soil
Common causes of foliage curling in planted horticultural crops include nutrient deficiencies in the soil.
Symptoms of micronutrient deficiencies appear if you rarely fertilize the soil. Most often, strawberries lack magnesium, which is needed for photosynthesis. Due to the deficiency of this substance, the leaves are repainted in a purple color and begin to deform.
To avoid this, a solution of magnesium sulfate is regularly added to the soil.
Overdose of chemicals
Sometimes gardeners, as a prevention of the appearance and development of diseases, treat bushes with chemicals. If you use these drugs too often, strawberries will weaken and will not be able to withstand some diseases. Therefore, before processing plants, you should familiarize yourself with the dosages of using chemicals.
How to eliminate curling strawberry leaves
Many are interested in how to process the bushes if the leaves of the strawberry curl. There are several effective remedies that combat twisting:
- Bordeaux liquid. The mixture is used to spray the stems and foliage of diseased bushes. To prepare an effective mixture on your own, 20-25 milliliters of Bordeaux liquid is added to a ten-liter container with heated water. Spraying is carried out in the late evening when there is no sun.
- Manganese solution. Manganese is considered an effective soil decontamination agent. It is used to get rid of pathogens that can lead to curling of leaves on strawberry bushes.
Prevention
So that the repairing strawberry bush does not suffer from twisting of the foliage, it is necessary to take care of the prevention of such a problem in advance.
To reduce the likelihood of folding the sheets, it is necessary to prepare the soil in advance where the berries will grow. Its acidity should not exceed 7 pH, since strawberries are often sick in acidic soils. Also, the soil is saturated with nutrients in advance so that the plants do not suffer from a deficiency of fertilizing.Gardeners recommend adding low-lying peat with coarse river sand to the soil.
Conclusion
Gardeners who have been cultivating strawberries for a long time sometimes encounter leaf folding. It is necessary to familiarize yourself in advance with the causes of deformation of the sheet plate and with the main methods for eliminating this problem.
