Why leaves of cucumbers can turn yellow and how to treat them, how to process them
The main reason why the leaves of cucumbers turn yellow is the improper care of the vegetable. Also, the cause can be an invasion of pests, diseases or a lack of nutrients.
To help the plant and save the harvest, you need to correct the situation in time.
The main causes of the problem
The reason for the yellowing of the leaves on cucumbers is usually one of the following adverse factors:
- improper watering regime, both frequent and rare soil moisture is harmful;
- deficiency of nutrients, especially nitrogen;
- lowering the air temperature;
- hot weather or water getting on the leaves during watering on a hot day;
- fungal or viral disease;
- root damage during transplantation or insect pests.
Why not all cucumber leaves turn yellow, but only some? If the lower leaves turn yellow, then the following problems should be excluded:
- poor access of light to the base of the plant;
- excessive or insufficient watering;
- use for irrigation of cold water;
- cold climate;
- lack of trace elements;
- diseases caused by fungi, viruses or bacteria.
If the tips of the leaves turn yellow, this may be due to the following adverse factors:
- infection with a fungal disease (powdery mildew is common);
- dry summer, without sufficient watering;
- if the leaves turn yellow at the edges, you need to make up for the lack of potassium.
When the leaves turn yellow, the situation most often signals a problem, so you need to take action.
Dealing with the problem
Why cucumber leaves can turn yellow in the open field is associated with both natural adverse events and errors in courting.
The cultivation of a vegetable crop should be carried out in an area with favorable conditions. In insufficient light, the leaves begin to turn yellow at the base. When the cucumber stems grow, light may not be able to reach the inner green part of the plant. In this case, the problem for the crop does not pose any danger. You can simply cut off the bad leaves so that they do not take away extra strength from the vegetable.
If a place has been chosen for planting cucumbers, where its rays come from sunrise to sunset, a burn may occur. Not only the leaves turn yellow, but also the ovaries. Therefore, you need to choose a place where in one half of the day there is a shadow on the site.
Agricultural technicians give advice: "Plant cucumbers where the sun shines only until lunchtime."
A common reason why cucumber leaves turn yellow is an unfavorable summer. When the summer is hot and watering is sparse, the roots of the plant begin to creep up to the topsoil. As a result, not only the root, but also the leafy part becomes yellowish.If, on the contrary, the summer is rainy or water flows in excess to each root, they begin to rot and the leaves turn yellow.
Sometimes the leaves of cucumbers in the open field begin to hurt with ascochitis. The disease spreads during the period of fruit formation. Yellow-brown spots appear on the plant, the leaves dry and curl around the edges.
If the leaves begin to turn yellow immediately after planting, the appearance of pests must be excluded. The most common unwanted guests in a cucumber garden are aphids or spider mites. Insects feed on the juice of juicy greens. The veins turn yellow and the tips dry out.
In case of mass invasion of pests, insecticides (Photosporin, Iskra) will help. If the scale is not too large, you can try compositions on a natural basis (infusion of celandine, a solution of wood ash and laundry soap).
Fungal diseases such as fusarium and pityosis can be recognized by small yellow-brown spots on the leaves. As the disease spreads, the entire leaf area will turn dark yellow. Protective spray compounds should be used especially when there are sharp fluctuations in air temperature, for example, after a strong heat, it rains.
Cucumbers are very susceptible to putrefactive diseases. White rot affects the shoots and young fruits of the plant. The problem can be recognized by a white bloom, which is why the stem is damaged and the supply of useful components stops, the leaves turn yellow and dry out.
How to feed, if the leaves of cucumbers turn yellow, is determined by external signs. The deficiency of nutrients in the soil can be recognized by the following signs. The fact that there is not enough magnesium or potassium is evidenced by yellowed leaves at the edges, while they dry and curl up.
Yellowish leaves with green veins appear with a deficiency of manganese and iron. If only the upper leaves turned yellow, and the lower ones remained green, then the plant should be fed with components rich in copper.
Another reason why foliage turns yellow is aging. At the end of the growing season, when flowers and ovaries have already ceased to appear, the leaves and tops begin to coarse, turn yellow and dry. Usually by this time the main crop of cucumbers has already been harvested. If you want to extend the fruiting period, then you should use special fertilizers.
Preventive actions
To prevent cucumber leaves from turning yellow, preventive measures should be taken.
- The cucumber patch should not be planted in the same place every year, nor should it be planted where pumpkin or squash was previously harvested.
- Be sure to follow the watering rules. Watering is necessary only in the morning or evening hours. Especially often it is necessary to water the plant during the formation of flowers and fruits, every two days, or even more often if the weather is hot and without rain.
- If cold snaps are predicted, cover the plants with foil.
- Complex fertilizers should be applied regularly. Gardeners recommend: “Feed the plant three times during the entire development period. More frequent fertilization is necessary in cold weather and the season of mass spread of diseases. "
- It is recommended to process seeds, seedlings, young shoots from diseases and pests. In time you need to tear off diseased leaves and use a means to destroy the enemies that have appeared.
If you can't water the plant in a timely manner, mulching can come to the rescue. Straw, peat, sawdust are suitable as mulch. The layer will slow down the evaporation of moisture from the soil, warm it up in cold weather, prevent weeds and reduce the risk of pests.
Saving actions
The choice of how to water cucumbers so that the leaves do not turn yellow can be stopped with purchased preparations. What to do if cucumbers have yellow foliage? Treatment should be taken as soon as yellowing appears.Folk remedies will also help to come to the rescue. In order to prevent the problem or quickly get rid of it, several recipes will help how to process cucumbers so that the leaves do not turn yellow.
- Milk composition with soap can prevent yellowing of the leaves. A liter of milk, soap shavings and a few drops of iodine are added to a bucket of water. Processing is carried out every 12 days. Many people use such a composition: “The first time you can apply the composition when the first leaves appear on young sprouts. As soon as you spray the plant, the problem starts to disappear. "
- It is recommended to treat the plant from yellow leaves with an infusion on onion peels. In addition, the composition will enrich the soil with nutrients and repel many pests. Onion peels are poured with hot water and put on fire until boiling. Then the liquid is left to infuse for 12 hours. The resulting solution is filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 4. The composition can be sprayed on the leaves and watered at the root.
- A solution of potassium permanganate is used at the first manifestations of yellowing of cucumber leaves. Positive reviews about this solution can be found everywhere: “I process not only adult plants with potassium permanganate, but also seeds before planting. I select only large and dense seeds for sowing. "
- To make the leaves turn green again, you can use herbal infusion. The ideal option is nettle, which will enrich the soil with iron, potassium, magnesium. Crushed grass stalks are poured with water and left to ferment for several days. Soap shavings are added to the finished solution and the vegetable beds are watered.
- What else can you spray the beds with? To prevent fungal diseases, it is useful to spray the plant with a soda solution. Add 30 g of soda to a large bucket of water. Watering is advisable in early summer.
- You can pour the ash with water and leave to infuse for a week. Before watering, the concentrate must be diluted with water. You can mix it with other ingredients, or just sprinkle the topsoil, only after that you need to water it.
The reason for the yellowing of leaves in cucumbers is often a lack of trace elements. Throughout the growing season, it is recommended to make at least three dressings. When the leaves on cucumbers turn yellow, it is useful to feed by spraying the ground part of the plant.
How to feed cucumbers to avoid problems with growing vegetables and get a rich harvest? The first top dressing should be applied when the leaves begin to unfold. The second top dressing is applied as soon as the third leaf appears. You can use organic or mineral fertilizers.
Vegetable growers prefer to fertilize with mullein at all stages of vegetable development. Manure is poured with water (1: 5) and left to infuse for 5-6 days. During this time, the nitrogen will grind and become absolutely harmless to the cucumber. To increase efficiency, wood ash can be added to the solution.
It is useful to feed from bird droppings. Useful as dry droppings, or prepare an infusion. Poultry droppings filled with water are insisted for about 1.5 weeks. Such a solution is especially useful during the rapid formation of ovaries. Before watering, the solution is diluted with water again.
If the leaves turn yellow, a recipe based on dry or live yeast is suitable. Yeast solution strengthens the root system, activates the activity of beneficial bacteria in the soil, and increases productivity. Once a week, it is useful to spray on the plants or water the prepared solution with a watering can. The leaves will stop turning yellow, and the cucumbers will be smooth and juicy.
You can spray the cucumbers with purchased drugs. The instruction will help you choose which one is best suited. Ovary, Pollen, Health, Good power helps to get rid of yellowness. These preparations increase the resistance of plants to diseases, repel pests, saturate the soil with nutrients.
