Why beet leaves turn red and what needs to be done
Leaf discoloration of vegetable crops is often indicative of illness or poor growing conditions. Having figured out why the leaves of the beets turn red, what to do in such a situation, you can avoid problems with the future harvest.
About growing beets
The plant is not a difficult crop to care for. Seedlings of beets of any variety, within a couple of months after planting, give a bountiful harvest of root crops with a minimum of fertilizer use. Loamy soils are a suitable option for growing vegetables.
You can plant a crop simply in dry and heated soil. Beet seeds can have not 1, but several embryos, so thinning done on time is a guarantee that young shoots will not interfere with each other's growth.
Seedling growth can slow down or stop altogether with strong temperature fluctuations, which will negatively affect the future harvest. Before you spend beet transplant in open ground, the soil should be watered abundantly.
The culture should be planted at a distance equal to the diameter of the future root crop, which is supposed to be grown. Harvesting should be done when the formed vegetable reaches the required size, the leaves coarsen, and the skin is tough. Harvesting beets from the garden ahead of schedule will lead to poor preservation of root crops and a deterioration in their taste.
The culture is not afraid of many diseases inherent in other vegetables, and its seedlings are more resistant to pests. You can also forget about weed control - she is not afraid of them.
Growing beets is a fairly simple process. Culture is not afraid of anything, it is not afraid of anything. But a healthy plant is purple, if the beets acquire a reddish tint of the leaves, then this can signal problems.
Causes of leaf color change
When red leaves appear on beets, you should carefully understand the reasons for this phenomenon. The tops can not only turn red, but also become yellow, purple, brownish or gray. All the negative environment that negatively affects the growth of the plant can manifest itself in a change in the color of the leaves. Reddening of the leaves of some beet varieties maybe due to excessive irrigation.
There is only one criterion for identifying problems - if there are no delays or lag in growth, then everything is fine; if a slowdown or a stop in development is evident, then an urgent need to look for why there is a change in the color of the tops.
Why beet leaves turn red: what to do
There may be several reasons why beet leaves turn red.
The most common factor is soil acidity. Soils with a neutral indicator are suitable for a vegetable. To determine the acidity level of the soil, litmus paper is used. A method using baking soda and vinegar concentrate is also suitable. If the soil is acidic, it is neutralized with wood ash.
Another reason for a color change can be a lack of chemical elements necessary for nutrition and growth. Deficiency of sodium, potassium or phosphorus leads to reddening of beet leaves. The lack of each of the elements has its own characteristic manifestations. Periodic dressings with missing elements will eliminate their deficit.
The most difficult problem is a fungal disease called cercosporosis. Dealing with it is not so easy. Symptoms of the disease: covering of the tops with dry maroon with a brown tinge spots (which eventually turn into holes), as well as reddening of the edges of the leaves with the formation of a border.
Mycosis, most often attacking from mid-July or August, can easily destroy half of the crop. The main thing is to immediately take measures to save the plants.
You can dig up the soil 20 cm. This will kill the fungus. In addition, it is recommended to spray every week. Funds that contain copper are suitable. You can use potato, Bordeaux mixture and other preparations.
One must not forget to thoroughly clean the beds from the remnants of grown crops after harvesting.
If the plant and leaves are covered and covered with spots, it is necessary to treat; the culture became covered with bubbles and covered with red spots - experienced gardeners advise not to worry and calmly figure out why this happened in order to quickly solve the problem that arose.
Causes of yellowing leaves
It happens that the beet leaves change color to yellow. The most common cause of this phenomenon is lack of moisture. If the yellow color of the leaves begins at the veins and gradually reaches the edges, then the matter is most likely in nitrogen deficiency. Fertilizing the soil with an aqueous solution of cow or poultry manure will help solve the problem.
How to help beets
Depending on the reasons for the change in the color of the tops, you need to act in order to save most of the future crop. In one case, feeding and watering will help; watering the plant with drugs against fungus and pests will be enough in another.
Lack of sodium
Since a lack of sodium also leads to reddening of the tops, treatment with saline will increase the content of this element in the soil. Ordinary kitchen salt is suitable, which must be diluted with water in a proportion of 250 g per bucket of water.
Manganese and sodium deficiencies are a common cause of beet leaves turning red. It is enough to replenish these batteries to fix the problem.
Phosphorus and potassium
Reddening of the leaves of beets can also be associated with a deficiency of other trace elements. Phosphorus is an essential element for normal plant growth. With its lack, the leaves darken, become dull and then turn red.
This problem is more difficult to cope with, however, with the help of appropriate feeding, the situation can be improved. An excellent option would be to use superphosphate.
In addition to redness, a symptom of potassium deficiency is leaf curling. It is necessary to fertilize with preparations containing potassium, and processing with wood ash.
You can fix the situation. The main thing is to observe the dosage correctly.
Soil acidity
Beets are best cultivated on fertilized soils with neutral acidity. If it turns out that its level at the site is increased, the acidic soil must be calcified.
Wood ash can be used to neutralize the soil, which will not only reduce acidity, but also help the beets grow and develop.
How to grow beautiful beets?
The process of growing a vegetable, like any other crop, has its own characteristics. In order to get a good harvest, you need to follow the proper rules of care and be attentive and diligent at every stage; regularly water and feed.
At the same time, the fertilizer consumption should be such as to provide the beets with the required amount of the necessary microelements. Taking care of young and immature plants will bear fruit in the future when harvesting.
I also had this problem with beets, recently started using BioGrow - a bioactivator of plant growth, we will wait for positive results from him, he is usually praised, let's see!