Why does tomato seedlings fade?

Tomatoes - probably the most expected vegetable of the summer season, which marks the advent of summer with its appearance. Perhaps there is not one such gardener who would not grow this fruit.Like many other crops, tomatoes can be exposed to various negative environmental factors, however, they are most discouraged when they begin to wilt at the seedling stage, when the conditions, it would seem, are already close to ideal.

In order not to lose the potential yield in the spring, you need to figure out why this may occur, and explore ways to counter the problem.

Tomatoes are among the most demanding garden crops, the reason for which is their origin from completely different climatic zones than those characteristic of most of our country. This crop is not exactly one of those that can be sown and forgotten about it until the harvest. It is necessary to follow the seedlings constantly - it will require the creation of specific growing conditions and constant care.

If you look exclusively from the outside, then almost all problems are manifested in the withering or even in the complete fall of the seedlings. Due to the abundance of possible causes, there is an urgent need to urgently diagnose the problem, otherwise, if you try everything in order, all the seedlings will die before finding a solution. For this reason, many farmers, at the first sign of mass decay of seedlings growing under the same conditions, are advised to immediately donate one of the plants, by pulling it out of the pot for a comprehensive assessment of its condition.

As already mentioned, there are many potential reasons for a tomato seedling to wither. Withered leaves of tomatoes are not a problem in themselves - they only point to the disadvantages of care, because in each case it is necessary to take completely different measures to save tomato seedlings. If the owner incorrectly determines the cause and struggles with a non-existent problem, the plant simply dies. To prevent this, you need to distinguish between different problems of tomatoes and know how to solve them.

Tomatoes do not like excess water, and therefore excessive watering or planting in wetlands is destructive for them. Due to the excessive abundance of moisture, the roots begin to rot, and the leaves turn yellow and later fall. A similar reason applies to those that can be guessed, but to be faithful, you can pull out one instance of a young plant and assess the state of the root system. If the fears are confirmed, they usually do not reduce watering, but improve drainage. Pots with seedlings on a mandatory basis must have holes made at the bottom to drain off excess water.

Tomatoes do not grow on any soil - they prefer neutral or slightly acidic soil. To bring the composition of the soil in the pot on the windowsill to the desired condition, preferably in advance, using special formulations sold in any store for gardeners and gardeners. If such preparation has not been performed, the plant will wither and soon disappear - all that remains is to transplant the seedlings into another soil, and as soon as possible. Fortunately, tomatoes usually survive a transplant normally.

Tomatoes are very picky also for the temperature at which the seedlings are comfortable - it should be from 18 to 22 degrees. It is enough for the temperature to drop to 15 degrees, and the root system will stop absorbing phosphorus, and when it is cooled down to 10 degrees, the nitrogen deficiency will also begin, and then no fertilizers and additional feeding will help. However, at home it is rarely so cold - the seedlings overheat more often than they overcool. Overheating has apparently obvious signs - the plant not only fades, but also dries out.

If at first everything was normal, but later the tip begins to wilt and falls, it is worthwhile to carefully examine the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot - perhaps they are clogged. This process occurs gradually, therefore the ground does not become “swamped” at once, therefore, there are no characteristic signs of over-irrigation. Holes are cleaned with a suitable size stick made from natural materials. At the same time the plant does not need to go anywhere - it can remain in the pot, which in this case should be carefully laid on its side. If there is no possibility to perform such a procedure immediately for some reason, one should at least stop watering until the problem is resolved.

If the problem is not being in a dark corner of a closed room, but rather a lack of truly sunny weather, the problem can be solved with the help of an artificial backlight - phyto lamps or daylight systems. Such devices are hung out about 7 centimeters above the tops of the seedlings.

Overly weak watering at gardeners is much less common than too abundant, but the tomato does not come from the desert, and therefore needs water, and regularly. This problem is diagnosed quite easily - the leaves wilt, the seedlings become unstable. If the soil in the pot is friable, and the whole bush has a root looking dry, then the problem lies in weak irrigation. In order not to lead to the opposite extreme, the dose of water in each irrigation is not increased, but their frequency increases. It should be noted that this problem is exacerbated in hot weather, and using a spray gun to spray the soil over the entire area of ​​the pot with small amounts of moisture can help counter it.

Each individual tomato seedling collects moisture and nutrients from that part of the soil that it does not share with anyone, therefore when the seedlings are too thick, a situation is possible when it is too drawn out, especially not branching, and because of this it withers and falls. If it becomes obvious to the gardener that the problem lies in excessively thick planting, you must either just donate less developed seedlings, or simply plant the grown plants in separate small dishes - for example, plastic cups or cut bottles of the same material.

In order to provoke a wider branching both outside and in the root system, the end of the root is desirable to be cut by about a third - then it will more actively use useful substances from the surrounding soil, without going into its depth.

Tomato seedlings are so sensitive that even small drafts for it are fraught with unpleasant consequences. The bottom line is that the passing air usually differs in temperature from what prevails in the room, so in a room with supposedly normal temperature, but next to the window or not the most reliable window, young tomatoes can be uncomfortable. As a result, the bushes wither, but the solution to the problem is obvious - the pots just need to be moved to another place or the window is closed to avoid drafts. It is considered that the window sill is not a good place to grow seedlings at all - it is better to put pots with it on the table or even directly on the floor.

Naturally, the seedlings will wilt in the event that the soil can not provide it with a sufficient number of useful trace elements. For example, with a lack of magnesium and other minerals, the lower leaves begin to turn yellow and wither.The problem is solved with the help of additional dressings, which must be balanced, providing young bushes with everything they need, especially with phosphorus and potassium.

Tomato seedlings may wither because the plant is sick with a fungal disease. For example, in case of fusarium, in addition to the already mentioned symptoms, there is a falling off of the leaves and protrusion of the brown veins on the roots. It is best to solve the problem by transplanting into a disinfected clay pot.

The name of the disease black leg speaks for itself - not only the leaves but also the stem fade, and the roots begin to rot, and here we cannot do without a weak aqueous solution of potassium permanganate (half a gram per 100 ml) or hydrogen peroxide (2 teaspoons).

One of the most common causes of wilting tomato seedlings is the lack of nutrients in the soil, in which young plants are planted. Many gardeners, even the average level of experience, do not know how to properly feed the plant, what to give and in what quantities. At the same time, in some cases, even a plant that already seems problematic can be saved - it is only necessary to correct it in time, having provided the necessary additional feeding. At the same time, many tomatoes grown in ordinary apartments on the window do not receive any additional feeding at all, therefore they do not grow to normal sizes.

For the normal development of the plant, it requires a number of useful substances:

• Phosphorus refers to the most important ingredients, because it is necessary to make it. To do this, 15 grams of potassium monophosphate is diluted in a bucket of water and the resulting liquid is poured over the seedlings in the same way as ordinary water.
• Potassium for the survival of the tomato bush is no less important, but it usually gets to the plant by other means. To obtain the appropriate fertilizer, a tablespoon of urea is diluted into a bucket of water — thanks to this composition, the soil can also be enriched with nitrogen. For this reason, you should not overdo it with top dressing, since an excess of nitrogen can harm no less than its deficiency.
• Increase magnesium concentration in the ground, you can use 15-20 grams of magnesium sulfate dissolved in a bucket of water.
• Zinc enters the soil due to zinc sulfate, which is diluted in a bucket of water in the amount of 5 grams.
• To feed tomatoes molybdenum ammonium molybdate is used, 10 grams of which is dissolved in a bucket of water.

In a sense, it is possible to call the prevention of Fusarium, for which chemicals such as Trichodermin or Falcon are introduced in advance, even before transplanting. The timeliness of such a “top dressing” is extremely important, since there is practically no fusarium treatment, and if the plant has already become infected with them, then there are practically no chances to save the bush, and healthy plants will have to be replanted to another pot and other soil.

At the same time, as already mentioned, excessive feeding for the plant can also be destructive. Excess nitrogen is a real danger, since this substance can burn the root. Outwardly, such a problem is very striking - the seedlings not only fade and fall, but can also be pulled up without branching, turn yellow, and be covered with white bloom.

In order for the seedlings to be healthy and not fade, you just need to follow the basic rules:

• seedlings are planted only in neutral and slightly acid soils, and if the land does not meet these requirements, it must first be prepared with special additives;
• tomatoes really need a bright light, even 12 hours a day will not be enough, because the sun should help artificial lighting;
• soil moistening should be done evenly and moderately, but often;
• it is desirable that the air was not humid - the soil can absorb excess moisture from it, and its temperature should not be too high or too low;
• when selecting dressings, one should focus on the prevailing amount of phosphorus compounds;
• If you water the tomato seedlings with iodine solution (one drop per three liters of water), you can achieve higher yields;
• Although tomato seedlings do not like drafts, it is desirable that the airing of the room is still provided on an ongoing basis.

In the next video you will learn about the main causes of seedling death.