Dry leaves in tomato seedlings: why is this happening and how to fight?

Tomatoes are one of the most common crops in cottages and household plots. In general, with proper care, tomatoes are pleased with high yields.However, in some cases not to avoid problems, for example, drying leaves.

The causes of leaf drying in tomato seedlings can be many, but all of them can be attributed to one of the groups:

• improper care;
• disease affliction;
• insect pest attack.

Treatment of tomatoes should begin with the diagnosis and search for the causes of drying leaves. Otherwise, you can exacerbate the situation and achieve not only the death of the bush, but also infection of the remaining seedlings.

Most diseases can be avoided by disinfecting the seeds and strengthening the immunity of seedlings. As scientific studies show, up to 80% of diseases of adult plants can be avoided with proper preparation of seeds and soil for planting.

Despite the fact that many modern varieties, primarily hybrid ones, differ in their relatively noncaptitious nature, the "magic" method of treatment of tomatoes does not exist from all diseases. This once again confirms the idea that you first need to find the cause of leaf drying out, and then proceed to treatment.

Regardless of the cause of the disease, if it is impossible to cope with it, it is much more rational to remove the damaged bush. This will prevent infection of the remaining seedlings.

Tomatoes are more susceptible to the development of fungal diseases. The most characteristic diseases of tomatoes, in which there is their full or partial drying are several ailments.

• Fusarium wilt, in which the entire bush quickly dries and dies. It looks like the plant hasn't been watered for a long time.
• Septoria, which is characterized by the appearance of gray-brown spots on the leaves with a dark drying edge.

• Late blight, the “clinical picture” of which is the desiccation and folding of leaflets.
• Brown spotting begins with the appearance of brown spots on the lower leaves. Spots gradually increase in size, covering the entire sheet. Spots darken and dry.
• Tobacco mosaic, in which the bush’s head first dries, and then turns brown and dries, leaves fall.

Fungal diseases are quite difficult to treat, but they are not difficult to prevent. Usually, the fungus appears at elevated temperatures and air humidity. It follows that moderate watering and ventilation is one of the keys to preventing the development of fungus.

It is important to follow the rules of planting seedlings. For 1 m2, when planting in a greenhouse or ground, it can hold no more than 4-6 bushes. Moreover, the spreading plants are planted at a greater distance from each other (at least 60-70 cm between the holes), and determinant varieties can be planted more closely.

In pursuit of space saving, if the planting is too tight, the humidity between the bushes increases, which leads to the appearance of fungus. In addition, the light in such "thickets" comes unevenly, which affects the fruiting and ripening of the crop. Finally, it is inconvenient to care for bushes planted in heaps.

If there are signs of phytophthora bushes before formation of the ovaries, it is recommended to treat with “Oxyhom” or “Home”. These drugs are suitable for prophylactic treatment. If late blight struck the bushes during flowering, it is better to use less effective, but safer remedy "Fitosporin."

Among the most common pests are aphids and mites, which pull nutrients out of the plant. The lack of the latter leads to the fact that the tips and then the leaves dry out completely, the bush dies.

As a preventive measure, tomatoes can be sprayed with a 2% lime mixture, and when grown in a greenhouse, fumigated with sulfur checker. For the treatment of affected bushes is better to use suitable insecticides.

One of the reasons for the appearance of dry leaves in tomatoes is excessively dry air in the room. This is a common problem when seedlings are grown on a windowsill or when using climate devices (heaters, air conditioners).

Determine how relevant this situation helps hygrometer. If the instrument indicates that the air humidity is 40% or less, measures should be taken urgently to increase this value.

This can be done in several ways.

• Irrigation of air around the seedlings. For these purposes, suitable spray and water at room temperature. Spray should not be directed at the bush itself, but around it. Repeating these manipulations is recommended several times throughout the day.

• If the main cause of dry air is working radiators, you can put water containers near them. In this way, you will contribute to the evaporation of moist air. It is recommended to choose a large volume container with a wide neck.
• Installing a humidifier is one of the easiest and most reliable ways to adjust humidity. The advantage of this method is that it will prove to be efficient and will provide an opportunity to independently select the required moisture value. The important point - do not install the device in close proximity to the tomato seedlings.

Improper care can be associated with a lack of moisture, which also causes the appearance of seedlings of yellow leaves. First of all, you should make sure that there is a shortage of moisture. To do this, you need to analyze the condition of the soil - if the top layer is dry, the soil is lumpy, crusted or cracked, probably moisture is really not enough.

Now you need to make sure that it is not enough in the lower layers. To do this, dry wooden stick should be lowered to a depth of 10 cm, trying not to damage the roots of tomatoes. If the stick is dry, then there is a shortage of water. If it is contaminated, then it makes sense to replace the top layer of soil.

• Adjust the irrigation schedule - for this culture requires abundant, but rather rare irrigation, while 1-2 times a week will be enough. On hot sunny days, you can make it more frequent, in cloudy and damp weather - rare.
• Young fragile bushes, on the contrary, are watered daily, in small portions. Their underdeveloped root system is not ready for a large volume of fluid, they do not absorb it, which will cause stagnant moisture. Frequent and gentle watering can be saved until the formation of the first buds.
• Watering, you need to keep the container with water closer to the roots, not allowing the liquid on the stems and leaves and leaking it far from the roots.
• The root system of tomatoes practically does not absorb cold water. If you water the seedlings with such water, it is first warmed in the ground, while tomatoes suffer from a lack of moisture. If the situation repeats often, do not avoid stagnant moisture in the soil, which can cause plant diseases.

Another characteristic pattern with improper watering is the drying leaves in combination with rotting roots. This happens just when there is an excess of moisture, which the plant for some reason is not able to absorb. One of the reasons is already indicated - too cold water for irrigation. The optimum liquid temperature should be at least + 20 ... 22С.

However, in this case, to establish a mode of irrigation is not enough, you need to treat the plant. It is recommended to remove it from the ground and inspect the roots. If some of them have rotted, it should be cut off to healthy rhizomes.Otherwise, the plant will continue to languish and eventually die.

After that, it is recommended to renew the soil, necessarily organizing a drainage layer at the bottom of the tank and introducing 1 part of sand into the soil into 2 parts of humus and sod land.

Excessive application of mineral supplements is also fraught with yellowing and drying of the leaves. As a rule, a large number of minerals indicates the appearance of white and yellow patches on the surface of the soil.

If you do not overdo it with fertilizers, remember how much water you water the tomatoes. If the liquid from the tap, then the likelihood of excessive salinity is also high. In tap water the content of magnesium, chlorine, iron is exceeded. Water the tomatoes need filtered or settled water.

You can save the seedlings by removing the top layer of the earth by about 1 cm. Instead, you need to lay a new soil, after having previously disinfected it with a solution of potassium permanganate. In addition, it is important to adjust the irrigation scheme, for 2-2.5 weeks to refuse to apply fertilizer.

If the leaves are not only dry and showered, but also significantly brightened, and the emerging new leaves are too small - most likely, the tomatoes lack minerals. As a rule, such a pattern is typical with a lack of nitrogenous supplements.

In order to prepare the latter, it is necessary to pour one part of the litter with two parts of water and insist the resulting solution for 3 days. After this time, mix and filter the composition, dilute with clean water in a ratio of 1:20. Water it with a top dressing, keeping proportions, since the plant will get burned with a high concentration of substances.

Nitrogenous fertilizers allow the roots to grow as well as green mass. They do not need seedlings during flowering and fruiting.

If the leaves not only turn yellow and dry, but also turn inwards, this may indicate potassium deficiency. To remedy the situation will allow the introduction of special fertilizers or solutions based on ash. For this, a tablespoon of ash is poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for 24 hours. The mixture is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5 and used for irrigation.

When growing tomatoes, it is also important to provide a suitable light mode. The lack of light causes drying of cotyledonary and lower leaves, while the appearance of whitish spots on the leaves, which gradually dry up, indicates excessively aggressive solar exposure. Such spots are nothing but sunburn.

Casting dry, the plant fades with a lack of heat. We must not forget that tomatoes are southern plants, and even frost-resistant varieties die at a temperature of 0 ... + 5C. When the temperature drops to + 10 ° C, color drops and disturbance of biochemical processes occurs. The optimum temperature for growing a crop is + 22 ... 25С.

It is important that the temperature of the soil be quite high. If you plant seedlings in cold soil, it can begin to wither and dry, wither. But even if this does not happen, planting in cold soil is fraught with a decrease in yield, a delayed fruiting. The optimum is the temperature of the soil within + 14 ... + 16C.

To prevent infection of seedlings and, as a result, the drying of leaves, allow simple preventive measures.

• Soil before planting, as well as containers for cultivation, should be disinfected. The easiest way to do this is with a solution of potassium permanganate. The soil can also be calcined at a temperature of 200C in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

• It is not necessary to use for the seedlings the same soil on which potatoes, peppers, eggplants grew in the last 1-3 years.In this case, there is a high probability that spores of pathogens characteristic of the nightshade will remain in the ground.
• It is important to ensure the proper care of the tomatoes - abundant, but infrequent watering, loosening the soil after each watering.

If in your region solanaceous crops are often exposed to late blight infection, it is recommended to choose early-maturing varieties for planting. As a rule, at the time of occurrence of the "epidemic" phytophtoras, a crop has time to form on such tomatoes.

While the seedlings are small, it is recommended to water it by the drip method. At home, this technology is easy to implement using a medical pear. It is enough to take water into it and lower the nose of the pear between the wall of the pot or the box and the earthy clod, and then release the water. With this method, it will be possible to avoid overwetting the earth, the main thing is that a gentle seedling will not be washed away by the flow of water.

When growing seedlings in a greenhouse, it is important to remember that in the morning in hot sunny weather the temperature here reaches above + 30 ... 35C, which can lead to drying out of seedlings and burn leaves.

To reduce the temperature by organizing airing and, if time of day allows, abundant watering of plants. In this way, you can reduce the temperature by 8-12C.

Experienced gardeners advise to build greenhouses with a height of at least 1.5-2 m, and also to make them more spacious. In such structures, overheating of the air is less possible. Preferred materials are glass or polycarbonate. But polyethylene contributes to the formation of an unhealthy greenhouse effect (high temperature and humidity), and is also easily damaged.

See why the tomato seedlings turn yellow and dry in the next video.