White spots on the leaves of tomatoes: causes and treatment

Many gardeners who are just starting to grow vegetables, naively suggest that the only evil that can happen to their tomatoes is late blight. Indeed, this is a very terrible disease, and it is extremely difficult to treat, but this is not the only misfortune waiting for valuable shoots. White spots on the leaves of tomatoes - serous competitor to numerous diseases and pests, destroying the aerial parts of tomato seedlings.

The tomato belongs to a number of capricious and demanding crops. In order for plants to develop well, they must receive an equal volume of heat, light, moisture and nutrients. Minimal disturbance - a jump in temperature, high humidity, too bright sun glow or draft can provoke stress in still weak plants, which will lead to deterioration of leaves: they lose turgor, become brighter, and sometimes white spots appear on them.

Spotting can be provoked by various factors, and it is not always harmless. Whiteness can appear on both the leaves of adults and young tomatoes (seedlings). The place of ripening also plays not the last role. The green mass may deteriorate in plants from the greenhouse and even among representatives grown in open ground. All plants, without exception, are equally susceptible to such an unpleasant phenomenon as white spots on the leaves, although, as practice and life experience of gardeners shows, most often plaques occur on greenhouse tomatoes.

Usually the lowermost leaves whiten the first, and then the trouble covers the whole plant. Initially, the spots are difficult to recognize, and with a careless examination and complete disregard for the plant breeder, they are well visualized and subsequently rather difficult to remove.

The shape and size of the plaques can be very different and depend on the cause of their occurrence.

Unusual modifications of tomato leaves - this is the first reason that signals gardeners that the future harvest is at risk. Having noticed any deviations from the norms stipulated by the variety, one should immediately seek a solution to get rid of trouble. However, before you start looking for a suitable treatment method, you need to know the cause of white spots.

Experienced gardeners know that whitish spots are evidence of one of two scenarios: either a sunburn or a bacterial infection.

The most innocent culprit in the formation of white spots on green shoots is sunburn. This situation is quite common among novice breeders, although experienced specialists sometimes sin. If a gardener with the aim of hardening the seedlings brought it out on the street and left it for a long time under direct sunlight, then the reason for the appearance of plaques most likely lies in this. Some might think that yellow and dry leaves are a sign of a burn, but this is not always the case. Light spots also indicate a burn.

Due to the influence of ultraviolet tomato leaves can turn white entirely. The burn spreads quickly along the leaf, and if the plant is not prithed, it can burn out.

The reason for the more serious nature of the formation of white spots is a bacterial disease. In nature, there are quite a lot of diseases that destroy vegetable crops. The most common in tomatoes is considered septoria. Both adults and young seedlings suffer from this disease. If off-white spots were visualized on the soil surface of the tomatoes, this means that the tomatoes are indeed sick with Septoria.

In the place where the unnatural mark appeared, the fungus quickly multiplies, which destroys not only the plant chosen by him, but also all his fellows growing nearby. The fungus spreads quickly along the bed, especially if conditions suitable for breeding occur on the street - high humidity combined with very sunny weather.

Mealy dew is another fungal disease, quite aggressive, so it is not only tomatoes that fear it, but also other vegetables that live near the affected plant. The main condition for the appearance of the causative mushroom is high humidity. The ambient temperature does not matter, maybe even + 30C. Initially, only the leaves are covered with white spots, then all other parts of the plant.The disease proceeds rapidly, in one day the whole tomato plant can die.

Whole plantations of tomatoes are ruined by a disease with a beautiful mosaic name. A distinctive feature - small colorful spots, among which are many whites.

The first symptoms in the form of white spots on the leaves cause a disease of vegetable crops - late blight. Non-natural color appears on the inside of the green mass. Then the fruits begin to change - an ugly brown peel appears on the skin of the tomatoes. The berry becomes hard, after a while it softens and eventually deteriorates.

Oedema or leaf swelling. It is not a disease, but can also trigger white spots. Due to excessive irrigation, especially at low temperatures, water droplets remain on the surface of the leaves, under which later on they first form transparent, and after white protuberances. In a small amount, they are viewed as white dots scattered on the sheet, but for large volumes it seems that the surface of the sheet is completely swollen.

White spots on the leaves and fruits of tomatoes can also appear due to the lack of such a trace element as boron in the soil. You can feed the plants with fertilizer.

Due to inexperience, some novice gardeners personally provoke the appearance of white spots on the sheets of their wards. The trouble is due to the wrong technology of processing chemicals. To overcome the pest (slugs, Colorado potato beetle, aphid, and the like), plant growers use special spraying agents, but having prepared an overly concentrated solution and treated them with green plantings, gardeners, to their horror, may notice white plaques on tomatoes.

Vegetable growers in recent years have seen the tendency that vegetables grown in greenhouse conditions are more susceptible to various diseases and other troubles. It is on such plants that white dry or silvery spots on the leaves often appear.

But also white spots on the leaf plates can occur due to the lack or excess of nutrients. For example, magnesium and zinc are indispensable elements in the formation of chlorophyll, they are involved in the process of photosynthesis. If there is a shortage of useful components, the above processes are disturbed, resulting in bright spots on the sheet plates.

An excessive amount of salts of potassium and sodium in the soil is also expressed in leaf spot. If a lot of organic matter (manure) was introduced into the soil, you can see a rainbow picture on vegetable crops. It is better to combine organic fertilizer with mineral fertilizer, but not to use one thing.

Distinguishing a leaf burn from damaging it with a dangerous infectious agent is quite simple. To do this, you need to carefully examine the tomato and remember the environmental conditions he lived in, and what kind of care he received. These conclusions will help determine the cause of the white bloom.

If the tomato seedlings show signs of a fungal disease, do not panic prematurely. Plants can be cured, of course, if all the signs were detected at an early stage of their formation.

Treatment must begin with trimming. It is necessary to cut off all diseased leaves. The instrument that will be used for this procedure must first be decontaminated: hold it over a fire or wash it with a soap solution / strong solution of potassium permanganate.

Live cuts should be sprinkled with ashes, crushed coal or process the same solution of potassium permanganate. Healthy tomatoes, as well as the ground beneath them, need to be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or another fungicide.

Concerning sunburn, there is also first aid. It is possible to help a burnt plant with special anti-stress agents, for example, Epin, Zircon, and succinic acid. They will increase the resistance of vegetable crops to negative environmental factors, will add strength to the tomato. Of course, burned leaves, even these drugs will not be able to return, because the burnt plant tissue is not restored.

Even the modern agrarian industry has not yet managed to find a fast-acting way of treating the affected tissues of vegetable crops. Very often, gardeners have to say goodbye to their plants, for which they could not keep track in time.

It is easier to carry out preventive measures than to treat plantation plantations for a long time and painfully. It is often necessary to loosen the soil and inspect the plants for infectious lesions, treat them with prophylactic drugs.

Many growers have their own method of planting and cultivating tomatoes in the garden. And thanks to this knowledge, they almost never have to deal with the problems of disease.

First of all, each plant grower selects the best place for planting. They should be quite lit area, but not in open areas, a bit shaded. Soil moisture should also be moderate.

If a plant from the first day of its stay on unprotected soil does not receive the necessary amount of light, it becomes sluggish. Subsequently, contact with the rays will bring still greater damage to unhardened foliage. Such trouble can be avoided by proper placement, namely, by planting tomato bushes closer to the shady part of the bed.

To preventive measures that help vegetable crops to avoid contact with the fungus, belong:

• seed treatment with a disinfector before planting in a nutrient medium;
• observance of the rules for planting - there should not be cramped beds, the plants should be ventilated;
• it is necessary to observe the mode of watering, the water should be warm;

• every three years you need to change the place where tomatoes will grow;
• after harvesting, it is necessary to burn dry tops and all plant residues, thus destroying the fungal spores;
• time to remove weeds in the garden - plants-parasites are carriers of fungal spores.

About what to do if the leaves of seedlings turn white, see the next video.