Vegetable growers quite often encounter the phenomenon of yellowing and falling of zucchini leaves. Biological scientists give recommendations on how to combat and eliminate this problem. But in order to know which method to use, it is necessary to establish the reason why the leaves of zucchini turn yellow in open ground.
Greens on a vegetable crop always act as an indicator of its health.So, if the leaves on zucchini curl, darken, turn yellow or even fall off, the plant is signaling that it needs urgent help.
Improper watering of garden crops
One of the important stages in growing any garden crop is watering. When performing the procedure, a number of rules should be followed:
- For irrigation, use only settled water.
- Irrigation should be carried out in the morning or evening. It is important to keep water off the greens. If this happens, the sun's rays burn the leaves, as a result they curl and fall off the zucchini.
- Leaves often dry out due to lack of moisture in the soil. Watering must be timely and regular. The amount of irrigation must be determined based on the condition of the soil. It is important to prevent cracks from occurring on the surface of the earth. This harms the bush's horse system. Stagnation of moisture in the soil is also harmful. Excessive dampness causes the leaves to become covered with yellow spots and dry out.
The condition of the plant depends on watering and weeding; when watering, you should try not to get it on the inflorescences and not to flood the bushes from above with water. This is one of the most important conditions when growing zucchini. You need to weed the beds in a timely manner, preventing the grass from depleting the soil in the garden. Gardeners mulch the holes with sawdust or dry straw. The procedure allows you to keep the soil in proper condition and prevent cracking of the soil.
Zucchini seedling leaves turn yellow
Growing zucchini seedlings is important. Young shoots are sensitive and can be easily damaged due to improper care or lack of useful minerals in the soil.
The main reasons why the tops of seedlings wither or turn yellow:
- If yellow leaves appear, the reason may lie in a lack of nitrogen in the soil. This factor can be determined by a specific distortion of foliage shapes. The leaf first turns yellow at the edges, then it becomes deformed and falls off. The situation can be corrected by adding nitrogen fertilizers to the soil. Products are purchased in specialized stores. For seedlings, it is best to use water-soluble preparations. A solution is prepared from them and the shoots are watered.
- Often, leaves of a young plant turn yellow and fall off prematurely due to a lack of nutrients in the soil. Nutrient soil can be purchased at the store or prepared yourself. To do this, you need to take peat, coarse river sand and turf soil. All ingredients are taken in equal parts and mixed well. It is recommended to periodically feed the seedlings with complex mineral fertilizers. This will allow the young shoots to form a correct root system and strengthen immunity to various fungi.
- Gardeners water the seedlings with a spray bottle or through a sieve. The main thing is to direct the water to the ground and not to the foliage. Remaining moisture on the leaves can lead to the appearance of various fungi or pests.
Tender and young seedlings require special careful care. Therefore, it is important at this stage of agricultural technology to strictly adhere to the rules and requirements for plant care.
Why do zucchini fruits turn yellow?
Gardeners often encounter this problem when already ripe vegetables turn yellow. There may be several factors contributing to the problem.
The most common cause of this phenomenon is excess moisture in the soil. It is important to water properly and monitor the condition of the soil. Large fruits may fall to the ground due to their heavy weight.Constantly being in dampness, they are affected by various fungi, as a result, the fruits turn yellow and deteriorate. It is important not to over-moisten the soil. If this happens, you can correct the situation by adding dry sawdust, sand or freshly cut grass to the hole.
Depleted soil cannot provide the necessary nutrients to the bushes. The plant, having exhausted all its strength at the stage of fruit ripening, begins to die. The first sign may be wilting and darkening of the fruit. To prevent this from happening, the beds need to be well fertilized before planting. Zucchini absorbs organic matter well, so humus or manure is added to the soil.
Sometimes the cause of yellow zucchini may be untimely harvesting. If the fruits are kept on the plant, over time their peel will change color from light green to milky yellow. Such zucchini loses its juiciness. Their skin becomes rough and tough, and the seeds increase in size. The crop must be harvested on time to preserve its taste.
Damage to leaves by downy mildew
Fungi and viruses that infect the plant can lead to damage to the greenery on the bushes. A common reason leading to this phenomenon is infection of zucchini with powdery mildew. In order to detect this fungus in time, you need to know its main signs.
A characteristic manifestation of the disease is the presence of a yellow coating on the stems and the inside of the leaves. The infection quickly spreads throughout the beds and leads to damage to the bushes.
When small spots and yellow spots appear on the leaves of zucchini, it is necessary to urgently treat the affected plant. Damaged greenery is removed along with the branches. If the fungus has spread to the entire bush, then it is better to completely remove it from the garden.In the fight against downy mildew, Bordeaux mixture is used. Experienced gardeners recommend spraying with copper oxychloride.
The fungus occurs due to stagnation of moisture and dampness in the soil. The infection often spreads during prolonged rainy weather. To avoid infection, gardeners feed vegetables in their beds, feed the zucchini, if the leaves are already turning yellow, it is also advisable. To do this, you need to use nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. Copper, iron and phosphorus strengthen the plant's immunity well.
It is better to say goodbye to leaves that have turned yellow from various viruses or fungi right away. They are removed from the bushes and burned. It is unacceptable to use contaminated greens for compost. You cannot leave it on the site.
Treatment of plants should be carried out immediately after cleaning the bushes. The solution is prepared immediately before use. Spraying is carried out in the morning, in calm weather. If preventive treatments are not carried out, diseases begin to develop: powdery mildew, downy mildew or chlorosis.
Appears powdery mildew on zucchini Often, seedlings suffer first. Weak sprouts cannot resist various infections. Therefore, young plants are kept in a separate room.
If they grow in the same greenhouse with adult bushes, then all plants need to be treated at the same time. Copper sulfate is well suited for both preventive measures and the fight against fungus.
Why are zucchini bitter?
The vegetable has excellent taste. It has just the right amount of sweetness, spice and juiciness. Ripe zucchini has a characteristic aroma. It vaguely resembles the smell of melon, cucumber or watermelon.
It also happens that the taste of fruits can deteriorate, in particular, bitterness appears.It is worth addressing this problem immediately; care recommendations are the main means of correcting the situation.
Improper watering affects the taste of the fruit. Lack of moisture in the soil and prolonged drought lead to the appearance of a bitter taste in zucchini. You need to water the beds regularly, but make sure that the water does not stagnate in the holes.
The resulting lack of nutrients can cause the taste of the fruit to deteriorate. Vegetable crops need regular fertilization with nitrogen preparations and complex products intended for melons, watermelons and cucumbers.
When growing a popular vegetable, it is important to properly care for the plant. Proper watering and fertilizing have a great influence on the taste and quality of the future harvest.
Methods to combat yellowness
It is important to initially determine the main cause of the problem and only then select the appropriate way to deal with it.
The appearance of yellowness at the seedling stage can be caused by a lack of sunlight or poor soil. An experienced gardener fights effectively at this stage; this must be dealt with by eliminating the factors leading to the problem: the seedlings are removed from a dark place, but not exposed to direct sunlight. The soil is fed with mineral fertilizers once a week. Before planting seedlings in the beds, the soil is well fertilized with organic matter, so humus must be added to the hole.
You can also use folk remedies: yellowing is prevented by spraying young seedlings with milk and iodine.
The plant at any stage of its growth needs feeding. Zucchini responds well to nitrogen, copper, potassium and phosphorus.
Prevention measures
It is best to prevent the greens from becoming yellow or dry.Preventative measures will help prevent this phenomenon.
Nutritious soil and fertilizers have different effects on the growth of vegetable crops. It is necessary to select mineral fertilizers wisely. It is best to immediately purchase a complex preparation that is well suited for both seedlings and adult bushes.
Feeding the shoots should be done at least once a week. At the stage of active growth and formation of the root system, it is best to use nitrogen and potassium preparations.
Advice from an experienced gardener
Experienced gardeners give the following tips for growing zucchini:
- It is important to water the plant on time.
- Cold water should not be used for irrigation.
- The land is prepared before planting. To do this, add manure to the soil in the garden; organic fertilizers have a beneficial effect on the quality of the fruit.
The squash crop is delicate and requires proper agricultural technology. If you do everything competently and professionally, you can reap quite a rich harvest. One zucchini bush produces more than 10 kg of fruit over the summer.
Common causes of spoilage of zucchini leaves are improper care, depleted soil in the beds, the appearance of fungi or harmful insects, as well as improper fertilizing with minerals. To correct the current situation, it is recommended to establish the root cause. The plant will stop suffering and its leaves will stop turning yellow.
