Cucumber is a rather delicate plant that immediately begins to react to improper care, temperature changes or unsuitable soil. This is why many vegetable growers are faced with a problem when cucumber leaves turn yellow at the edges. Having discovered the first signs of such changes on the bushes, it is necessary to immediately begin treating the cucumbers.
Why do the leaves turn yellow?
Before you start dealing with yellowing of cucumber leaves, you need to familiarize yourself with the main causes of this problem.
Temperature changes
Quite often, yellow spots appear on the leaves of cucumbers due to the fact that the bushes are grown in conditions of unstable temperatures. Cucumbers love warmth and therefore, due to sudden changes in temperature, not only can the edges of the leaves of cucumbers turn yellow, but their growth can also stop.
When growing seedlings in a greenhouse, you need to carefully monitor the room temperature. It should not be too high, as this activates the development of bacteria and leads to rotting of the roots.
Unsuitable growing area
Sometimes the leaves of cucumbers begin to change color due to an unsuitable place for growing vegetables. To ensure that cucumbers do not have any diseases, you need to choose areas with good lighting for their cultivation. However, this plant also needs shade. Therefore, you need to choose a place in the garden that is partially shaded so that the cucumbers do not get too hot and their leaves do not turn yellow.
Lack of nutritional components
It is known that cucumbers are demanding on the soil and therefore if there is insufficient amount of nutrients in it, then the cucumber leaves turn yellow and dry out. Most often, this problem appears due to a lack of nitrogen fertilizers. With a lack of nitrogen, the lower leaves begin to turn yellow and the fruits begin to curl.
When the above signs appear, 3-4 buckets of last year’s manure should be added to the soil. You should not add too much manure to the soil, as this can lead to the death of the plant.
Watering
Some vegetable growers attribute the appearance of a yellow coating on the leaves to improper watering. Most often, the edges of cucumber leaves turn yellow due to insufficient moisture in the summer. However, sometimes this problem occurs due to improper watering regime. After all, many people prefer to water their vegetables little by little.In this case, there simply will not be enough liquid to penetrate into the deep layer of soil where the roots of the cucumbers are located. This leads to depletion of the root system and the gradual appearance of yellow spots on the leaves on the cucumbers.
Powdery mildew
Sometimes the plant turns yellow after powdery mildew appears. It is quite simple to determine this disease in cucumbers. First, white spots appear on the lower leaves of the cucumbers. After a week, the disease gradually spreads to the leaves located in the upper part of the bush. First, their edges begin to turn yellow, and then the leaves dry out. If powdery mildew is not treated promptly, all the leaves will fall off and the plant will die.
You can get rid of the disease with the help of drugs Zaslon or Topaz. They are recommended to be used before the first fruits form on the bushes.
Fusarium
Another reason why a yellow border appears on the leaves is fusarium. Because of this fungal disease, all plant capillaries are blocked, which makes it difficult for nutrients to reach the leaves. In most cases, even timely treatment of the disease does not help to save the infected bushes, and they die. Therefore, it is recommended to get rid of bushes that are starting to turn yellow in advance so that the disease does not spread to healthy plants.
What to do when bushes turn yellow
Having figured out why cucumbers may have yellowed leaves, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the main methods of treating yellowness. There are several fairly common remedies that will help remove the yellowish tint from cucumbers.
Fitosporin
If a cucumber leaf has yellow spots, it can be sprayed with Fitosporin. It helps to quickly eliminate yellowness and cure the plant of many diseases.This drug is recommended to be used during flowering or growing season, since during this period it is better absorbed by plants.
Before using Fitosporin to treat bushes, you need to make a working solution. To do this, add about 15-20 grams of the drug to five liters of boiled water. The resulting liquid is mixed and infused for 30-40 minutes. Cucumbers are sprayed once a week for a month. It is not recommended to do this in cloudy weather, as rain will quickly wash Fitosporin off the leaves.
Oksikhom
Many gardeners, when the leaves of cucumbers turn yellow, spray them with Oxyx. This is a fairly effective remedy with which you can quickly get rid of diseases at any stage of their development. Oxyx can be used not only outdoors, but also in greenhouses.
The drug is available in powder form; before treating cucumber seedlings, it is necessary to prepare a working solution. During its preparation, about 20-30 grams of Oxychome are added to 10 liters of water. The created mixture is sprayed onto the surface of the leaves with a spray bottle twice a month. The interval between each spraying should be about 14-15 days.
Topaz
When the leaves have a light edging along the edge, you should use the Topaz fungicide. Using this remedy, you can cure bushes from powdery mildew and other diseases caused by fungal bacteria. Topaz can be used not only to treat already infected seedlings, but also for prevention.
The fungicide is available in different forms, but it is recommended to buy Topaz in powder form. To prepare a solution from it, 20 grams of the drug are added to 10 liters of water.During treatment, about two liters of Topaz should be consumed per square meter of area. Plants should be sprayed twice a month. If after this the yellow border does not disappear, then the use of the drug is extended for another month.
Quadris
If the edges of the leaves turn yellow, you can get rid of this problem with the help of Quadris. The fungicide was developed to combat yellowing and protect vegetables from diseases. With its help you can get rid of oidium, late blight and powdery mildew. Quadris immediately after spraying penetrates the leaves and protects them from further attacks by pathogens.
Before using Quadris, you will have to create a working mixture. To do this, a quarter of a 10 liter container will have to be filled with water. Then 200 ml of Quadris is added to the liquid. The solution is thoroughly mixed, after which another 2-4 liters of water are added to the container. The prepared mixture must be used within 24 hours, since then it will not be possible to process vegetables with it.
It is recommended to process cucumbers in the complete absence of wind, so that the liquid does not spray neighboring crops in the garden.
How to feed cucumbers
It is recommended to regularly feed cucumbers with nitrogen fertilizers, as due to their lack, the leaves begin to change color. At the same time, fertilizing with nitrogen must not be very concentrated, so as not to accidentally burn the bushes. To prepare a fertilizing solution, add 20-30 grams of fertilizer to 5-7 liters of water. After applying nitrogen fertilizers, the cucumbers should be watered with warm water.
Foliar fertilizing can also be done using nitrogen. In this case, the solution will be sprayed onto the bushes using a spray bottle.
Conclusion
It is no secret that the edges of cucumber leaves often turn yellow and this leads to the death of the plant. Novice vegetable growers do not know how to deal with the yellowness of leaves. To get rid of this problem, it is necessary to identify the causes of yellowing and select the most suitable means to combat it.
