An experienced gardener can accurately determine the health status of the vegetable crop based on the condition of the cucumber leaves. Symptoms of any infection appear on them. Signs of the disease include yellow, brown and whitish spots, a brown border, white and gray coating, as well as marbling of leaves on cucumbers.
What do you mean by leaf marbling?
They say that a cucumber has marbled leaves when, instead of a uniform green color, they are covered with lighter stains or, conversely, dark stains on a light green or light yellow background.
The difference, at first glance, is insignificant, but the diagnoses are completely different and so is the treatment.In the first case, when pale green stains cover the dark green surface, we can talk about a lack of magnesium (Mg) in the plant.
In the second case, the plant has a viral disease, when the entire surface of the leaf is pale green or pale yellow and dark green stains are visible on it. It turns out that cucumbers have marbled leaves for various reasons. Let's find out what to do when cucumbers have marbled leaves.
Magnesium deficiency and excess
Magnesium deficiency causes marbling in cucumbers. This is explained by the fact that magnesium is part of the chlorophyll molecules, without it the process of photosynthesis is disrupted. Consequences of Mg deficiency:
- the above-ground part of the cucumber slows down or stops growing;
- root growth decreases;
- nutrient and moisture intake deteriorates.
Excessive magnesium content in soil and tissues leads to root death and plant death. How to improve the situation, how to feed the cucumbers when marble stains appear on the leaves of the cucumbers?
Eliminating the shortage
You need to take soil preparation seriously before planting. To prevent the leaves of a young cucumber from losing their elasticity and color, you can increase the percentage of Mg in the soil by adding ash or potassium magnesia, their approximate consumption is 25 g per 1 sq. m. m.
Feeding is used to prevent any diseases. There is no need to wait for the plant to form; cucumbers must be fed in the system from the very beginning. Principles to follow to restore Mg balance:
- preparing soil for cucumbers;
- maintaining a constant microclimate;
- regular fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers.
Treatment can be carried out almost from the first month after germination.The following medications help prevent cucumber marbling:
- Agricola.
- Toppers.
- Bio-Master.
With a lack of magnesium, the old leaves located in the lower part of the bush first lose their normal color. If the disease is not treated, the marbling will spread throughout the entire bush, reaching the top of the head.
Causes
Most often, magnesium deficiency occurs in cucumbers growing on sandy soils. This type of soil contains a high percentage of potassium, the excess of which impairs magnesium intake. Excessive application of potassium fertilizers gives the same picture.
Frequent application of nitrogen fertilizers, resulting in excess nitrogen content in the soil, gives the same result. Magnesium is poorly absorbed in acidic soils. To prevent marbling in cucumbers, deoxidize the soil with lime or dolomite flour.
Regardless of the soil, it is possible to distinguish stages of plant growth when the likelihood of marbled leaves in cucumbers increases. Most often, cucumbers suffer from magnesium deficiency at the beginning and end of fruiting.
How to treat?
Uniflor bud liquid fertilizer helps replenish magnesium deficiency and eliminate marbling on cucumber leaves. You need to add 2 tsp to a bucket of water. liquid fertilizer, stir and water the plants at the roots, in the evening you can carry out foliar treatment.
The pharmacy sells burnt magnesia (magnesium oxide). It has the appearance of a white powder that easily dissolves in water. To feed cucumbers suffering from marbling, 2 tsp. magnesium oxide is dissolved in 10 liters of water. The resulting fertilizer is fed to weakened plants.
Magnesium is contained in dolomite flour. You can prepare dolomite milk at home: 10 liters of water, 1 cup of flour. For each bush you need to pour 0.5 liters of dolomite milk.
Reviews
Marat: "Agricola is the best fertilizer for cucumber with a lack of magnesium. It takes me the entire pack to prepare the solution. I dilute it in a bucket of water and water the cucumber bushes, the leaves become prettier, greener, denser and stronger. The cucumbers grow up delicious.”
Alexandra: “In the spring I add humus and mineral fertilizers to the cucumber bed, but in the summer I don’t forget to feed the cucumbers. When the weather turns bad, I spray the bushes with milk and iodine. I alternate mineral fertilizers for the roots (potassium nitrate, nitroammophosphate) with organic fertilizers (infusion of grass, mullein). To prevent marbling on cucumber leaves, I use Uniflor Bud. Every year I’m just overwhelmed with cucumbers, I don’t have time to process them.”
Elena: “Marble stains appeared on the leaves of the cucumbers. I decided not to let the problem take its course. I found a description of the problem and treated the bushes with Bio-Master fertilizer. The leaves have stopped losing color and the bushes have become stronger.”
