Cucumbers are considered one of the most common vegetable crops that can be found in summer cottages. Why do cucumber leaves dry in a greenhouse and how to deal with it? There are many reasons why this could happen. Most often, these are various diseases and insects.
Why do cucumber leaves dry out?
Wilting leaves of cucumbers - This is a common problem that every fifth gardener faces. Why do cucumbers dry out, and what to do to preserve the harvest?
Reasons for the appearance of dry leaves on cucumbers:
- Fungal diseases
One of the most common causes of leaf wilting in open ground is fungal diseases. A sharp change in climate, prolonged rains, poor ecology - all this can provoke the development of fungi in the beds.
The cause of yellowing of the leaves in this case is fusarium. Fusarium is characterized by the appearance of small yellow spots on the foliage, which gradually increase in size. As a result, they fall off, and the plant itself begins to die.
- Whitefly
The whitefly lays its eggs in the beds, from which the larvae then hatch. They suck the juices from the leaves of cucumbers, after which the plants begin to die.
- Aphid
Aphids are one of the most common parasites that cause wilting of cucumber leaves. Just like whitefly larvae, aphids suck sap from the stems.
- Powdery mildew
Another reason why cucumber tops wilt is powdery mildew. First, white spots appear on the tops, then the cucumber leaves dry out, and the entire plant gradually dies.
- Cladosporiosis
Cladosporiosis affects not only the leaves, but also the stem and root system of cucumbers. It starts to become covered with yellow spots and then dries out. The disease also affects the fruits themselves.
- White rot (sclerotinia)
With the development of this diseases of cucumber leaves in a greenhouse begin to become covered with a white coating. The disease appears when the humidity level in the greenhouse is too high or the temperature is high.
- Root rot
Due to high soil moisture or watering with cold water, root rot can develop. The first sign of the disease is the appearance of yellow spots along the edges, then the entire leaf begins to dry out. It is impossible to get rid of root rot. If the cucumbers begin to suffer from root rot, then they will no longer be able to be saved.
- Ascochyta blight
The edges of the leaves may also turn yellow due to ascochyta blight.The disease affects not only the leaves, but also the fruits and stems.
Why do cucumber foliage dry out? What other reasons are there?
It dries for the following reasons:
- Downy mildew;
- Downy mildew;
- Scale insects;
- Mealybugs;
- Ticks.
Natural causes
Quite often, the lower leaves of cucumbers may turn yellow for completely natural reasons. This problem is especially common if seedlings are grown in greenhouse conditions or a greenhouse. There is no need to worry about this, since this will not affect the amount of harvest in any way. On the contrary, many gardeners recommend cut off the lower yellow leaves of cucumbers.
Another reason is the natural yellowing of old leaves. Most often, these are large lower leaves.
Also, if there is a lack of nutrients in the soil, the tops of cucumbers in the garden may begin to dry out. In order for cucumbers to grow healthy, they must be regularly fed with mineral and organic fertilizers.
Frequent watering and waterlogging of the soil, as well as lack of water, can also be the reasons why cucumber leaves dry out. When watering the beds during the day, when the sun's rays are very bright, the leaves can get severely burned. And from this it begins to turn yellow. To prevent plants from getting burned, it is recommended to water them in the evening, when the sun has already set.
What to do if cucumber leaves dry out
First of all, you need to find out the reason why this is happening. And only then you can start treating diseases.
What to do if cucumber leaves dry out due to insects and diseases:
- In order to cure seedlings from fungal diseases, you can spray them with fungicides.For example, these can be drugs such as copper sulfate, Fitosporin, Bordeaux mixture or Kuproxate.
- To prevent insect attacks on plants, you can use chemicals such as Aktara, Fitoverm, Actellik or Biotlin.
- If the leaves of cucumbers dry out, you can use traditional methods. It is not advisable to plant seedlings after pumpkin crops. It is advisable to change the areas for planting seedlings every year.
- Wood ash is very effective in yellowing cucumber tops. You can add wood ash to the holes where the seedlings will be planted.
- As a preventive measure, if the tops turn yellow, you can use bread infusion. Soak one loaf of bread in a bucket of warm water. The next day, mash the bread and add 1 bottle of iodine. Dilute the resulting slurry with water and water the plants with it closer to the trunk.
- What to do, if yellow spots appear on cucumber leaves? The disease can be defeated with a decoction of onion peels. You can make it as follows: pour onion peels with 1 liter of water and put on fire. Boil for 20 minutes. Then leave the broth overnight to let it brew. Dilute in 10 liters of water and pour this decoction over the tops. It is very important to ensure that the onion broth gets on the yellowed tips of the foliage.
- If the edges of the leaves begin to turn yellow due to fungal diseases, then soda will help. 100 gr. Dilute baking soda in 10 liters of warm water. Water the resulting solution on both green and dry leaves.
- If the foliage of cucumbers dries out, you can treat them with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. 50 gr. Dilute potassium permanganate in 4 liters of water. All bushes need to be treated with the solution 3 times a week. Instead of potassium permanganate, you can use regular kefir.The most favorable time for spraying is evening. If you handle cucumbers during the day, they can get burned.
How to treat cucumbers with natural yellowing of leaves
Sometimes the gardener himself is to blame for the fact that the leaves of cucumbers begin to turn yellow. What to do in this case and how to treat cucumbers?
- First of all, if the leaves are damaged by marginal yellowing, then you need to check whether the bushes have enough moisture. Cucumbers are moisture-loving, and they need to be watered abundantly. Especially if the weather outside is hot and dry. After watering, the soil around the trunks can be covered with fresh grass. The grass will retain moisture and also provide additional warmth to the root system.
- Leaves can also dry out due to excessive humidity. You will need to stop watering for a while until the soil dries completely.
- The tops may dry out due to a lack of nutrients in the soil. Mineral and organic fertilizers must be alternated, otherwise the bushes will begin to grow leaf mass, and the fruits will stop forming. Wood ash is a good fertilizer. You can simply sprinkle it on the ground in cucumber beds.
Why do cucumber leaves dry out in a greenhouse?
When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, gardeners often encounter yellowing of the tops. The most important reason for wilting is the wrong soil. Most often, when cultivating seedlings in greenhouse conditions, ordinary soil from the beds is used. But such soil is only suitable for open ground.
For greenhouses and greenhouses it is necessary to use a substrate that contains:
- Peat;
- Urea;
- Compost;
- Wood ash;
- Urea;
- Wood sawdust.
You can also resort to hydroponics.The essence of this method is that each seedling is grown in a separate container and the stems practically do not come into contact with the soil. It is very important to provide good lighting for the bushes.
The advantage of hydroponics is that cucumbers with this type of cultivation do not rot and the leaves do not turn yellow.
