By all indications, tomato plants in a greenhouse are “fatten” from excess nitrogen fertilizers in the soil.
In this case, tomatoes expel a large green mass, but do not strive to produce offspring, since they do not feel any danger to their lives. That is, they form very weak flower clusters with a small number of flowers.
Feeding will help balance the nutrition of tomatoes and correct the situation in this case. mineral fertilizers, which include phosphorus, potassium, zinc, boron and other trace elements.
Superphosphate is ideal for this (dissolve 3 tablespoons in 10 liters of water and feed 1 liter per bush).
But it is best to use an infusion as a top dressing wood ash, it contains all nutrients except nitrogen.
Curling of the apical leaves can also occur for other reasons:
- From high temperatures in the greenhouse (more than +35°C). In this case, the apical leaves curl by lunchtime, and by night or in the morning leaf blades are being restored. It is necessary to ventilate the greenhouse more often and shade the roof with non-woven materials (spun-bond, lutrasil, agril and others).
- From a large difference in night and day temperatures. In this case, the greenhouses are closed at night and opened during the day for good ventilation.
- From frequent but shallow watering of plants. It is better to water tomatoes less often, but more abundantly.
- From belated removal large quantity overgrown stepsons and excessive pruning of leaves, as the balance between the above-ground part of the plant and the roots is disrupted. Stepchildren need to be cut when the stepsons are no more than 5-7 cm long. It is permissible to cut 2-3 leaves on a plant per week.
- From damage by viruses or pests. A plant infected with a virus cannot be cured. The fruits from such plants can be used for food, but the seeds cannot be collected.
- Aphids and whiteflies can deform young leaves. In this case, immediately treat the plants with one of the insecticides (Agrolan, Actellik, etc.).
Preparation of ash fertilizer
Pour 2 liters of wood ash hot water and mix thoroughly. Bring the solution to 10 liters with water and leave for 24 hours until all elements are completely dissolved. To obtain liquid fertilizer, take 1 liter of infusion, dilute it in 9 liters of water heated in the sun, and apply 1 liter at the root of each plant.
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To successfully grow tomatoes, it is necessary not only to properly prepare the seeds and grow seedlings, but also to properly care for the tomato bushes in the greenhouse (or in the ground). Tomato bushes are susceptible to temperature fluctuations, dampness, heat, and diseases.
But it is impossible to foresee everything - it happens that healthy and strong bushes They start to dry right from the top. For an explanation of why tomato leaves curl at the top, read our article.
It must be said that tomato bushes quickly react to unfavorable conditions. This can manifest itself in drying out and wilting of green vines. When tomato leaves begin to curl, it is difficult for the plant to receive enough sunlight, which will certainly affect the quality and quantity of the fruit.
The curling of leaves is just a consequence. The reasons could be anything:
- overfeeding or underfeeding with mineral and organic substances;
- improper or irregular watering;
- unsuitable microclimate for tomatoes in the greenhouse;
- incorrect planting of bushes;
- infection by bacteria, viruses;
- attack of insect pests.
Irrigation errors
Each plant adapts to current conditions. When there is not enough moisture, the bushes begin to save life-giving moisture, and accordingly, not all plant organs receive it. The leaves begin to curl so that less water evaporates from their surface. Not frequent watering conducts moisture only to the upper layers of the earth, while the lower layers do not receive it at all.
Make sure that the water does not spread over the entire ridge; for this, an earthen roller is usually made around each bush.
Watering should be very plentiful, especially if you are growing tomatoes in clay soil. In this case, frequent watering must be carried out in combination with drainage measures. excess moisture from the roots. After all, poor drainage can lead to withering of bushes due to lack of oxygen.
Moreover, when planting bushes in clay soils, you need to prepare holes with loose soil so that the roots receive enough oxygen.
Hot in the greenhouse
At high temperature in a greenhouse and poor ventilation, the leaf plates tend to evaporate as little moisture as possible, which is why we observe curling. Especially on upper tiers bushes that are closer to the light source.
To prevent this situation, ventilate the greenhouse or greenhouse every day. On very hot days, in many regions, gardeners open greenhouses all night. Thus, circulation in the air will help the foliage and roots maintain normal growth and fruit set. By the way, on especially hot days, for protection from the scorching sun experienced gardeners Shade the bushes using lutrasil or white spandbond.
To prevent the unpleasant effects of heat, you can do the following:
- Dilute urea (1.5 tbsp) in one bucket of warm water. Treat the leaves with this solution (spraying). After a few days, you can water the beds with tomatoes with a slightly pink solution of manganese.
- Mulching is very effective way to retain moisture in the soil. Mulch can be hay, grass, etc. The optimal layer of mulch - 8 cm - will not allow moisture to evaporate, thereby keeping the foliage and plant healthy.
- But what you shouldn’t do is “refresh” the bushes at the very peak of the heat. Don’t be lazy to water your tomatoes in the morning, before the heat starts. Or in the evening, at sunset. Watering in the middle of the day can lead to leaf scorch and late blight.
Bad feeding
Organic substances (rotted grass, manure, ash, etc.) cannot provide the plant with everything it needs to grow. Manure releases a lot of ammonia, which burns the foliage. As a result, it begins to curl and dry out.
An excess of manure is also harmful because the bushes begin to grow green mass, directing all their energy to this instead of setting fruit. In order not to lose juicy and ripe tomato fruits, feed the bushes only with well-rotted manure or compost. Don't skimp on complex feedings. They are sold in all gardening stores.
To feed the bushes, dissolve a glass of ash in a bucket of water and apply it under each bush. Experienced summer residents use a teaspoon of potassium sulfate, which is also dissolved in a bucket of warm water.
Phosphorus, copper, zinc, calcium, iron and other trace elements are very important for plant health. A lack of these elements can lead not only to yellowing of the leaves, but also to other troubles.
Aphid
These insects, settling on stems and leaves, feed on plant juices. This is why the leaves begin to dry out and curl. It is very difficult to free the bushes from these pests, because insects literally fill the entire usable area plants.
Contracting an infection
If all the methods described above did not help and the leaves still continue to curl, most likely the bushes are infected with some kind of infection. You can buy Aquisill and try to cure the plants. But if this remedy did not help, then nothing will help. Pull out all diseased bushes at the roots, burn them to the ground, and thoroughly disinfect the greenhouse or greenhouse.
Incorrect pinching
Pinching or pinching must be done at a certain time, otherwise there is a risk of exposing the bush to wilting. Young bushes that have reached 8-9 cm can already be pinched. But don’t overdo it; removing too many leaves will disrupt the growing season.
conclusions
Proper care of tomatoes includes not only all the rules for planting and care, but also constant monitoring of the condition of the bushes. So, the reasons for leaf curling on tomato plants are:
- lack or excess of moisture;
- overfeeding or underfeeding;
- aphid infestation;
- incorrect stepsoning;
- contracting an infection
Once upon a time in their homeland, Peru and Ecuador, tomatoes were considered inedible. After entering Europe, they were first grown as ornamental plant. The romantic French began to call the fruit “tomato” because of its scarlet color and shape that resembled a human heart. In Russian, the name was transformed into “tomato” and exists to this day. Tomatoes have long occupied a strong place in the human diet. Those who have the opportunity grow them themselves. Unfortunately, you may encounter growing problems and crop diseases.
General information about tomatoes
Tomatoes belong to the Solanaceae family. The culture grows well on sandy loam soils and loams, is very thermophilic, and easily tolerates dry air. The majority of varieties end their growth with the appearance of an inflorescence and do not require pinching or staking. The fruits can be round, oval, pear-shaped, or plum-shaped. Their color, depending on the variety, can be red, yellow, purple, orange.
Inside, the fruit is divided into 3-8 chambers. In strongly ribbed tomatoes, the number of seed compartments can reach up to 20. Fruits weighing 60 g are considered small; large tomatoes include varieties with fruits weighing over 100 g. bigger size tomatoes, the shorter their shelf life. Universal-purpose varieties are suitable for salting, pickling, fermentation, drying and other processing methods.
Tomato seedlings
Tomatoes, like many other vegetables, bring undoubted benefits. They contain vitamins, sugars, organic acids and the valuable substance lycopene. This antioxidant is considered more effective than other carotenoids.
On a note! Thanks to lycopene, the risk of cardiovascular diseases is reduced, the aging of the body slows down, the level of bad cholesterol drops, and the development of pathogenic microflora in the intestines is suppressed.
Why do tomato leaves curl?
When growing tomatoes yourself, you can sometimes encounter a problem: the leaves begin to curl or twist. A similar phenomenon can be observed both on individual specimens and on all bushes. To eliminate the cause, it is important to understand why this happens.
At the seedlings
Since young plants are still too tender, they need especially careful care. Seedlings usually grow in small containers, so you have to constantly monitor the volume and frequency of watering and the microclimate. This is why tomato leaves curl:
- Temperature too high. Sometimes in a sunny window the temperature can rise to 35°C or more. Because of this, the leaves wither and curl during the day, and by night they take on their normal shape. The seedlings should be moved to a window of a different orientation, or shaded.
- Insufficient watering will lead to the leaves will begin to curl down. You need to water the plants 2 times a week, making sure that upper layer The soil always remained a little damp. If the bushes “drink” water too quickly and the leaves of the tomatoes curl, what should you do in this case? It is recommended to transplant the seedlings into larger pots.
- Nutrient imbalance. Why do tomato leaves curl in this case? for an experienced gardener It’s clear right away. With a lack of zinc, the leaves bend down and the tops of the shoots curl. Calcium deficiency is also manifested by leaf curling and pale coloration. Due to a lack of boron, young leaves bend their edges downwards. With iron deficiency, the leaf blades turn yellow and their tips bend upward. You need to combat this by adding the correct doses. complex drugs, for example, Kemira, Universal, Mortar.
- Pest or disease attack. After a whitefly attack, the leaves will curl and their edges will begin to dry out. Plants are urgently treated with Fufanon or Biotlin. Infection spider mite causes curling of the tender leaves at the very top of the head. When infected with bacteriosis, the shoots stop growing, and the leaves curl, dry out and wither. There is no cure for the disease. Sick specimens are destroyed.
If before sowing the seeds were treated, nutrient soil was used and the agricultural techniques for growing seedlings were followed, then such troubles should not happen to the tomatoes. It happens that problems arise after planting in a greenhouse or open ground. The reason for this is often the same mistakes that were made when growing seedlings.
One example of twisting
In adult plants
After being planted in a garden bed or greenhouse, seedlings sometimes begin to wither, curl, dry out and shed leaves. Why do tomato leaves curl soon after planting in the ground? There are several prerequisites for this:
- The leaves are curled into a tube. This can happen due to damage to the roots. If the “relocation” was carried out carelessly, the roots are damaged and cannot normally absorb moisture and nutrients. In the case when you are sure that everything is in order with the soil, the plants should be left alone for 4-5 days. After a while the bushes will return to normal. The second reason for this is the untimely removal of stepchildren. They should be removed when they are 3 cm long. The third factor is that the humidity is not adjusted. Need to install proper watering and ventilate the greenhouse more often. Phosphorus deficiency is possible; fertilizing with phosphorus fertilizer is necessary.
- The leaves curl in a spiral. There can only be one reason for this - a lack of zinc. Feeding with 30 g of superphosphate and 50 g of ash will help. Pour the fertilizer mixture into 1 liter of heated water and leave for 2 hours. Then dilute the concentrate with water in a 10-liter bucket and use it, adding 0.5 liters of the composition to each plant. This fertilizer contains zinc in the required amount.
- The edges of the leaves curl upward due to a deficiency of copper and magnesium. To eliminate it you need to use a solution copper sulfate and magnesium sulfate. Add a pinch of both substances to a bucket of water and mix thoroughly. Fertilize on damp soil.
- The tops of tomato bushes may curl due to excess nitrogen. This happens if the summer resident overdoes it with the application of nitrogen fertilizers. You can restore balance to the soil by adding potassium in the form of ash. The curling virus can also curl the tips of the shoots. There is no cure for this disease. Sick plants will have to be destroyed so that the virus does not spread to healthy bushes.
- Leaves can curl inward for several reasons. This happens when there is a lack of molybdenum or an excess of zinc. That is why it is necessary to apply complex fertilizer at the right time and not violate its dosage. Here again, a fertilizer made from a mixture of ash and superphosphate, in which necessary elements are in the correct ratio. Another reason why tomato leaves curl inward may be a lack of moisture, especially in powerful indeterminate bushes. It is best to organize a drip irrigation system. Mulching the surface will also help retain water in the soil. Heat and lack of lighting also cause leaves to curl downwards. In hot weather, you need to ventilate the greenhouse more often and douse its walls. cold water. If there is not enough light, wash away the dust from the walls and roof of the structure.
The leaves are curling
To prevent these problems, you need to pay attention to preparing the soil before planting. The seedlings must also be of high quality, so it is recommended to grow them in compliance with all the rules.
In addition, leaves can curl into a “ram’s horn” shape, like those of seedlings, due to bacteriosis and pest invasion. But in this case, other signs will be present. Insects can be seen visually.
With bacteriosis, the young leaves at the top of the stem will begin to shrink, the inflorescences will become small, and the ovaries will not form at all. The cause of bacteriosis can be either infected seeds or the spread of the disease by pests (black aphids, whiteflies). To prevent their appearance, it is recommended to spray the bushes with an infusion of wormwood, garlic, hot pepper, tobacco, and yarrow. In case of mass infection, industrial insecticides are used.
Important! After applying chemicals, vegetables cannot be eaten, so the last treatment is carried out 2-3 weeks before harvest. Biological products act more slowly, but the pods are edible within a week after spraying.
Main diseases of tomatoes
According to experts, problems when growing tomatoes arise more often due to incorrect agricultural technology, but at the same time, various diseases can prevent harvesting. As a result of selection, varieties have appeared that are resistant to common tomato diseases, but this only reduces the risk and does not completely eliminate damage to the crop.
The main diseases of tomatoes include:
Sometimes, due to improper care, phytotoxicity of the soil can occur, when, due to inept application of pesticides and fertilizers, the soil begins to oppress the crop instead of nourishing and nurturing it. In this case, the leaves will begin to become covered with spots with a purple tint, and then will dry out.
From all of the above, we can conclude that the key to successful cultivation tomatoes production is strict adherence to agricultural technology. Only when proper care can be obtained from this crop quality harvest, without thinking about why the leaves of tomatoes curl.
Despite the fact that tomatoes require constant care and cause a lot of trouble for gardeners, many are willing to spend their time and energy on growing them year after year. One of the most common problems with this crop is curling of the tops.
Why do tomato leaves curl? What are the mistakes when caring for tomatoes planted in greenhouses or open ground, can lead to this? Let's look at the main reasons.
Reasons for tomato tops curling
You have damaged the roots
If you recently planted tomato seedlings and their leaves have changed, it is possible that you have damaged part of the root system. Therefore, the plant does not receive enough nutrition.
Wait a while for the tomato to adapt. When the bush takes root and restores all damage, the leaves will most likely return to their normal shape.
It's too hot outside or in the greenhouse
If the weather is hot, the plant tries to reduce the amount of moisture that evaporates through the tops, which is why the leaves curl.
Watch the tomatoes. If the tops have changed their shape for this reason, then in the evening the leaves will unfold in order to be saturated with moisture in the evening and restore the water balance.
If the air temperature in the greenhouse is above +35 degrees, then most likely the leaves will curl.
You rarely water or overwater your tomatoes.
Also, tomato tops can curl if you don’t have time to care for the garden, you forget about watering, or you water the bushes incorrectly, wetting only 3-5 cm of soil.
Due to lack of moisture, the leaf blades of tomatoes begin to curl with their edges up, forming a “boat”.
Lack or excess of microelements in the soil
Often, tomato leaves begin to curl if you forgot to fertilize in a timely manner or if you “overfed” the plants. Due to an excess of microelements, such as nitrogen, tomato leaves may begin to curl inward and dry out.
Garden pests
You did the stepson incorrectly
This procedure is carried out only when the tomato shoots grow to 5-7 cm. Remember, you cannot immediately remove too much greenery, as this is a serious stressful situation for tomatoes. Carry out the procedure correctly, do not get carried away.
Diseases
Sometimes tomato diseases are to blame for everything, which are not always possible to cope with:
- Bacteriosis. Tomato bushes grow poorly, they have short shoots, and the flowers are very small.
- Thin leaf virus. It appears rarely, only if there has been a long drought, and the greenhouse is too light.
- Bacterial cancer. The leaves of the tomatoes curl up, then they wither, turn brown and dry out. Cracks are visible on the stems.
- Tobacco mosaic virus. A pattern resembling a mosaic appears on the tops; swellings are visible.
- Fusarium. First, it makes itself felt on the lower leaves, gradually moving to the top, and over time the tops fall off completely. Then the upper shoots of the bush begin to wither, and a light or pinkish coating may appear on the fruits - tomatoes.
- Verticillium wilt. Its symptoms are similar to fusarium, only this disease does not destroy the plants.
Why do the tops of tomato seedlings curl?
We figured out why tomato leaves curl. Seedlings can have the same problems, and they are caused by the same reasons.
The only addition: there are some varieties of tomatoes whose seedlings grow such leaves. Most often these are tall tomatoes, with heavily cut thin leaves that slightly bend downwards. In this case, curled tops are not a sign of disease, so there is no need to worry.
What are these varieties?
- variations of Cherry tomatoes,
- "Honey Drop"
- "Fatima"
- "Japanese crab" and others.
If the seedlings have identical leaves, and they do not dry out, break or fall off, this is the norm.
How to treat tomatoes from leaf curl?
What to do in this situation? You need to understand why this happened and try to eliminate the causes of leaf curling.
Pests
If pests are to blame, treat the plants with special preparations: Akarin, Bankol, Karbafos. However, before you buy this or that drug, carefully read the instructions.
So, for example, if the bushes already have fruits, you cannot use “Tanrek” and “Biotlin”, since toxins will accumulate in them.
Bacterial cancer
If you suspect that the tomatoes in the greenhouse are infected bacterial cancer, collect diseased bushes and destroy. Cut the plants and dip the cut in a solution of copper oxychloride. It is prepared as follows: take 60 g of powder per 1 liter of water.
Pour the same solution over the root. Leave the bush on a line in the greenhouse to dry. Then take it outside and burn it.
Attention! Spray everything that grows within a radius of 10 m from the greenhouse with a solution of copper oxychloride: 40 g per 1 liter.
Fusarium
In case of fusarium, it is necessary to remove the affected plants from the greenhouse and burn them, and the remaining healthy ones should be treated with antifungal drugs. If this is not done, all the tomato bushes will die.
Bacteriosis
It will not be possible to cure bacteriosis either. Therefore, collect all the plants in the greenhouse, destroy (dry and burn), and water the soil with potassium permanganate. Sow mustard at this place.
Thin leaf virus
If the thin leaf virus is to blame, then the tomato will not die, but you shouldn’t count on a harvest either. To save plants, spray them with a solution of potassium permanganate every 2-3 days (make a pale pink solution).
Treat them with a urea solution. Also create comfortable conditions for the bushes: shade them.
Excess/lack of nutrients in the soil
A lack of nutrients, as well as their excess, are undesirable. Remember that you cannot fertilize plants with slurry or manure that has not had time to rot - this threatens with an excess of ammonia. And it is harmful to plants.
If you add a lot of nitrogen, the tomato grows a thick stem, large stepsons form, and the leaves curl into a tube. What to do? To improve the situation, add wood ash to the soil.
Take a bucket of water (warm), stir 1 tbsp in it. ash and spray the tomatoes with it. You can buy potassium monophosphate or potassium sulfate. Add 1 tsp to 10 liters of water. one or another drug and treat the plants with this solution.
There are other microelements, the absence or excess of which affects the well-being of the plant and because of this, its leaves curl:
- Potassium. If there is not enough of it, the leaf becomes brown and its veins turn yellow.
- Calcium. The leaves are pale, curl upward, and the leaf veins turn white.
- Phosphorus. With a lack of phosphorus, the veins change color to red with a hint of purple, and the curled leaves become grayish.
- Zinc. Not only the tops curl, but also the tops of the shoots, the leaves become more fragile. If there is a lot of zinc, then the sheets will also curl, but they will turn purple on the underside. In this case, the edges are painted first, and then the color changes throughout the plate.
- Bor. Tomato leaves lighten and curl. The veins turn purple.
- Copper and sulfur. The shoots become smaller.
To help the plant, you need to select proper feeding. Buy fertilizers that contain these microelements. So, you can purchase Kelkat fertilizer containing the necessary substances, for example, “Kelkat zinc” or “Kelkat boron”.
How to prevent tops from curling: preventive measures
How to prevent leaves from curling? To do this, it is enough to follow the following preventive measures:
Protect tomatoes from heat and sun
If it is very hot outside, try to shade the tomatoes. Throw Lurastil or spunbond over them. Don't forget to mulch the soil, which will help cool the roots in extreme heat. It is enough to lay a layer of 8-10 cm of mowed grass.
Maintain proper watering
To prevent tomato leaves from curling, water them every 2 or 3 days. If your beds are mulched, you can reduce watering to once every 5-7 days.
The roots of tomatoes are located quite deep, so a lot of water is required, up to 1 bucket per fruit-bearing bush. But remember, you can’t pour too much at once, otherwise the water won’t have time to be absorbed.
Avoid accumulation of excess water at the roots
If you planted them in clay soil, then during long rains water will collect on the surface and go deep into the ground for a long time. The roots of the plant will constantly be in water.
Therefore, in advance, even at the moment of planting the plants in the ground, fill the hole with loose soil. If this does not help, and the water has flooded the surface of the earth, dig ditches along which the water collected from the tomatoes will flow from the beds to another part of the garden.
Take care of your plants
Do not forget about timely feeding, carry out pinching correctly, destroy pests and fight diseases. If these conditions are met, the tomato leaves will not curl, and you will reap a rich harvest.
Video: causes of tomato tops curling and their elimination
Caring for tomato seedlings is not the easiest task. It is demanding on the composition of the soil, climatic conditions, subject to various diseases. Only if all growing conditions are met is it possible to obtain tasty and useful harvest. But even with excellent care It is impossible to predict all the nuances. For example, healthy and strong seedlings suddenly begin to wither, turn yellow, and foliage wilts. So why do tomato leaves curl at the top?
Curling of the tops of tomatoes occurs for many reasons.
The main mistakes of gardeners
Tomatoes react to unfavorable growing conditions immediately, wither and dry out. It is enough to learn to recognize these signals and act correctly. Curled tomato leaves result in low yield. After all, they are not able to catch enough sunlight. Because of this, the production of plastic substances necessary for the formation of fruits is reduced.
To understand why this happens, you need to look for the answer in finding out the exact cause of the problem.
After curling the leaves, the tomato dries out
There are a number of mistakes in growing seedlings that lead to wilting of the upper part of the tomato bush:
- incorrect or insufficient feeding;
- lack of important microelements;
- excess organic fertilizers;
- watering errors;
- temperature too high;
- disease.
Watering errors
From insufficient watering Tomato seedlings begin to conserve moisture, turn yellow, wither and dry out. The leaves curl, so they try to reduce the evaporation of precious water. If you water the plants often, but not abundantly, then you may not see the harvest. When watering in this way, water only wets the top layer of soil and never reaches the roots of the tomato.
Lack of moisture leads to leaf curling - this is how the plant reduces evaporation
To give the bush enough moisture, you need to pour at least a bucket of water on it.
Moreover, this must be done in several stages, without allowing water to spread around the bush, once every two or three days. The main thing is that watering should be plentiful. But excess water also causes leaves to curl and turn yellow. This is especially true for clay soils. Prolonged rains lead to a lack of air, and the tomatoes literally suffocate and wilt. It is necessary to make drainage grooves, and also use loose soil when planting seedlings.
Heat
At very high temperatures, seedlings in the greenhouse experience stress and dry out. By reducing the area sheet plate The tomato strives to prevent evaporation and retain remaining moisture, so the leaves at the top curl and wither. To preserve the harvest, it is necessary to create air circulation in the greenhouse, ensuring ventilation and drafts.
High temperatures, especially in greenhouses, dry out the plant
In extreme heat, tomatoes should be darkened at midday. To do this, use lutrasil or white spunbond.
- It is advisable to treat the foliage with a solution of one and a half tablespoons of urea per ten liters of water. After two days you can treat it with crimson potassium permanganate.
- Mulching will also help. A layer of grass eight centimeters thick will prevent the roots of the seedlings from overheating.
- It is not recommended to try to refresh drooping tomato bushes by sprinkling. In the sun, drops of water acquire the properties of a lens and will burn the leaves, causing them to turn yellow. And evening or morning sprinkling can lead to late blight.
Insufficient feeding. Lack or excess of nutrition
Once every two weeks it is necessary to fertilize tomatoes in a greenhouse or in open ground.
The main mistake gardeners make is being overly enthusiastic about adding organic matter.
Manure, nitrogen, rotted grass cannot provide the entire set essential microelements. Excessive amounts of manure release a lot of ammonia, which burns the leaves, which is why they wilt. Vegetable growers often wonder why they curl upper leaves into a ring, and they turn yellow. This, again, is due to an excess of fresh manure and nitrogen in the soil. Plants become fattened. That is, the tomato devotes all its strength to growing green mass, not fruit. To avoid this, you should only apply well-rotted manure or compost and perform complex fertilizing.
Lack of nutrition causes discoloration and curling of leaves
- It is recommended to water the seedlings with a solution of wood ash by stirring one glass in a bucket of water.
- You can spray the leaves with a solution of potassium sulfate, a teaspoon of which is stirred in a liter of water.
- Changes in the shape of leaves and their severe wilting are also explained by a deficiency of essential microelements in the soil. These are elements such as copper, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, boron, calcium, iron. The plant literally starves, turns yellow and withers.
A tomato signals a problem by changing the color, shape and structure of the foliage.
Aphid
Small black aphids can settle in the axils of leaves, causing irreparable damage to tomatoes. Why does the presence of this pest cause leaves to curl and wilt?
Aphids on tomatoes suck the juices
Aphids, feeding on plant juices, secrete a special substance. Under its influence, not only the leaves curl, but also the shape of the stem changes.
It is not so easy to destroy it, because it multiplies very quickly. When spraying tomatoes, you should try to irrigate all the axils and folds of foliage.
Infection
If all the conditions are met, and the wilting problem has not disappeared, for some reason the leaves at the top continue to curl. There is only one explanation left - a bacterial infection that came with the seeds. It can only be stopped with the help of the drug Avixil, but not cured.
Tomato curl is a dangerous viral disease
There is also an incurable tomato disease caused by the curl virus. Such a tomato must be destroyed to avoid infection of all other plants.
Despite many rules and various nuances in growing tomatoes in open ground and in greenhouses, this vegetable has been and remains a favorite among gardeners. Over time, experience comes, and obtaining a rich harvest of tomatoes becomes easier, bringing pleasure from the process and a pleasant result.