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All gardeners dream of healthy and beautiful peppers. But problems with their cultivation can arise even for the most experienced farmers. The most common problem is that the seedlings can curl the leaves. Many turn a blind eye to this, and as a result, one cannot count on any harvest. Therefore, you need to be attentive to your plants from the moment the sprouts appear.
So, let’s look at why the leaves of pepper seedlings curl, we will analyze in detail each possible reason, as well as what can be done to protect the seedlings.
Causes
At first, they begin to turn yellow, the shape of the leaf is distorted, deformed, and then the entire leaf is twisted in the middle towards the vein. Gradually, all the leaves are twisted into a tube, and the plant begins to lose strength and dry out. To prevent such a sad end from happening, it is necessary to immediately begin to act. To do this, it is important to determine the cause of the symptoms.
The most common causes of twisting can be:
- Uneven leaf growth. The central vein of the leaf can grow much faster than the leaf blade, which causes twisting. In this case, you don’t need to worry. Soon the leaves will catch up with the middle vein in growth and everything will fall into place.
- Insufficient or excess of important elements. The lack of trace elements such as potassium and phosphorus can lead to gradual leaf curling and wilting of the plant. At the same time, they can change color to black and purple. Excess fertilizer is also bad for pepper seedlings. At first, the pepper grows very quickly, but then the leaves curl, and the ovaries may not appear.
- Improper care. When growing peppers, it is important to monitor soil moisture, enough light and temperature. Failure to follow the basic rules can threaten leaf curl and, ultimately, a poor harvest or plant death.
- vermin. The most dangerous for pepper seedlings are aphids and spider mites. Aphid infestations can occur as early as spring, as they respond well to cold and can develop even in frosty weather. Infection is manifested by red spots on the leaves and twisting. Spider mites can damage the root of a plant. Cobwebs can be seen on the leaves. The tick interferes with the normal nutrition of the plant, which is why the leaves turn yellow, curl and fall off.
- disease. In windy and rainy weather, various fungi and viruses actively attack seedlings. They can appear as spots, and subsequently destroy the plant. Blossom rot is a common disease.
Now that the causes of leaf curl are clear, we need to figure out how to prevent or cure it.
Fight against fungal diseases
Such diseases can manifest themselves in the form of spots and rot. When affected by spots on the leaves, small dots first appear. This will serve as the first signal that your plant is sick. Further, the sheet begins to twist, and soon it will completely dry out and fall off. If the seedlings are affected by rot, then watery spots will appear on the leaves. In this case, the plant will not dry out, but, on the contrary, will become wet from the spread of fungal spores.
The following tips will help protect seedlings and prevent fungus from spreading and destroying the crop. The following operations should be carried out:
- to prevent the disease, treat with a Bordeaux mixture. If the symptoms of the disease have already appeared, it is necessary to treat the affected sprouts as soon as possible;
- treat the seedlings with infusions of garlic and onions. You can also prepare a solution of saltpeter and spray all the plants with it. It is prepared as follows: dissolve 200 grams of saltpeter in a bucket of water;
- feed seedlings with calcium chloride (sold in a pharmacy) or calcium nitrate;
- often ventilate the greenhouse;
- before planting seedlings, it is necessary to add tobacco dust with slaked lime and wood ash to the soil;
- it is good to process the leaves with ordinary serum, because the acidic environment prevents the spread of pathogens;
- in autumn, after harvesting, thoroughly clean the soil from plant residues, as they can be carriers of fungi.
Pest Control
Pests are the biggest danger to pepper seedlings, because they can destroy the entire crop very quickly. As mentioned above, the most common “enemies” of pepper seedlings can be aphids or spider mites. Signs of such a lesion are very easy to distinguish, because the spider mite leaves cobwebs under the leaves or between them. Also a characteristic feature is the rapid yellowing of the leaves.
To prepare, you need to combine 1 liter of water with a glass of dry onion peel. Let it brew for 24 hours. Further, every 5 days we process pepper seedlings with this mixture.
But it happens that pests do not affect the leaves themselves, but the roots of the plant. In this case, the entire sprout suffers, and the leaves begin to curl. This happens because of the larvae that are in the soil and damage the root system of the pepper. To avoid this, it is necessary to carefully prepare the soil in the fall, remove all the remains of previous plants and cultivate the soil. Otherwise, from mid-March, the larvae will begin to wake up and infect your seedlings. Then it will be much more difficult to deal with them. But still, there is no need to despair, because there are no hopeless situations, and there is justice for every pest.
To destroy dangerous larvae, it is necessary to prepare a solution of manganese. It should not be too saturated in color, a light pink tint is enough. Now you need to pour the pepper with this solution. This will help protect your seedlings, however, it will be much safer to prepare the soil in advance. To do this, follow these simple steps. 2 weeks before planting seedlings, the soil must be warmed up. If this is not possible, and the weather is not conducive, just 2 days before planting, you need to pour boiling water over the soil. You can also additionally use a solution of manganese for irrigation.
Lack of essential micronutrients
If you carefully examined the seedlings and did not find signs of diseases or pest damage, then most likely your plant simply lacks some elements. The most common cause is a lack of potassium in the soil. If you do not start correcting the situation in time, the pepper may simply die from exhaustion.
The solution to this problem is quite simple. It is necessary to feed the soil with wood ash. To do this, sprinkle the ground around each bush with ash, the layer thickness must be at least 3 mm. After that, it is necessary to water each plant abundantly. This option is for those who do not recognize purchased chemicals for soil fertilization.
A more effective way is to feed seedlings with potassium nitrate. To prepare the solution, you need to combine two tablespoons of saltpeter and 10 liters of water. For watering one bush you will need 0,5 liters of solution.
Conclusion
Following the described rules, you will be able to grow strong and healthy plants. As you can see, even the most dangerous pests are easy to deal with. The main thing is to notice the warning signs of the disease in time and immediately begin to act.
