Most gardeners grow various varieties of cucumbers on their land plots. This culture needs special care. It is not uncommon to see their leaves begin to curl. Today we will talk about why this happens and what to do about it.
Bad conditions
Often the leaf plates on cucumbers begin to curl up due to poor growing conditions. So, they can be damaged due to sudden temperature changes. Culture prefers a warm and humid environment, and such changes harm their growth and development.
Excessively cold weather encourages leaf curl. Due to too much sunlight, the plates will begin to wrinkle and lose their color. In this case, crops are protected from direct sunlight.
Be sure to control the temperature outside if cucumbers are grown outdoors. When cold weather sets in, the beds are covered with a special protective film or a canopy. After the onset of warm weather, all this is immediately removed.
If you are growing seedlings at home on the windowsill, then try to place it in such a way that the leaves do not come into contact with the glass. After all, glass surfaces are very cool at night and quickly heat up from sunlight during the day. Further, they may also turn yellow, begin to dry.
Landing pattern is important. If it is violated, the plant can also be deformed. Cucumbers should not be planted too tightly in open ground. There should be 1 bushes per 4 square meter. If planting is carried out in a greenhouse or in a greenhouse, then 3 bushes fall on the same area.
If the crop is planted too densely, the roots will begin to grow strongly, this will lead to a lack of nutrients necessary for normal growth and development. Thinning beds can help. Before landing, you need to choose the most suitable landing pattern in advance.
If you plan to plant in a greenhouse or greenhouse, then you need to do this only in well-heated ground. It must first be fertilized with nutrients. You can buy ready-made substances.
Wrong Care
Cucumber leaf plates can begin to curl even with improper care. The cause of damage to the green parts is, among other things, insufficient watering. Cucumbers are moisture-loving plants. To ensure their full growth and development, it is recommended to water the culture once every four days. The liquid should be at room temperature. There should be about 1-4 liters per 5 square meter of plantings.
After the formation of the ovaries, the number of waterings should be increased to 3-4 times a week. Before the procedure, it is necessary to loosen the earth around the vegetation. If you are growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, then spraying should be done. Moreover, the procedure is carried out both on the plants themselves and on the walls of the structure in order to increase the humidity of the air inside to the desired level.
Remember that excessive moisture in the ground can also greatly harm the crop and cause leaf blades to curl. In addition, it will provoke the development of various fungal diseases. If the cotyledon leaves of the culture begin to turn yellow and deform, twist, then this will also indicate excessive watering.
Mineral deficiency can lead to leaf curl. In this case, the damaged part often turns pale due to nitrogen deficiency. If there is not enough nitrogen, then the crown may also stop developing. In this case, urea or ammonium nitrate can help.
With a potassium deficiency, the foliage will begin to curl up. In this case, potassium salt can come up (10 tablespoons of this substance per 3 liters of water). In the greenhouse, the foliage curls inward with a lack of magnesium, sulfur.
You should be as careful as possible when adding ammonia substances. If used incorrectly, an ammonia burn is possible, in which yellow spots will first appear on the vegetation, and then the edges of the plates will gradually begin to curl inward.
Such damage may appear with incorrect picking. This procedure involves transplanting young plants into a large container. During its implementation, it is possible to greatly harm the root system, which subsequently leads to folding.
Pest Control
The culture is often damaged by various harmful insects, such as:
- aphid;
- spider mite;
- bear;
- whitefly;
- thrips;
Most often, these pests appear due to insufficient lighting, a sharp change in temperature, excessive humidity, and a lack of useful macronutrients and microelements.
Insects they will gradually begin to suck out all the juices from the vegetation, their development and growth will slow down significantly. In any case, you will first need to collect all insects from cucumbers, as a rule, this is done by hand.
In order to get rid of such parasites, it is better to use ready-made preparations immediately. Among them:
- “Aktara”;
- “Fitoverm”;
- “Antiklesch”;
- “Fufanon”;
- “Confidor”.
Remember that many chemicals can be dangerous to humans, so they should be used with extreme caution. All treatments should be carried out before the formation of ovaries.
Often used to kill harmful insects and various infusions prepared at home. So, the most effective folk remedy is considered composition of 500 grams of chopped garlic and 3 liters of water. In this form, the solution is infused for five days.
Treatment of diseases
In cucumbers, leaves can also curl when affected by various diseases.
Mučnistaâ rosa
In this case, the leaves will first begin to turn yellow, and then curl. Sometimes this disease appears due to excessive thickening of plantings. Powdery mildew usually occurs in cool and rainy summers. Over time, individual parts of the plants will begin to turn white. Treatment should begin as soon as damage is discovered.
First, diseased plants should be sprayed with a solution of soda (2 tablespoons of soda per 10 liters of water). It is also recommended to add a little laundry soap, which is pre-crushed. After that, you can start processing with finished preparations (“Alirin”, “Fitosporin”).
Sometimes an infusion of mullein is used to combat powdery mildew. To do this, mix mullein and water in a ratio of 1 to 3. In this form, everyone insists for three days. Then the resulting composition is diluted with clean water and sprayed.
You can apply and sour milk composition. To do this, it is diluted in a liter of pure water. All this is carefully filtered, then spraying is carried out. The procedure is recommended to be performed with a spray gun.
Root rot
When infected with root rot, the foliage will begin to curl around the edges, remaining green, then it will turn very pale. At later stages, the culture begins to gradually fade, turn yellow, starting from the bottom sheets. Only then the disease moves to the upper parts. The stem may turn brown.
Most often, root rot affects those cucumbers that are grown in greenhouse structures. To avoid its occurrence, before planting, the soil should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.
The disease can occur due to excessive soil moisture or due to watering with cold water. To cure vegetation, its lower part is pollinated with ash or chalk, and coal is also sometimes used. You can also apply the tool “Fitosporin-M”. Sometimes the drug is also used Fitolavin, in this case, prepare a solution according to the instructions and water the infected cucumbers under the root.
Mosaic ordinary
This disease is viral. First, spots will appear on the culture, later it will greatly slow down in development, the foliage will decrease in size, will curl and fall off. In order to prevent the appearance of a mosaic, it is necessary to disinfect the seed material before planting, for this a solution of potassium permanganate is used. If the plant is still sick, then it will have to be completely dug up and burned so that it does not infect other crops.
Peronosporoz
This disease is often referred to as downy mildew.. Peronosporosis can spread very quickly throughout the area. The foliage will eventually begin to deform, spots of purple, gray, whitish bloom will appear on its surface.
The disease appears, as a rule, when the weather is too hot and humid. It also occurs due to poor ventilation in greenhouses, abundant condensation on their walls, and frequent fogs. To cure cucumbers, you can use a solution with baking soda, liquid soap and hot, clean water.
You need to wait until the composition cools down. With his help, spraying is carried out. But a single such treatment will not be enough, it is necessary to perform several procedures with an interval of one week. Sometimes an infusion with onion peel is also used.
Fungicides (“Kurzat”, “Ridomil”) are also suitable to combat the disease. They are used in strict accordance with the instructions. As a rule, for effective treatment, it will be necessary to carry out several treatments with a short interval.
Cladosporiosis
The disease is often referred to as olive blotch. It affects all above-ground parts of cucumbers and causes foliage to curl. Further, spots of gray-olive color appear on the plants, a velvety coating appears. To cure the culture, it is worth using fungicides (“Kurzat”, “Ordan”). If you grow cucumber bushes in a greenhouse, then it is better to disinfect it.
In any case, it is important to immediately establish in which direction the foliage is twisted (up or down), the leaves dry out or wrinkle. So, downward deformation can mean, among other things, a lack of potassium, calcium and zinc. Deformation upward may indicate the emergence and development of various diseases.
Preventive measures
To avoid deformation of the leaf plates in cucumbers, some important preventive measures should be remembered. Among them:
- maintaining an optimal climate in greenhouses and greenhouses;
- compliance with all crop rotation rules (one crop cannot be planted in the same place on the site for too long a period);
- periodic treatments with disinfectants;
- soil disinfection before planting;
- regular loosening of the earth;
- complete removal of residues of previous crops before planting;
- periodic inspection of vegetation for damage and harmful insects.
Do not forget that cucumbers need fertilizer. They allow you to fill the deficiency of microelements and macroelements, increase the immunity of the culture, and prevent deformation of the foliage.
The first top dressing is applied after planting, then fertilizers should be applied only as needed. Excessive use of organic fertilizers can backfire and lead to diseases.
Be sure to keep an eye on humidity and temperature levels. If you grow cucumbers at home on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, then you can purchase special devices for measuring these indicators.
When watering, you can use water at room temperature or a slightly warm liquid. It is periodically permissible to carry out preventive treatments with folk remedies with laundry soap or ready-made preparations.
If the vegetation is affected too much, then it is better to immediately dig it out of the ground and burn it completely. Otherwise, the affected parts can spread various diseases to other plantings. For fast-growing bushes, pinching is a must. To do this, first remove the top.
Remember that it is necessary to start treating the crop and eliminating the cause of foliage deformation only after the exact cause has been identified.. Otherwise, you can lose almost the entire crop.
