Why do tomato seedlings curl leaves. Why do tomato leaves curl up? Why do tomatoes curl their top leaves?

Often, home gardeners notice a problem when growing tomatoes: twisting upper leaves in plants. Twisted tops prevent full photosynthesis, and the plant begins to wither from deficiency. nutrients. Why is this happening?

A possible reason that the leaves of tomato seedlings began to curl is damage to the roots during planting. After a while, the root system will recover, and the tomatoes will take root. This is the most harmless option for twisting tomato tops.

Such necessary procedures, like pinching and pinching, can also cause twisting of tomato leaves if they are not carried out correctly. The first pinching is carried out 20 days after planting seedlings in the ground, then - 1 time per week. In this case, you can remove no more than 2 lower leaves in 1 procedure, otherwise the plant will weaken. You can pinch only shoots that have reached 10 cm in length. Excessive pinching is stress for the tomato bush, which can lead to twisting of the leaf tops and falling of the ovaries.

There are more serious options for why tomato leaves began to twist.

Humidity and high temperature

Excessive or, conversely, insufficient moisture can affect the curling of the leaves. When the plant rolls its leaves upwards, in a "boat", it means that it does not have enough moisture. So tomatoes compensate for its deficiency: they reduce the area from which the liquid evaporates, “save”. Abundant, but rare watering will help to avoid drought (once a week is enough, in the heat - 2 times). Excess water adversely affects the roots, leads to their decay. In this case, the plant ceases to receive sufficient nutrients and oxygen, as a result - twisted tops. Tomatoes - whimsical vegetable crop. The soil must always be loose in order to excess moisture did not accumulate at the roots of tomatoes. Therefore, mulching is a mandatory procedure that will help not only to cope with excess water, but will also prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil.

Tomatoes do not like extreme heat. If the temperature in the greenhouse or on the street exceeds + 34 ... + 35 ° С, the leaves of the tomatoes are twisted into a tube. In the evening or at night, when the temperature is noticeably lower, the tops that have twisted straighten out and return to their previous state. Help save tomatoes from high temperature a thick layer of mulch, covering the bushes from direct exposure to sunlight with opaque material. If we are talking about a greenhouse, then in addition to these measures, it must be often ventilated.

Lack and excess of trace elements in the soil

Insufficient micronutrient content in the soil will lead to twisting and discoloration of the leaves in tomatoes. Basically, the plant may be deficient in potassium, phosphorus and zinc. Insufficient potassium content in the soil leads to the top of the leaves curling up, changing their color to brown, and ripe tomatoes appear light spots. Phosphorus deficiency can be identified by curled down leaves and purple veins. Zinc deficiency is manifested by twisting big leaves tomatoes, and their reverse side acquires purple hue. To compensate for the lack of trace elements, top dressing with ash or mineral fertilizers(superphosphate, potassium nitrate).

Excess fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers can also lead to twisting: the leaves roll into a ring. The stem becomes thick, new, powerful shoots are formed. The tomato will delight with lush green leaves, but to good harvest it won't. Nitrogen blocks the access of roots to such important trace elements as phosphorus, potassium and zinc. It is necessary to stop nitrogen fertilization and replenish the missing trace elements.

Diseases of tomatoes (video)

Insect infestation and infectious diseases

It can cause leaves to curl up and be damaged by pests: black aphids, spider mites and whiteflies. Insects populate reverse side leaves, sucking the juices out of them. This leads to the fact that the affected part of the plant curls, turns yellow, then dries up and falls off. First, the pests hide in the leaf axils, where it is difficult to immediately detect insects, and then they infect not only all the leaves, but also the stems of the tomato, which can lead to the death of the entire bush. Careful treatment of tomato bushes (each leaf, each stem) with insecticidal preparations will help get rid of insects.

Another threat to growing tomatoes is damage by microorganisms, bacteria and fungi. In a plant affected by bacteriosis, all leaves and stems are twisted down, the tops and flowers become smaller, become pale and fall off. carriers infectious diseases there may be some pests, or the seeds were initially affected by microorganisms. Sick bushes must be carefully destroyed. The infection also affects the soil, so all neighboring plants and beds from under infected tomatoes must be disinfected with Pharma-iodine or another antimicrobial agent. In the future, it is advisable to plant cruciferous green manure, radish or mustard in this place in order to completely rid the soil of infection.

By finding out in a timely manner why tomato leaves curl and quickly eliminating the cause, you can achieve success in such a difficult agronomic business as growing tomatoes.

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Growing tomatoes on the site, the gardener may encounter such a problem as twisting the leaves. And more often it happens in greenhouse conditions. In order for the harvest to be plentiful, it is necessary to figure out why the leaves of the tomatoes in the greenhouse are twisted.

General information about culture

Tomato is an annual crop of the Solanaceae family. Grows on any soil and even without it. But to get a bountiful harvest, you still need fertile land, flavored with phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. Acidity should be neutral.

The predecessors of the culture should not be related plants: potatoes, eggplant, pepper. They can transmit diseases inherent in the family, which will negatively affect the growth and fruiting of the tomato.

It is grown by sowing seeds for seedlings in a greenhouse. Work begins 1.5 - 2 months before the start of the season for planting vegetables in the ground.

On a note! For accelerated germination seeds are soaked in a solution of boric acid.

Bush of tomatoes

The grown seedlings are planted to cotyledon leaves, covered with earth. Until the seedlings take root, you need to water every day. In the future, watering should be plentiful, but not frequent, about 1 time in 7 days.

Harvested in the morning or evening. You can even take the fruits slightly unripe: they ripen well in the box on their own, the bush does not need to spend energy on them.

Tomato contains a large number of vitamins and minerals, trace elements. Even when salted, it does not lose its positive qualities. Tomato in the diet is indispensable for the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and the genitourinary system.

Why do leaves curl

Even a plant disease specialist will not immediately determine why tomatoes curl their leaves in a greenhouse. There may be many reasons for this.

Root damage

Root damage in tomatoes

Usually the root is injured when planting seedlings in the ground. Seedling roots are brittle and easily damaged. The gardener may not see the microtrauma, but the leaves of such bushes will be twisted for several days.

Important! When there are many seedlings, they outgrow and stretch. And damage to the root and, as a result, twisting of the leaf occurs precisely in overgrown seedlings.

As a rule, in the process of growth, the injury heals, the leaves return to their original state. Also, biotrauma of the roots can occur when loosening the soil. The main roots are deep, but in the process of growth, small roots grow on the stem underground. Therefore, it is undesirable to loosen the soil deeper than 4 cm.

Wrong watering

Second possible reason- lack or excess of moisture. The branched root system of the bush needs abundant watering and, if there is not enough moisture, the root does not have enough nutrition. This is one of the most common causes why the sheet can twist into a tube.

Not proper watering tomatoes

Watering the bush should be moderate. If the greenhouse in which tomatoes grow is made of polycarbonate, it is necessary to moisten the soil once every 3 days. Approximately 1 bucket of water is consumed per bush.

Wetting the root is done gradually: water should nourish the soil without spreading around. After watering, the beds must be loosened and mulched.

Note! With a weak watering that does not reach the roots, the leaves on the plant are wrapped up. And they remain green, they do not visible signs insect damage.

Excess moisture will also adversely affect the plant. With stable waterlogging, the roots do not receive the oxygen they need, informing about this with leaves rolled up. An imbalance of moisture will eventually lead to decay of the roots, the development of fungus, and the wilting of the bush.

Violation of the temperature regime

Despite the fact that the tomato is a heat-loving crop, an increase in air temperature to 35 degrees and above will adversely affect the plant: it can “burn out”. Leaf curl can also be a reaction to heat.

At high temperatures, tomato leaves can "burn"

Whether the increased air temperature is the cause can be determined visually. In this case, by the evening, when the heat subsides, the leaf plate is completely straightened.

To lower the temperature and bring the plants back to normal, it is necessary to ventilate the greenhouse. Another withdrawal method stressful situation- irrigation of the bush with a solution of urea. To do this, 1 tablespoon of the substance is dissolved in a bucket of water. It will also be a nitrogen supplement. The procedure is carried out in the evening.

Incorrect bush formation

When forming a bush, an agrotechnical technique is used - pinching. The essence of the method is to remove side shoots. They take away from the plant the nutrition necessary for the formation of fruits. The stepchildren themselves do not form ovaries, and if they do, then the tomatoes turn out to be small.

Pasynkovanie tomatoes

Without stepchildren, fruit-bearing shoots use fertilizers and other nutrients from the soil more efficiently. Without extra branches between the bushes, air circulation improves, thereby preventing diseases.

The mistake lies in the early removal of stepchildren. Green mass is a kind of conductor of nutrients. If the plant has not yet taken root, and the side branches have already been removed, the path of food delivery from the root to the branches and back is lost.

As a result of such a failure, the leaves of tomatoes curl up. Foliar top dressing can help the bush.

Advice! To avoid this situation, the first removal of axillary branches is carried out 20 days after planting tomatoes in the greenhouse.

If the answer to the question is found: “Why do the leaves of tomatoes in the greenhouse twist?”, You need to eliminate the cause as soon as possible. As a rule, after this, the leaves straighten out without consequences for the plant. But if the cause is not eliminated, the bush may die.

Diseases of tomatoes

If a plant is properly cared for and still looks unhealthy, this could be due to disease or pests.

bacterial cancer

Bacterial cancer of tomatoes

In greenhouse conditions, a frequent disease in tomatoes. Its symptoms:

• the stem below is cracking, bumps appear on it;
• leaves curl upside down, wither and dry;
• round light brown spots form on the top of the fruits, blackening inside.

The diseased bush is destroyed. It is cut at the root, irrigated with copper oxychloride (40 g per 1 bucket of water), left to dry. Then everything is burned along with the root outside the greenhouse. To prevent the disease from spreading to healthy plants, the remaining tomato bushes need to be prophylactic in the form of irrigation with a solution of copper oxychloride.

tobacco mosaic

tobacco mosaic

This is viral disease. Mosaic appears when plants are planted too densely, with poor ventilation and high humidity. Her symptoms:

• the leaves become speckled, then they are deformed and wrapped;
• bush growth slows down;
• fruits turn brown and begin to rot.

To treat the disease, it is necessary to prepare the following solution: dilute 100 g of microfertilizers in 1 liter of whey. Each leaf and stem of the plant is carefully processed with a spray gun.

The virus-infected soil must be removed to a depth of 15 cm. The newly covered land is treated with a weak solution of acidic potassium manganese and dried. Then it is fertilized with nitrogen, spilled with a solution of whey.

Fusarium

Fungal disease. The disease is directed from the lower leaves to the crown. This is one of the reasons why the tops of tomatoes curl up in the greenhouse. Disease manifestations:

• the leaves become light green in color, curl and fall off;
• top shoots wither;
• the trunk from below is covered with a pink bloom.

Antifungal drugs are used to treat the disease. Proportions - according to the instructions. If diseased plants are not treated, the fungus spreads throughout the greenhouse.

Fusarium wilt of tomatoes

verticella wilt

Symptoms of the disease are about the same as with Fusarium. Leaves curl upside down and turn yellow. Then they fall off, but the plant can still live for a long time. Bushes are treated with various fungicides.

If left unchecked, diseases can also infect green spaces next season. In early spring, before the start of the season, the greenhouse inside must be cleaned with disinfectants.

Insect exposure

Various insects like to feast on tomato leaves: whiteflies, aphids, spider mites. Under their influence, plant leaves can also curl, turn yellow, and fade.

spider mite

Insects are usually located on the underside of the leaf. They like to settle on young leaves located at the top of the plant. The spider mite wraps them in cobwebs, folding them into a tube. The black aphid draws juices from the bush, then injects a poisonous substance into it. This is another reason why the leaves of tomatoes in the greenhouse curl and turn yellow.

Used as pest control chemicals. Advocates of ecology use decoctions of various herbs and flowers, for example, chamomile, calendula, tobacco.

Nutritional imbalance

No matter how nutritious the soil is initially, after a while it is depleted. In this regard, in order to obtain an abundant harvest, the summer resident necessarily uses various top dressings. A bad plant appearance can be the result of an incorrectly selected fertilizer dosage. It can be either a deficiency or an excess of nutrients.

• with excess nitrogen, the stems increase in size and side shoots, leaves curl;
• with a lack of potassium, the leaves curl and turn brown, changing to yellow vein;
• about the lack of phosphorus, the leaves will signal a gray-green color, the veins - red-violet;
• with a lack of copper, the upper leaves turn inward, yellow spots appear on them.

Important! With a lack of nutrition, the leaf is irrigated with a solution necessary elements and after a short period, the state of green spaces stabilizes. When overfeeding, the soil is washed out. With this method, the bushes are watered with a large volume of water.

If the plant is provided good care, it is not affected by diseases and pests, then leaf curl can be feature varieties. Tall cultivars and cherry tomatoes have this quality. In this case, leaf curl may well be the norm.

By all indications, tomato plants in a greenhouse "fatten" from an excess of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil.

Tomatoes in this case drive out a large green mass, but do not seek to give offspring, since they do not feel danger to their lives. That is, they form very weak flower brushes with a small amount flowers.

To balance the nutrition of tomatoes and correct the situation in this case, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, which include phosphorus, potassium, zinc, boron and other trace elements, will help.

For this, ideally, superphosphate is suitable (dissolve 3 tablespoons in 10 liters of water and feed 1 liter under a bush).

But it is best to use infusion as a top dressing. wood ash, it contains all the nutrients except nitrogen.

Twisting of the apical leaves can also occur for other reasons:

• From the high temperature in the greenhouse (more than + 35 ° C). In this case, the apical leaves curl up by lunchtime, and by night or in the morning the leaf blades are restored. It is necessary to ventilate the greenhouse more often and shade the roof nonwovens(span-bond, lutrasil, agril and others).
• From a large difference in night and day temperatures. In this case, the greenhouses are closed at night, and open during the day for good ventilation.
• From frequent, but shallow watering of plants. It is better to water the tomatoes less often, but more abundantly.
• From the belated removal of a large number of overgrown stepchildren and abundant cutting of leaves, as the balance between the ground part of the plant and the roots is disturbed. It is necessary to stepchild when stepchildren have a length of no more than 5-7 cm. It is permissible to cut 2-3 leaves on a plant per week.
• From damage by viruses or pests. A plant affected by 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 top dressing
Pour 2 liters of wood ash hot water and mix thoroughly. Bring the solution with water to 10 liters and leave for a day so that all the elements are completely dissolved. To receive liquid feed take 1 liter of infusion, dilute it in 9 liters of water heated in the sun, and add 1 liter under the root of each plant.

Below are other entries on the topic "Cottage and garden - with your own hands"

Curling of leaves in tomatoes that grow indoors can be seen quite often. For the most part, such leaves can only be seen on individual tomato bushes, sometimes almost all tomato plants planted on the site suffer from this. Consider the main reasons why the leaves in the greenhouse begin to curl in a tomato and how to deal with it.

Elevated temperature air in the greenhouse and the intense heat that has been established during the cultivation of tomatoes leads to the fact that the moisture from them begins to evaporate intensively, the turgor in the tissues drops, due to which the leaves of the plants begin to curl. To prevent this from happening, certain conditions must be created indoors so that the temperature does not rise above 25-30 ° C during the day for a long time.

If the temperature rises above 30 ° C, and even at low humidity indoors, then in addition to twisting the leaves, the plants may also shed flowers and an already formed ovary. The result of a prolonged heat wave is often predictable and leads to a reduction in tomato yields.

You can quickly reduce the air temperature in the greenhouse if, after each watering, open the doors and all the vents and leave them open for ventilation for a while.

You can also whitewash the glass or film coating on the outside with chalk, lime, or cover it with a light-colored cloth to create protection from the penetration of direct sunlight into the greenhouse. Tomatoes need to be watered more often in the morning and evening to increase the amount of water entering the plants. And in order to reduce the evaporation of moisture from the ground, it must be mulched with plant covering material: straw, hay, or agrofiber put on the beds.

If the leaves on the tomatoes curl strongly, then you can help the plants - feed them by spraying with a solution of urea. Prepare it at the rate of 1.5 tbsp. l. this nitrogen fertilizer for 10 l. Consumption rate - 1 liter for each tomato plant.

A sharp drop in temperature

Sharp changes in air temperature in the greenhouse can also lead to the fact that the leaves of tomato seedlings curl. For example, this can be observed after transplanting it to the main growing place, especially if the seedlings have not been well hardened. Adult tomato plants grown in greenhouse conditions can also curl their leaves when exposed to cool air due to a cold snap.

Improper watering: lack or excess of moisture

It is believed that the most frequent base so that the leaves of tomato plants can begin to curl and deform this improper watering: both deficiency and excess.

Tomatoes, as a culture, love an abundance of moisture, but it must be properly applied: they need to be watered not when necessary, and not immediately pouring a large amount of water under each bush, but regularly and in moderate portions. The frequency of watering, as well as the violation of the dosage, cause the leaves to curl in tomatoes.

Particularly affected by a lack of moisture are plants that have just been planted on greenhouse beds (until they take root). At this time, they should be watered as often as possible, but do not flood them, but water them in small volumes until they grow new roots. After that, subsequent irrigation should be carried out at a frequency of about 1-2 times every week. After mass flowering and at the time of fruit formation, the plants begin to be watered again as often and abundantly as possible, in order to enable the ripening fruits to fill up.

Signs of a lack of moisture that adult plants experience are as follows - in tomatoes, the leaves twist inward, forming, as it were, tubules. This is a defensive reaction of the tomatoes themselves - this is how they try to minimize the amount of moisture evaporated from the surface of the leaves. This condition of the leaves serves as a signal that it is necessary to immediately start watering the plants. However, it is not necessary to pour out too much water at once, so as not to provoke stress in the plants, it is better to water them a little every day, in small portions, so that the tomatoes are gradually saturated with moisture and can straighten the leaves.

If the leaves of tomatoes in the greenhouse curl up, then this is not a sign of a lack, but, on the contrary, an excess of moisture: in this way they increase evaporation and get rid of excess fluid coming from the roots from the soil. You can help the plants if you immediately stop watering and do not irrigate the tomatoes for about 1-2 weeks.

You can also prevent leaf curl by watering greenhouse plants at the right time for this: not during the day, but in the mornings and evenings, when evaporation from plants is minimal. For irrigation, you need to take water separated from chlorine or well, but always warm ( room temperature, but not cold, from which plants receive temperature stress, and their roots will not be able to draw moisture from the soil).

Too much or too little fertilizer

It is known that without regular top dressing there will be no good and plentiful harvest of tomato fruits. But they need to be applied correctly, because both an excess and a deficiency of many microelements important for life processes occurring in plants lead to a violation of their content in plant tissues, which causes twisting of tomato leaves.

For example, if the edges of the leaf blades of tomatoes rise up, as with an excess of moisture in the soil, but at the same time Bottom part of tomato bushes turns purple, then this is a sign of an overabundance of the trace element zinc in the soil. If there is a lot of manganese in it, then the tomato leaves first curl, then dry out and wrinkle even more, and acquire a bright green color. With an excess of nitrogen in the soil, the tops of tomatoes usually wither. It is possible to neutralize the effect of excess nitrogen on vegetating tomato plants if potassium fertilizers are added to the soil under them: potassium sulfate (8-10 g) or ordinary ash (50-80 g). This amount of fertilizer is calculated per 1 sq. m. beds.

Calcium deficiency in the soil of beds with tomatoes is manifested by the fact that the leaf blades twist upwards, and top rot appears on the fruits. You can eliminate the lack of an element by adding calcium nitrate to the soil (take about 20 g of fertilizer in a bucket of water, add 0.35-0.4 kg of ash and 10 g of carbamide to it.). Pour 3-4 square meters with this solution. m of tomato plants. If there is a lack of phosphorus in the soil, then the leaves of the tomatoes also curl and become grayish in color. Phosphorus, which is important for plants, can be introduced into the soil in the form of a solution of the well-known superphosphate fertilizer (80-90 g per bucket), which will need to be poured into 3-4 square meters. m beds.

Copper deficiency in the soil is manifested in the twisting of tomato leaves and in their acquisition of a yellow color that is not characteristic of the culture. Small yellow spots may also appear on their leaves, which then begin to blacken. You can feed tomato plants with copper if you treat them with copper-containing preparations, for example, such as copper oxychloride.

Root system damage

It often happens that the leaves of tomato seedlings, just planted in a greenhouse bed, quickly curl into a "ram's horn". This happens because the plants quickly lose moisture due to the root system damaged by negligence when planting. Sluggish plants recover for some time after this, grow roots, and they can be helped in this by watering them often and applying fertilizer as needed. After adaptation and rooting of seedlings, leaf curl in tomatoes is usually much less common.

Tomato diseases

Twisting the leaves of tomato bushes in greenhouse conditions can also be observed in some diseases. Tomatoes can get sick under different circumstances: if they are densely planted, placed in those areas where their kindred nightshade used to grow, and if the agrotechnical rules for growing plants are violated.

Of the diseases characteristic of tomatoes, such a symptom as leaf curling has a stolbur disease. It is the appearance of this disease that can give an answer to the question of why the tops of tomatoes wither, the top leaves of tomatoes are deformed and twisted, and their color has changed to light pink or purple. Another symptom by which stolbur disease can be identified is that the lower leaves of plants, as a rule, turn yellow. For the treatment of this disease, you can use the drug Fitoplasmin, from which you can observe the maximum possible effect. It is necessary to prepare a working solution of this drug before spraying plants in accordance with the instructions attached to it.

Why do tops wrap around tomato seedlings

Leaf curl can also be observed not only in adult tomato plants, but also in tomato seedlings that have recently been transplanted into greenhouses. The reasons why tops curl in a tomato in a greenhouse are as follows:

• a strong excess or deficiency of moisture;
• cold, not having time to warm up the earth, combined with warm air;
• cold weather;
• heat and sunlight, quickly drying plants;
• dry air in the greenhouse;
• lack or excess of nutrients in the soil (especially nitrogen);
• a small amount of containers in which seedlings are grown (not enough nutrients and oxygen in the soil).

Measures to combat leaf curl on tomato plants in greenhouse conditions are as follows:

• growing seedlings in a container of sufficient volume, if necessary, transplanting it into containers that are more suitable in terms of volume;
• protection of plants with dense covering material from night cooling;
• protection of tomatoes from sunlight by shading;
• humidification of too dry air in greenhouses by spraying the soil with plain water;
• feeding tomatoes with fertilizers prepared strictly in accordance with the recommendations given by the manufacturers of these products;
• timely removal of stepchildren and the formation of a bush according to the scheme recommended for a particular tomato variety or hybrid;
• top dressing of tomatoes with growth stimulants and complex fertilizers for their best development.

All these agrotechnical measures should help the gardener protect tomato seedlings and prevent or reduce the likelihood of twisted and deformed leaves on plants.

Tomatoes, according to gardeners, are a moderately whimsical plant. If we talk about the preferred people hybrid varieties, then thanks to the diligence of breeders, the problems of growing bets are practically reduced to zero. However, whether it is a determinate or interdeterminate variety of tomato, the leaves often have a specific curl: up or down.

Causes

When the leaves of tomatoes curl, it gives the plant a sickly appearance and, as a rule, such leaves wither. A change in the shape, color of the leaf indicates the malaise of the plant. Some diseases begin to affect the lower leaves, while others - the upper ones. But the result is always the same: defeat from the beginning to the top.

Consider a few of the main reasons why leaves curl.

• If, after planting healthy seedlings in the garden, after removing the weed with a chopper, and also after hilling, you notice that the foliage has curled up, then most likely you have damaged the root system. Which can lead to poor nutrition of the bush. In such cases, there is nothing to do, because with minor damage, the plant will independently take its previous form. At severe damage nothing can be done about the root, it will wither anyway.
• Intense heat outside, on a windowsill, or in a greenhouse can also cause leaves to curl. This is natural process, in which the plant reduces the amount of moisture evaporated through the leaves. This reason is easy to recognize, because as soon as the heat subsides, the plant immediately takes its previous form.

• With weak or irregular watering, the edges of the leaves curl up to the top, forming a boat.
• Leaves can curl with an excess or, conversely, with a lack of trace elements. In such cases, the leaves tend to dry out.
• Tomatoes grown in a greenhouse are more likely to be attacked by pests than their "comrades" grown in the garden. Aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, settling on the plant, cause the leaves to curl up into a tube.
• Pinching too hard can also cause the leaves to curl. Remember that a tomato is not a grape that recovers quickly after such procedures. Therefore, you should not get involved in the formation of a bush.
• And the most difficult cause is plant disease. Establishing a diagnosis is quite difficult due to the many variations of diseases.

Diseases and pests

As for diseases that attack plants, they most often appear in densely planted places where water from overflow does not have time to dry out. In addition, if the soil is not regularly loosened, then various pests also start in it.

Consider the most common diseases found in vegetable gardens in different regions.

• When a bush is damaged by stolbur, the leaves, acquiring a color from pink to purple, not only curl, but also change their appearance at the top of the plant. And the lower part of the bush becomes yellow. If a peculiar color of the foliage is found, spraying with the Fitoplasmin solution should immediately be started.

• If twisting the leaf leads to its further withering, then these are signs of a bacterial cancer that affects shrubs. The manifestation of the disease begins at the bottom of the bush. First twisted, and then withering leaves are covered with reddish-brown spots. Rising higher, the disease progresses to the complete destruction of the bush. Cancer develops in densely planted areas with excessive watering. Especially if the bush has injuries. The disease is easier to prevent than to get rid of it. For this, watering should be moderate. When working with a chopper, try not to injure the bush. Although, according to experts, you can get rid of the disease if you recognize it in time and start processing it with copper sulphate.

Despite the fact that for rapid growth tomatoes need heat, its excess can cause the appearance of a thin-leaved virus, which even affects palatability tomatoes. The bush becomes lethargic, and its fruits are tasteless. Excessive lighting, whether it be solar or lamp, can even affect seedlings on the windowsill. An infected bush must be removed immediately, as there is a risk of infection. healthy seedling. It is not difficult to recognize the disease, since the sheets twisted inward with a tube become thin, turn yellow, and appear on them. gray spots. Over time, the foliage falls off altogether. The disease is not subject to treatment, only prevention will help to prevent it. To do this, in a hot summer, it is advisable to spray the bush with a solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of one gram per liter of water.

You can get rid of many problems when growing tomatoes by treating the seeds before planting. To do this, before planting, it is enough to soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate for several hours. This procedure must be followed if you are using purchased seeds from a little-known manufacturer, since there is no guarantee that the soil or bush from which the seeds were taken was healthy.

Except diseases, twisting sheet plate may occur due to attacking sucking pests, the timely recognition of which can save the life of the plant.

If it is the lower leaves that are curling on your plant, then try shaking it. It is possible that you will scare away the whitefly, whose favorite place is the greenhouse.

Seeing her, the plant must begin to be sprayed with any poisonous insect substance ("Fufanon" or "Mospilan"). In the absence of marked drugs, you can try to remove the pest folk method: cooking water solution yarrow at the rate of 150 grams per 5 liters of water, to which half of the piece is added laundry soap. Since the whitefly comes to life in cloudy weather, it is more desirable to carry out processing in the morning and evening, focusing on the lower sheets. Yarrow for infusion can be replaced with garlic or dandelion. Folk remedies are good when the tomatoes are already ripening on the bushes. The use of insecticides is permissible 3 weeks before harvest.

Aphids, unlike the whitefly, start up mainly in open ground, and because of it the leaves begin to curl at the top of the bush. It's easy to recognize her. To do this, you need to turn the sheet over, and if it is there, then you can easily find it. Often, the accumulation of aphids is accompanied by ants, which are, as it were, its carriers. The following drugs will be effective for the fight: Aktara, Iskra, Proteus. From traditional medicine apply irrigation with infusions of wormwood or celandine with the addition of about one hundred grams of laundry soap. You can prevent the appearance of this pest by spraying the bushes once a week with an infusion of ash. To do this, we dilute one hundred grams per 10 liters and insist for 2 days.

The spider mite, like the whitefly, loves a poorly ventilated greenhouse environment. Settling on the plant, it sucks the juice from the leaves, after which they curl and dry out. This pest leaves a web on the underside of the leaf. To combat it, the treatment of the bush with preparations is suitable: Borneo, Flumite or Oberon, the use of which is also allowed 3 weeks before harvesting. If the deadlines are running out, then they will help folk remedies: an infusion of dandelions, onions or garlic per 3 liters of water 500 g. And if garlic, then 10 cloves will be enough.

Micronutrient deficiency

A deficiency or, conversely, an excess of trace elements such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) can lead to leaf curl.

Necessary for any plant in the right amount nitrogen has a positive effect on growth and yield. Tomatoes need this trace element at an early stage of development and during flowering. In other periods, on a normalized nitrogen background, the plant needs phosphorus and potassium.

The lack of nitrogen begins to appear on the lower leaves, which, lighter, curl, and their veins acquire a blue tint with a red admixture. This coloring strikes the trunk and leaf cuttings. The plant stops growing, and new foliage appears, turning pale green. All this leads to premature flowering, small fruits and poor-quality harvest.

Excesses of this substance appear in large, but fragile, uncharacteristic for the variety sheets, which are later twisted into rings, in a rich dark green color and a powerful trunk. Bushes shed their inflorescences. Fruit ripening is delayed, which also leads to poor yields. Due to excess nitrogen, the absorption of iron is inhibited. For this reason, the plant often gets sick.

Phosphorus is no less important for plants than nitrogen, as it takes part in the formation of the root system and predicts the laying of the future crop. Its deficiency makes the plant vulnerable to low temperatures and soreness.

A characteristic sign of a lack of phosphorus is considered to be twisting the leaf up., which on the underside, like the stem, acquires a purple color. With prolonged starvation, the plant stops growing completely, and the leaves curl down. Against this background, the fruits, losing the aroma inherent in tomatoes, are formed small.

New leaves, twisting, with an excess of substance, already appear thin with light veins. Their edges acquire a burnt color, and there are spots on the lower part.

In order for the plant to become resistant to pests and temperature extremes, it must be enriched with potassium. With a lack of potassium, young leaves grow small, twisted downwards. Their edges dry out and crumble. Old foliage, crumbling over time, acquires a yellow-red color. The plant as a whole acquires a variegated color scheme. The bush, giving energy to the formation of stepchildren, slows down its growth. Tomatoes covered with dark spots ripen at different intervals.

The plant with an excess of potassium acquires a brown color. The leaves, wrinkled, curl and fall off.

For example, mature plant, loaded with fruits, begins to shed flowers with an excess of nitrogen against the background of a lack of potassium. If at this time there is a shortage of phosphorus, then the existing fruits will acquire dark stripes. Such an imbalance of trace elements can lead to the appearance of yellow veins in the fruits or yellow spots on their stalks.

You will learn more about the causes of leaf curl in tomatoes by watching the following video.

landing errors

Leaf twisting both inward and upward, leading to a decrease in yield or its complete loss, can be caused by errors made by gardeners during planting and growing. Before purchasing seeds, you need to decide on the place where future tomatoes will grow. Choosing a variety, we start from its characteristics. If this is a greenhouse, then it is more expedient to purchase interdeterminant varieties, famous for their high bush up to 5 meters. For open ground, determinant bushes are suitable, which, with low growth, can give bountiful harvest. Outdoor sudden changes in temperature or greenhouse high humidity for one or another variety can cause death.

Many mistakenly believe that a large amount of moisture or water will only benefit the plant. But this is far from true. Excess moisture, like excess light, leads to various ailments or the appearance of insects. Watering should be rare, but plentiful. Excess sun is easily determined by twisted sheets, which always straighten out in the evening.

You should not plant seedlings with inflorescences, as it will take all the energy of the plant, not allowing it to take root. A weak root system is a guarantee of plant death, which first manifests itself in leaf twisting. If, for whatever reason, you could not transplant the plant in time to open ground, and inflorescences have already begun to appear on it, then they must be removed before planting. After that, we determine the seedlings in a hole with a sufficient amount of water.

During the landing period, excess moisture will only be a plus. Don't be afraid if you overdo it with water, and you end up with something like a swamp. Excess moisture will evaporate, and the roots, having saturated, will make the plant stronger.

If your tomatoes belong to varieties that require the mandatory formation of a bush, then the main thing here is not to overdo it with removing extra leaves. This can also cause the death of the plant, which will begin to appear in the curling of the foliage. It is better to start pinching when your plant has reached a five-centimeter height.

Treatment

Of course, problems are easier to prevent than to cure, but if the warning is still late, then something has to be done to save the crop.

Twisted no matter in what form the leaves speak of the malaise of the plant. It is necessary to observe the plant in order to correctly determine the cause. If the twisting of the leaf becomes daytime, then, as noted above, the plant suffers from excessive light. Many in the hot summer try to save the plant by daily watering, but this can only harm the roots, which will begin to rot. In such cases, greenhouse plants must be provided with good ventilation, and outdoor plants with potassium, which is responsible for resistance to adverse weather conditions. The lack of any trace element is easily replenished with top dressing purchased in specialized stores. Or you can water the plants with water infused with ash. In addition, ash also contains phosphorus, which strengthens root system. There is little phosphorus in the ash, so if you need to enrich the bush with this particular element, then the solution on the ash should be with a large addition of the latter, or digging to the roots of dry ash is allowed. The peculiarity of getting rid of phosphorus starvation is that phosphorus is absorbed with sufficient illumination, so it is pointless to carry out top dressing in cloudy weather.

But you do not need to abuse this, as nitrogen supersaturation may occur, which will negatively affect the plant (see above). In such cases, you can save yourself by the so-called washing of the soil or additional lighting.

Prevention

To prevent the occurrence of diseases, pests It is recommended to pay attention to a few tips from experienced gardeners.

• The variety is selected taking into account the place where it will be grown. Thus creating a favorable environment for the plant.
• Before sowing seeds, it is advisable to soak them for several hours in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. This will help to strengthen the seeds if they are taken from a diseased plant or soil.
• For the winter, we fertilize the soil with manure, which will enrich it with the necessary trace elements.
• Digging the garden in spring prevents the appearance of underground pests, destroys the root system of weeds and enriches the soil with oxygen.
• We plant seedlings in open ground only if the earth is warm. The appearance of the first weeds will tell you about this.
• Before planting seedlings, it is recommended to take them outside to acclimatize for at least a day.
• Water the plant rarely, but plentifully. It is advisable to avoid getting moisture on the sheets, which darken because of it.
• If tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse, then good ventilation must be ensured.

But as soon as you see, subject to the above measures, the curling leaves of the plant, you must immediately look for the cause and eliminate its consequences.