Why do beets turn yellow? For what reasons do beet leaves turn yellow?
Any errors in care during the cultivation of vegetable crops appear primarily on their tops, which can dry out, change color and become stained. Often, summer residents are faced with the fact that beet leaves turn yellow. This may occur due to natural maturation and indicate that it is time to clean it up. But if the greens wither at the beginning of the growing season, a change in color is a sign of plant disease or improper care. In this case, in order not to lose the harvest, it is necessary to take urgent measures.
The main reasons for yellowing of tops
Beet leaves are a kind of indicator of the condition of the plant. In a healthy vegetable, they have a rich, bright green hue. The yellow color of the tops is a sign of deteriorating beet health and can be caused by the following factors:
- lack of moisture;
- pests;
- diseases.
If measures aimed at eliminating these causes are not carried out in time, the beet harvest will be very low.
Lack of moisture in the soil
Beets are not a moisture-loving crop. However, it requires regular watering in the form of sprinkling, the frequency of which directly depends not only on weather and climatic conditions, but also on the phases of the plant’s growing season.
The crop must be sown in well-moistened soil and the soil should not be allowed to dry out until mass shoots appear. However, since young plants are still weak and the root system is not sufficiently developed, deep moistening is not required.
Watering is carried out at the rate of 10 liters per square meter. m weekly.
During the formation and intensive development of the root crop, abundant watering is recommended - up to 20 liters per square meter. m, especially on hot days, which should be stopped several weeks before harvest. This will prepare the beets for further storage.
An incorrect watering regime immediately affects the condition of the plant; the tops are the first to react to this. Insufficient moisture of the soil in the beds leads to yellowing of beet leaves, they become small, wither and fall off. Excess moisture leads to a decrease in oxygen content in the soil, provokes root rot and is an excellent environment for the activity of pathogenic microflora.
Lack of nutrition
Yellowing of the tops is most often a sign of micronutrient deficiency. In case of nitrogen deficiency, beet leaves begin to turn yellow with veins, gradually thicken, and become coarser. In the absence of iron, their tips wither and change color first. In addition, beets are very sensitive to a lack of boron and manganese, which is typical of sandy or calcareous soils.
Therefore, to obtain a bountiful harvest with excellent taste, it is necessary to periodically apply the necessary fertilizers. Thus, for mid- and late-ripening varieties, at least two feedings are needed during the entire growing season. The first is carried out immediately after thinning, the second – after 2-3 weeks.
On depleted soils, it is better to fertilize with organic matter: wood ash, a solution of nettle, mullein, bird droppings or salt. This will enrich the soil with useful microelements:
- nitrogen,
- manganese,
- magnesium,
- potassium,
- phosphorus,
- gray,
- sodium and others.
When applying mineral fertilizers, it is extremely important not to overdo it and correctly calculate their amount, since beets can accumulate nitrates.
A sign of their high nitrate content is the formation of voids in the vegetable. Eating such a root vegetable can cause severe poisoning.
Diseases
Improper care, in particular waterlogging of the soil and lack of necessary nutrition, often lead to diseases, the first sign of which is the yellow tops of the plant:
- Jaundice is a viral disease, the characteristic symptom of which is yellowing of the leaves of the lower and middle tiers, starting from the tops and spreading along the edges. At the same time, the veins and tissues adjacent to them, as well as the base, can retain a green color. Leaves become brittle, denser and shorter. The source of infection is weeds, and aphids are considered to be the carrier of the virus.
- Blackleg, or root beetle of seedlings, is a disease of a fungal nature. Favorable conditions are cold weather and waterlogging. This disease affects the underground part of young plants. They are noticeably stunted in growth. The stems become thin, turn black, rot, and the tops turn yellow and wither. Beets become resistant to blackleg after the formation of the first four leaves.
- Phoma is another disease of a fungal nature, characterized by the appearance of brown and yellow spots with black dots (spores) on the foliage. Over time, the diameter of the spots increases and their number increases. Phoma affects the entire plant, while the seedlings suffer from root rot, and the fruit suffers from dry zonal and black rot. Most often, the disease occurs in crops grown in boron-deficient soils. The source is affected seeds, roots and unrotted plant remains.
- Cercospora blight is a fungal disease characterized by the appearance of yellow spots with a brown edge on the tops. If the necessary measures are not taken, the leaves will die over time, leading to a significant decrease in yield. To prevent cercospora blight, seeds must be disinfected before planting.
There are a large number of beet diseases, but if you notice their first signs in time and immediately take the necessary measures, it is quite possible to save the crop.
Pests
Another factor that causes yellowing of beet tops is pests:
- The beet beetle is a beetle belonging to the leaf beetle family. Adults are rusty brown or greenish in color with black dots. During the summer months, two generations develop: the second remains for the winter under the remains of plants and fallen leaves. At first, the adult feeds on weeds, in particular quinoa, and later moves to beets and eats its leaves from the underside. As a result, the tops turn yellow, wither and curl. This leads to a slowdown in crop growth and a significant reduction in yield.
- Beet or bean aphid. Its color varies from emerald to black. Appears in May, ten generations are replaced during the summer. In addition to beets, it reproduces on legumes, as well as weeds - quinoa and thistle. It forms large colonies on the lower leaves and stems of beets. It feeds on the sap of the plant, thereby preventing its full development and growth and often causing death.
- Beet flea beetles are small black beetles. During the year, 2 generations develop. Adults leave their wintering grounds in early spring, when the air temperature warms up to +10 o C. Initially they colonize weeds, and later move to beet seedlings. The beetles eat the tops of the plant, damage the growing points, and their larvae damage the root system.
- Beet fly. The adult individual has a grayish color with longitudinal brown stripes. Dangerous, especially for early seedlings, are its worm-like larvae of dirty white color, which feed on beet leaves, thereby causing them to turn yellow and die. At later stages of the plant's growing season, this leads to a decrease in the weight of the root crop.
To combat pests, there are both folk remedies and chemicals.
Prevention measures
To achieve a rich beet harvest, you need to carefully monitor the condition of the tops. Changes in color, various spots, wilting and curling of leaves are a sure sign of the presence of diseases or pests, which is often a consequence of improper care.
For prevention purposes, you need to follow a few simple rules, including:
- timely weeding and thinning of seedlings;
- compliance with the watering regime;
- providing adequate plant nutrition.
In addition, when choosing beet varieties, it is necessary to give preference to those varieties that are adapted to a specific area according to climatic conditions. To avoid the proliferation of pests, it is extremely important to remove plant debris from the beds, thereby depriving them of wintering sites. The harvested crop must be carefully inspected to prevent possible infection with fungal diseases.
Compliance with these conditions will ensure high taste of beets and their abundant harvest, and will also allow root crops to be stored for a long time.
It would seem that nothing foreshadowed trouble... But suddenly, leaves growing vigorously red beets began to turn yellow, dry out and curl. Of course, this can happen due to lack of moisture or drought. But there are more compelling reasons that every summer resident should know about. Otherwise, the plant will dry out completely, die, and there will be no harvest!
Three reasons why beet leaves curl and dry:
- deficiency of phosphorus, manganese or potassium in the soil;
- infection with cercospora, ramularia or peronospora (fungi);
- beet aphid attack.
With a lack of phosphorus Plant growth slows down, leaves form small, leathery, dark green. Later, dark brown spots appear and the leaves dry out prematurely.
For manganese deficiency Chlorotic spots appear between the veins of the inner young leaves, and the edges of the leaves curl upward. Later, the chlorotic spots turn brown and the leaves die.
For potassium deficiency yellow, round spots appear on the leaves. And at the edges they are dry, dark brown or grayish. The leaves become like marble. Their plates become thin wavy. The edges curl inward and dry. As a result, the root crops grow small and there is no harvest.
To replenish the amount of nutrients the plant needs in the soil, fertilize:
- feeding with superphosphate (the main component is phosphorus) at the rate of 30-45 g/m2,
- manganese sulfate solution: 5 g of manganese dissolved in 10 liters of water. The solution is used as foliar feeding (spraying) of plantings with an area of 70-100 m2.
- fertilizing with lime and potassium: dissolve 200 g of lime and 80 g of potassium chloride in a 10-liter bucket of water. Mix the solution and pour over the beets in the amount of: 1 liter of solution per 1 linear meter. Repeat watering after 2 weeks.
It is useful to feed beets by sprinkling the soil under the plants or watering the plantings from a watering can with a strainer with an ash solution prepared in the proportion of 2-3 cups of wood ash per 10-liter bucket of water. Before watering, the solution is thoroughly mixed.
It is also good to feed with slurry (1 to 10 with water) or bird droppings (1 to 20 with water). Consumption - 1 liter per 1 linear meter.
For peronosporosis (downy mildew) On young leaves, a gray-violet coating is visible on the underside. The leaves curl, thicken, darken and dry out.
When the first symptoms of the disease appear, the seedlings are treated with fungicides. Seed plantings of plants are sprayed once prophylactically with a 1% Bordeaux mixture or a 0.4% solution of copper oxychloride. If symptoms of the disease are detected, a second treatment is carried out after 3 weeks.
For cercospora the leaves become stained and gradually dry out.
The reason for it all is flexibility. But when digging the soil to a depth of 20 cm, the mushroom dies. In addition, plants are sprayed every 7-10 days with preparations containing copper (copper chloride - 0.4%). Bordeaux mixture, cartocide, copper oxychloride, and abiga-pik are also recommended for spraying. It is important to follow the rules of crop rotation and clear the bed of plant debris after harvesting, because the fungus overwinters in plant debris.
For beet ramularia fungal infection also occurs. But unlike cercospora blight, not only the leaves dry out, but also tissue loss (holeiness), and the dried edges of the leaves become slightly curled.
What to do: follow the rules of crop rotation, remove plant debris from the garden after harvesting, spray the plantings at the first signs of disease with the following drugs: Bordeaux mixture, carticide, copper oxychloride, abiga-pik.
Beet aphid appears on beets in the 2nd half of May, more than 10 generations develop over the summer. Adult insects and larvae suck the juices on the underside of the leaves, causing the entire leaf blade to become deformed and curled. Damaged leaves turn yellow, curl, their edges and tops curl down, lose elasticity, wither and dry out in dry weather.
Natural enemies of beet aphids: beetles and larvae of ladybirds, larvae of hoverflies, common lacewings and other entomophages. These beneficial insects must be attracted to gardens by sowing various nectar plants (seeds of onions, carrots, cabbage and other crops), on the flowers of which they often concentrate, and then move to beets and other plants where aphids are present.
To combat aphids, insecticides and folk remedies are used:
- infusion of onion peel (200 g per 10 liters of water),
- infusion of green potato tops (1.2 kg per 10 liters of water),
- infusion of green dandelion leaves (400 g per 10 liters of water).
We hope the information we found will be useful to you in solving the problem of why beet leaves curl and dry and what to do 😉
Sources: Atlas of diseases of field crops, country literature, Internet
Our compatriots do not grow beets as often in their gardens as potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers. Nevertheless, she is still a frequent visitor to the fields. Growing beets is not difficult. However, sometimes you may notice that the leaves on the plants have turned yellow. This article will tell you why the beet begins to turn yellow and how this situation can be prevented.
It is known that any deviations from proper care and application of agrotechnical techniques when growing garden crops first appear on their leaves and greenery. And beets serve as further proof of this. If its tops turn yellow, you need to look for the reason. Otherwise, the harvest will be worse than the parameters declared for a particular variety.
The appearance of yellowed tops may be due to the following reasons:
- the soil is not moist enough. Beetroot is a very moisture-loving crop. Full and regular watering is especially important during the formation of root crops. Up to 15-20 liters of water must be poured per square meter of planting;
- improper application of fertilizers. Plants very often react to nitrogen starvation. The first signs of the onset of nitrogen starvation are the shrinking and elongation of leaves, which subsequently begin to turn yellow;
- damage to plantings by pests or pathogenic microorganisms.
Of the reasons listed above, the most dangerous are diseases. The fact is that after extracting a crop from the ground, it is impossible to determine by eye whether each root crop is healthy. By storing a beet that has been infected for the winter, you can lose almost all root crops in a short time. After all, even one infected root crop can spread the infection to all vegetables and fruits that will be stored in the cellar.
The following points can provoke the development of diseases:
- prolonged rainy weather;
- heavy dew, which often falls early in the morning in the second half of summer. This is due to a decrease in air temperature at night.
Such weather conditions provide an excellent environment for the development and spread of pathogens of many diseases, especially fungal etiology. And the tops are always the first to react to the appearance of pathogenic microflora. 
In addition, a lack of boron in the soil can provoke the development of diseases in beet plantings. Many gardeners consider the introduction of this substance into the soil as a good prevention of many diseases of this crop.
It is worth noting that yellowed tops may appear as a result of the natural aging process. Typically, this situation occurs at the end of the growing season, when it is time to harvest the crops from the fields.
The tops can also simply be burnt by the sun. A similar situation develops when plants were not watered according to the rules.
Video “The subtleties of growing”
From the video you will learn how to grow beets correctly.
Lack of moisture
The most common reason why a yellowed leaf appears on a beet is improperly organized watering. And to be more precise, it is a lack of moisture in the soil.
Maximum watering of this crop is required during the period when the plants begin to form root crops. 
Symptoms of lack of moisture in the soil:
- leaves become smaller;
- their color gradually acquires a yellow tint;
- after a while they fall off.
Nitrogen starvation manifests itself with approximately the same symptoms. But with it, the leaves become longer, and their color becomes yellowish-pale. In this case, yellowness begins to spread from the veins to the edges of the leaf plate.
Lack of moisture appears in the following situations;
In such situations, there is a high risk of yellow tops appearing. Therefore, in the presence of such weather conditions, it is necessary to reconsider the water regime of plantings.
Diseases
Improper care often provokes the development of diseases on cultivated plants grown in the garden. Therefore, if the care of the beetle was not complete, then the risk of infection of the plantings with pathogenic microflora is very high.
Most often, beets suffer from the following diseases:
Rust is accompanied by the appearance on the leaves of orange round spots with diameters of 2-6 mm. After some time, small light brown dots form on the upper side of the leaf blade. At the same time, cup-shaped containers for spores develop on the underside. After about 10-12 days, the formation of uredines - yellowish-brown pustules - occurs. They are arranged in concentric circles. After some time, the phenomenon spreads to the stems and cuttings.
This disease usually develops in early summer or late spring. Initially, it affects young leaves, which leads to disruption of their photosynthesis process. As a result, root vegetables become less sugary.
When harvesting plants affected by rust, the following manipulations should be carried out:
For spraying crops you can use:
- 3% suspension of 90% copper oxychloride;
- 1% Bordeaux mixture;
- 0.4% suspension of 80% zineb.
It is worth noting that it is impossible to spray the seeds during flowering.
The second disease that often affects beets is jaundice. Its causative agent is a virus transmitted by aphids. The source of infection is weeds.
The disease manifests itself in the fact that the leaves of the lower and middle tiers begin to turn yellow. At first, the leaf blade turns yellow from the top, and then the yellowness begins to spread along the edges and along the main veins of the leaf. At the same time, the green color remains for a long time at the base of the leaf blade. Leaves affected by infection become more brittle and dense. But their width also increases. A slimy yellow mass accumulates in the sieve tubes. If no measures are taken to combat the disease, the mucus reaches the roots of the plant. As a result, crop losses can be up to 3%. 
The only thing that will help protect beets from jaundice is regular weeding, as well as the fight against the main carriers of the pathogen - insects.
Pests
Very often, insect pests are involved in the yellowing of beet leaves. After all, they are carriers of pathogenic microflora, which stimulates the development of diseases.
In addition to aphids, beetroot is attacked by the following pests:
- beet flea beetle;
- beet fly;
- beet moth;
- beet crumbs.
To prevent diseases and pests from affecting beet plantings, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment of plants.
Prevention
Prevention of beets from insects and diseases involves:
- compliance with crop rotation rules;
- regular weeding;
- proper care;
- removal of plant residues from the beds;
- treatment of plants with folk remedies and systemic fungicides.
Now you know why beet leaves turn yellow and what to do in this situation. Remember that correct and timely implementation of a set of preventive measures will allow you to get a large, healthy and sugary beet harvest.
Video “Diseases”
From the video you will learn about beet diseases.
Growing valuable garden crops - table crops or and - is very popular in our country. However, with errors in care and adverse external influences, quite often not only the yield decreases, but also the quality of root crops deteriorates, which is why it is important to know why beet leaves turn red, turn yellow, curl or wither.
Why do beet leaves turn yellow and red?
Quite often, beet tops turn yellow prematurely and look very painful. In this case, the amateur vegetable grower needs to pay attention to the following factors: can provoke changes in the appearance of garden crop leaves:
- beet leaves turn yellow as a result of rare watering or poor natural precipitation, so the plant needs regular watering, which is especially important at the stage of formation and growth of root crops;
- nitrogen deficiency provokes the appearance of a pale green, chlorotic coloring of the leaves, which in this case can become thicker and coarser, and the yellowing spreads from the veins;
- an insufficient amount of magnesium also manifests itself in the form of chlorosis and yellowish coloration of the tops;
- with iron deficiency or chlorosis, the lower foliage turns yellow and the tips of the tops gradually die off.
Thus, we can safely say that in 90% of cases, yellowing and redness of the tops is a signal of poor nutrition and a lack of components represented by nitrogen, manganese, magnesium or iron. Beetroot leaves turn red or yellow somewhat less frequently as a result of poor soil aeration, damage to garden crops by viral diseases, as well as damage and diseases of the root system.
Why do beet leaves curl?
Curling of beet leaves is a fairly common phenomenon and often occurs in home garden vegetable growing. The main reasons for this condition of the tops of young beet plantings are as follows:
- insufficient amount of potassium in the soil;
- defeat by the disease peronosporosis;
- infection with beet leaf aphids.
The occurrence of marginal necrosis is caused by a lack of potassium, as a result of which the leaves curl and acquire unusual thinness, as well as a dark crimson color. Active development of the disease is most often observed in hot and dry weather. The fight against this phenomenon involves the use of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.
Why do beet leaves wither and dry out?
As a rule, beet leaves wither and dry not only when the irrigation regime is violated, but also when the vegetable crop is affected by ramularia. To prevent beets from being damaged by a fungal disease, it is very important to follow the rules of crop rotation., as well as promptly remove plant debris from the site and carry out proper pre-sowing soil treatment. At the first signs of damage, it is necessary to spray the beet plantings with Bordeaux mixture, “Kartotsid”, “Copper Oxychloride” or “Abiga-pik”.
How to fertilize beets (video)
| Damage factor | Manifestation of the disease | Fighting methods |
| Rust | When affected by rust, round, orange-colored spots with a diameter of 2-6 mm are observed on the foliage, after which small light brown dots form on the surface of the leaves. After about a couple of weeks, yellow-brown pustules form, arranged in concentric circles. As a result, photosynthesis is disrupted, leaves die early, and yield and sugar content decrease | Spraying crops with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture, 0.3% suspension of 90% copper oxychloride, 0.4% suspension of 80% Zineb |
| Viral jaundice | Yellowing of foliage on the lower and middle tiers, the tops becoming excessively dense and brittle. The source of infection can be represented by aphids, as well as dandelions and quinoa | Timely removal of weeds, destruction of insect pests that carry viral disease |
| Beet aphid | By sucking plant sap, the pest causes deformation and curling of leaves, as well as yellowing of the leaf blade. As a result, the tops lose their tightness, wither and dry out, and the development of the plant is delayed, which causes a decrease in the weight of root crops | Spraying with onion infusion (200 grams of peel per bucket of water), infusion of potato tops (1.2 kg of tops per bucket of water) or infusion of dandelion leaves (0.4 kg per bucket of water) |
In addition to beet aphids, the following pests pose a danger to garden crops:
- beet flea beetle;
- Beet beetleaf;
- beet fly.
Preventive actions
Prevention of damage to table beets by the most common diseases and various insect pests must be carried out at all stages of the growing season of garden crops:
- Before sowing, mandatory deep plowing of the soil is carried out, removing all plant debris and applying basic fertilizers;
- it is recommended to give preference to tolerant varieties that are resistant to the most common damaging factors;
- pre-sowing preparation of seed material must necessarily include treatment in a trichodermin solution at the rate of 2.5 g per 100 g of seeds, or heating at a temperature of 50-52 o C for a quarter of an hour;
- after a pair of true leaves appear, you need to pollinate the above-ground part of the garden crop daily with wood ash or tobacco dust with lime;
- at all stages of growth and development, weeding and loosening of the soil between the rows must be carried out;
- At the first signs of pests appearing in the garden, the vegetable crop is sprayed weekly with a solution based on the drug “Lepidocid”.
How to plant beets (video)
You can find beets in almost any garden. Summer residents love this crop not only for its pleasant taste, but also for its ease of cultivation. However, troubles happen to it, sometimes the leaves turn yellow. Why is this happening? Let's figure it out.
Beetroot is a popular garden crop and is classified as a biennial crop. You can find this root crop in almost every summer cottage. A healthy plant is a strong rosette, large dark green leaves with a characteristic glossy shine and a root vegetable. The leaves have purple veins. The root crop can have different shapes depending on the variety. The most common is table beets, because we eat them.
Beneficial features
It’s not without reason that beets are so popular; they are used for both adults and children’s food, because they contain a huge amount of vitamins and microelements. Among them are vitamins C, B, PP and E, phosphorus, zinc, potassium, iron, as well as essential folic acid and mineral salts. It should also be mentioned that it is a rich source of fiber, organic acids and carbohydrates.
Eating beets in their pure form, as well as dishes based on them, has a beneficial effect on vision, helps improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood. This vegetable is also useful for headaches: the substances it contains have a slight antispasmodic effect, as well as for seasonal vitamin deficiency.
In addition, beets are known to help improve memory.
Causes of yellowing leaves
The plant is not at all picky about different types of soil and readily grows even in not the most favorable conditions. However, it happens that beet leaves, which should be emerald in color, fade and turn yellow. It is believed that such changes, even if they are local in nature, are a bad sign. First of all, you need to understand why this happens.
There may be several reasons: lack of moisture in the soil, lack of nitrogen, attack by pests or diseases.
The most serious problem is the emergence of diseases. Many of them are noticeable only in the last stages and the summer resident does not always have time to take appropriate measures. Having harvested the crop, he is confident that it will retain its appearance and properties until winter. However, the fruits spoil, because they are already infected, although this is not noticeable to the naked eye.
If you ignore the disease and do not eliminate the infected plant in time, it can ruin all the plantings, or spoil the harvest through its fruits.
Lack of moisture in the soil
Beets love moisture. It needs regular watering, especially when the root crop is formed and thickens. Up to 20 liters of water should be consumed per two square meters of beet bed. Insufficient watering is the most obvious reason why leaves begin to turn yellow. In addition, they do not grow to the required size, and later begin to fall off. In this situation, the root crop becomes sluggish over time.
So if the leaves on your plantings are turning yellow, make sure you water them properly.
Pests
Do you provide the beets with the necessary watering, but for some reason the leaves still turn yellow? Perhaps this is due to pests attacking the garden. Let's look at the most common of them.
This is a dangerous pest; it inhabits not only beets, but also other garden crops. The insect has a green-brown or black colored small body, which rarely exceeds 2 mm in length. Often the “carrier” of pests is euonymus bushes, as well as honeysuckle - their favorite habitats. If there are these plants near the garden, the aphids probably moved from them.
This pest settles on the stem of a plant, or the lower part of its leaves. It consumes the nutritious beet juices, thereby slowly killing the plant. This is why they turn yellow.
In order to cope with the pest, it is necessary to treat the plantings with anti-pest agents and eliminate the bushes from which the infection began.
This is a small bug. Its body is black in color and can be bronze or green. In the spring, this bug begins to actively eat the leaves of weeds, but does not disdain cultivated plants. You can tell that a flea beetle has settled in beets by the small holes it has gnawed in the tops. In this case, the leaves along the edges turn yellow or acquire a reddish-brown tint.
June is the time for this pest to lay eggs. He does this in the area of the root crop. And after two to three weeks, the hatched larvae are already feeding on the roots of the plant.
It is easier to prevent the appearance of fleas than to deal with its consequences. It is necessary to regularly clean the garden of weeds, especially in the spring. Also, for prevention, it is recommended to treat the soil with an infusion of onions, celandine, garlic and potatoes.
This insect is a big fan of quinoa. Therefore, if you notice this plant in your garden, it is best to get rid of it immediately.
The adult pest is brownish-orange in color, while the larvae are green. When they get on the beet leaves, they begin to gnaw them from the underside.
To get rid of pests, you need to treat the plantings with celandine powder or the above-mentioned solution.
Beet fly larvae
This is a relatively harmless pest. The leaves also turn yellow, but the root crop remains practically untouched. The larvae are white in color and oblong in shape. They usually stay in groups. A recognized remedy for them is an infusion of wood ash. When processing tops with it, it is important not to miss a single area; special attention should be paid to the underside of the sheets.
If you encounter pests on beets, remember that their appearance is usually caused by improper care, poor soil, unbalanced watering or weed dominance. Therefore, along with the fight against pests, this aspect of the life of beet plantings should be improved.
Diseases
Watering is normal, you haven’t found any pests, and you’re still wondering why the beet tops turned yellow? The next possible reason is illness.
This disease inhibits the growth of beet leaves, they change color and soon fall off. If the infection is not stopped at this stage, the roots will be the next to be affected. They also slow down their development. And the most valuable thing - the beet root - will begin to rot.
As soon as you notice brown rot in beets, immediately treat the plant with boron. Remember that root vegetables are at risk of disease, even if collected and stored in a special room.
Another problem for summer residents is cercospora disease. This is a fungal disease. Because of it, the leaves become covered with yellow spots with brown edging. If the situation is neglected, they will completely die out over time. Typically, this disease affects plants if gardeners neglect a simple preventive measure - disinfecting seeds before planting. To rid beets of the disease, you need to sprinkle its leaves on all sides with chalk powder and apply foliar feeding, for which you should use a half-percent boron solution.
The first symptoms of this disease are the appearance of spots on the underside of beet leaves. These spots initially have a grayish color and slowly increase in size. The beet leaves begin to wither. The source of the disease is often infected seeds, as in the previous case, so planting material must be disinfected with hot water, hardened in cold water and dried thoroughly.
Also, infection of beets can occur through the remains of diseased plants in the soil, therefore, after removing the affected bushes from the garden bed, it is also necessary to disinfect the soil.
Fomoz
Fomoz affects the entire beet. Large light spots appear on its leaves, on which small black dots can be seen. If the harvested fruits are infected with the disease, they turn black on the inside.
Blackleg is another well-known disease. Its cause is non-compliance with the watering regime when the soil is too wet. Blackleg causes the tops to turn yellow and thin. In order to prevent the disease, soils with high acidity need to be limed and the top layer of soil loosened.
Another reason why beet leaves turn yellow is a lack of nitrogen in the soil. The leaves lag behind in development, become weak and elongated. The veins turn yellow first, then the entire leaf. Depending on the type of soil, nitrogen deficiency can occur at any stage of plant development.
The problem can be solved by timely application of mineral fertilizers, because beets may need not only nitrogen, but also other microelements, for example, potassium.
However, everything is good in moderation; it is important to strictly adhere to the dosage, because... an excess of these substances can harm plantings.