What to do if the leaves of pepper seedlings are curled?

If the leaves of pepper seedlings begin to curl, urgent action must be taken. From the material in this article, you will learn why this happens and what you need to do.

The reasons why the leaves of sweet pepper seedlings curl are in most cases associated with inadequate care and uncomfortable conditions for the grown vegetable crop. To understand what exactly the problem is related to, you need to have an idea of ​​the basic methods of agricultural technology. This will allow you to analyze the correctness of care and exclude what is being done in the right way.

The first signs of the problem are the gradual loss of the original brightness of the color, early yellowness. The upper leaves curl up or down at the edges. Often, before twisting, a cobweb appears, a whitish bloom, micro punctures. It happens that the leaf plates are deformed along the length of the central vein.

When the seedlings receive less nutrition from the soil, the green mass is suppressed. This is typical for seeds planted in a garden or vegetable garden. In such a land, there are not enough trace elements necessary for the full growth and development of peppers. They signal the problem by yellowing and curling foliage. With a magnesium deficiency, the seedlings weaken, its immunity is weakened. Soon the seedlings fall ill, which affects the quality and quantity of fruits. When plants lack potassium, the shape of the leaf plates changes. They can curl in a spiral or inward. Often they are bent in the center or rolled up like a boat.

To avoid the problem, you need to initially plant seeds in a ready-made substrate... It is saturated with all the essential nutrients and is a preventive measure against various diseases. Seedlings planted in ordinary garden soil need to be fed with complex fertilizer for peppers. Before applying top dressing, the soil should be moistened so as not to burn weak roots. If the soil is very poor, you need to fertilize once a week.

Pepper is a sun-loving plant... For normal growth and development, he needs a sufficient amount of light. Young seedlings grown in dark rooms suffer the most. Without light, it becomes frail, foliage can stop growing altogether. The greenery begins to curl up, tubercles form on the leaf plates. Due to the lack of sunlight, the lateral veins grow faster.

Subsequently, the green color becomes pale. In search of light, the sprouts stretch upward. They start to compete with each other. The problem is exacerbated in cloudy weather, which makes the room even less light. The solution to the problem is to move the seedling box to a well-lit place. You need to put it where the daylight hours will be as long as possible. With enough sunlight, the shape of the leaves will be corrected.

The unhealthy appearance of the leaves depends on various reasons. The reason for this may be chlorosis associated with a lack of chlorophyll. In addition to improper maintenance, it is associated with an excess of nutrients in the soil. The soil should not be sour. Soil with a high percentage of peat is also harmful. The unsuitable type of soil does not allow the assimilation of the substances necessary for the seedlings for full growth and development. Unheated soil is another reason. Together with frequent watering, this provokes stress in the plant. From hypothermia and the inability to assimilate the necessary substances, it dies.

Shrinking and folding of foliage can be associated with a mismatch in the rate of development. In this case, deformation is noted mainly of the upper leaves. Their edges become corrugated. Seedlings lack not only light, but also air. Moreover, it is too thick. Therefore, the bushes are forced to compete with each other. Aggravating factors are improper maintenance measures, including soil moisture, temperature conditions, and drafts. Pepper seedlings are quite capricious to care for. Deviation from agrotechnical standards entails a change in the shape of the leaves.

The room should not be too hot and dry. Curling greens is a signal to the grower indicating uncomfortable growing conditions. The sheet plates are forced to spin to protect themselves from moisture evaporation. In this way, it stays in the stems, allowing them to retain their firmness and elasticity. At high dryness, drying begins along with curling. To fix the problem, you need to water the seedlings and ventilate the room. This often happens when growing seedlings in a greenhouse. You should not resort to spraying: in this situation it is ineffective. Due to the intensity of the light, moisture will evaporate quickly. This can lead to sunburn of the green mass.

If the leaves curl upward, you need to shade the seedlings. In the heat, she needs to provide abundant watering. Irrigation is carried out based on the degree of soil moisture. The reason for curling the foliage of seedlings located near heating radiators is associated with uncomfortable conditions. Heat and simultaneous airing stress the plant. If it gets too hot, it gets sick. Seedlings are exposed to no less stress, which are taken out to the greenhouse before planting. During the day in the greenhouse, the air can warm up to +35 degrees and more. A similar situation is typical for the southern regions.

In the heat, the leaves have to curl inward. The cotyledonous plates and lower leaves curl up in a spiral. Such drooping indicates that the roots do not cover the moisture requirement of the green mass. In this case, evaporation exceeds humidification. If the seedlings are grown on a windowsill or balcony, one should not forget about a comfortable climate. It must be remembered that drafts are detrimental to pepper. Low temperatures negatively affect its growth. If the plant is hardened in a greenhouse, where airing is constantly performed, the seedlings are covered with spunbond laid on arches. Such a design will simultaneously shade and protect plants from drafts.

When growing seedlings indoors or in a greenhouse, water stagnation should be avoided... The roots do not absorb much moisture. Watering the plants should be moderate and timely. With an excess of moisture, the supply of oxygen necessary for plants deteriorates. Stagnation of liquid leads to decay of the roots, the death of the aboveground part of the culture. The upper leaves become bumpy and swollen. Their edges begin to curl downward. If nothing is done, they fall off, the plant dies.

Do not wait for the earth to dry out on its own. It is urgent to loosen it. Thus, the access of oxygen will increase, moisture will evaporate. With stagnant water, you need to slightly spud the seedlings. With a lack of moisture, the foliage curls, withers, dries up. The solution to the problem will be the regulation of the irrigation regime. For young seedlings, along with watering, it is worth using a humidifier or containers with water.

It is better to install them near the boxes with seedlings. It is better to spray the plants in the morning, until they are exposed to direct sunlight. If it is not possible to water the plants in the morning, this is done in the evening.

If the leaves curl and wrinkle, this may indicate the presence of apical rot.... Other symptoms of the disease, indicating its progression, will be dark spots on the fruits, their early ripening when growth stops. If they start to rot, complex measures are needed, since the top rot will quickly spread to neighboring bushes. To prevent this, it is necessary to process the bushes under the root with assimilable calcium.

All affected parts are removed, after which the soil is fertilized with a mineral complex. It is important to provide the plant with regular watering and take measures to protect it from the heat. You can treat the seedlings with saltpeter, pouring it under the root, avoiding getting on the leaves. The ratio of fertilizer to water is 10-15 g per 10 liters. Chalk, eggshells, lime, dolomite flour do an excellent job with top rot. All components are poured with 9% vinegar, stirred in a bucket of water, watered at the root.

Frequent enemies of pepper are spider mites or aphids. Insects feed on succulent foliage, piercing it mercilessly and drinking the plant sap. As a result, the leaves curl inward, turn yellow, and become covered with tiny holes. It is not difficult to find parasites: aphids settle on the back of leaves and succulent shoots. The ground part of the seedlings becomes sticky due to the honeydew - the waste product of aphids. The spider mite envelops the foliage and shoots with cobwebs. As a result, the green mass dries up and fades. To cure seedlings, you need to treat them with an insecticidal or acaricidal agent.

For greater efficiency, the type of drug is selected taking into account the type of pest. In order not to face this problem in the future, it is necessary to initially disinfect the soil. Ordinary soil is often infested with eggs and larvae of harmful insects. Processing involves calcining the earth in the oven, or the use of a disinfectant manganese solution. A good alternative to these treatments is spilling the soil with boiling water. Thanks to her, the larvae and eggs of parasites are destroyed.

If the damage to the seedlings is insignificant, you can perform antiparasitic treatment with laundry soap by stirring it with water. Insects are removed using cotton pads dipped in a prepared solution. Treatment with onion peel solution is considered an effective remedy. For its preparation, take a glass of husk, steamed in 1 liter of boiling water, insist for a day. Then the bushes are processed from all sides.

Preventive measures vary depending on the established cause. If a deficiency of nutrients has become an obstacle to active growth, they proceed from what exactly is needed for seedlings.

• If the foliage turns yellow, dries, crumbles, the problem is a lack of potassium. It is necessary to add diluted potassium sulfate to the soil or feed the soil with wood ash.
• When the entire leaf area is deformed, the reason lies in the lack of phosphorus. It is necessary to fertilize the ground with superphosphate, diluting 3 tbsp. l. feeding on a bucket of water.
• If red, brown, yellow blotches appear on the plates, their color turns purple, you need to make up for the lack of magnesium.
• When the leaves turn brown, the veins become marbled, curling begins over the entire area, the plant does not absorb magnesium due to excess potassium. It is necessary to dilute the salt in water and water the bushes.
• Foliage becomes bumpy and uneven due to lack of calcium... At the same time, yellowish and brownish spots appear on the plates. An urgent need to spray the culture with potassium nitrate.
• In soil with nitrogen deficiency, seedlings have to throw all their strength into the formation of the root system. There is no strength left for the cotyledon leaves, therefore, one cannot do without ammonium sulfate (ammonium nitrate).
• With a lack of boron, the growth of foliage stops, it is actively twisted into tubes. Subsequently, growth points die off and fall off.

When visually examining the seedlings, there are cases when, after the formation of the main leaves, the cotyledonous leaf plates began to turn yellow and curl. Provided that all the rules of care and agricultural technology are observed, it is not worth sounding the alarm. This is a normal process and does not affect the health of the seedlings. In this case, the function of the cotyledon leaves is fulfilled, so they die off. The same goes for curling the foliage of plants in the greenhouse. If all other care rules are followed, by the evening, when the temperature drops, the leaves will straighten and take their usual shape. To prevent burns and a painful reaction of pepper to heat, it is better to keep the doors in greenhouses open.

When applying dressings, the correct dosage is needed.... The amount of a given fertilizer is related to the size of the seedlings. It is better to start with small doses, which can be increased as the plants grow. The problem of moisture deficiency can be solved by means of drip irrigation, using ordinary plastic water bottles for it. This system will be a measure to prevent land drying out. A hydrogel can be used to ensure regular watering. This polymer material absorbs water, which it gives to the earth as needed.

If the seedlings are just planted in the greenhouse or on the beds, the polymer is poured near the roots so that they do not touch each other. Over time, the hydrogel will give moisture to the ground, from where the roots can absorb it. Soil mulching cannot be ignored. It will relieve the seedlings from moisture fluctuations. As mulch, you can use ordinary sawdust or special covering material. You can plant seeds in a disinfected container. To process it, use alcohol or another disinfectant.

You need to buy seed from trusted suppliers... High-quality seeds have all the characteristics of the variety, they are collected from healthy fruits, do not have fungal or bacterial infections. Seedlings of varieties resistant to diseases are less susceptible to foliage curling. However, in the case of her, one should not forget about the constant visual inspection of the seedlings. At the first signs of twisting, an urgent need to identify and eliminate the cause.