Why do cucumber stems dry?
Insufficient care, together with unfavorable environmental conditions and pests, causes cucumber diseases. Among the main problems that gardeners face, the drying of the plant trunk is noted. Consider why the cucumber stalk dries.
Causes of drying cucumber stems
Insects
One of the main enemies of cucumbers are insects, because of which the stems of young cucumbers dry:
- When growing vegetables outdoors, flies pose a lot of problems. The primary sign of their defeat is a change in the color of the surface of the sprouts. If you do not take action in time, the cucumber bush dries up. In young plants, damage begins at the base of the trunk. This is due to the eggs in the soil. They bore the hypocotal knee at seedlings and penetrate into the stem.
- The cucumber mosquito is especially harmful to crops in greenhouses. The pest is introduced into the soil with manure. The larvae make potholes in the branches of the cucumber, which violate the structure of the stem, because of which the bush dies.
- In open ground, melon aphids appear on cucumbers towards the end of summer, and in greenhouses and small homemade film shelters - in spring. During this period, insects actively reproduce, garden plants are literally completely covered with them. The leaves curl and fall off, and the shoots themselves are covered with small yellowish cracks and quickly dry out.
Insect pests are easy to deal with. Work on the beds begins with an inspection of garden crops. If pests are detected, measures are immediately taken to combat them. In this case, damage can be minimized and the harvest saved.
Mosaic
Various microbial infections can also be the cause of drying. It is impossible to cure them - the diseased plant has to be removed.
Mosaic symptoms: the leaves turn yellow and curl, the stems of young cucumbers dry. A distinctive feature of the mosaic is a large crack at the base of the stem. The disease is caused by the cucumber virus. Infection occurs only during contact of the sap of one plant with another. This can happen during tying or removing excess sheets.
Viruses quietly hibernate in organic debris and are transferred to cucumbers by aphids. Seeds harvested from infected plants are also a source of infection.
Black rot
The most common infection that causes young cucumber stalks to dry out is the black grill. Infection occurs if:
- transplant rules are violated;
- the soil has already been contaminated;
- the planting material is a carrier of the disease.
Because of this disease, the leaves brighten and wither, the growth of the cucumber stops, the stem cracks and dries out at the base. The cucumber bush dies due to the complete drying out of the root. The apical growth point remains completely healthy for a while and does not look dried out.
Gray spots with a reddish tinge are a sign of gray mold. It affects all aerial parts of the shoot, and also leads to its rapid drying.
Thinning of the stems indicates a lesion with sclerotinosis.Various parts of the bush are covered with a white bloom, which gradually turns into black spots. With high humidity, the seedling becomes licky, softened and rots. Conversely, it dries up sharply if you stop watering. Treatment makes sense only at the stage of the appearance of white plaque. Next, it must be removed from the garden or from the greenhouse and burned away from the garden.
Fungal diseases
Anthracnose or copperhead
Disease can kill a plant
Anthracnose or copperhead are serious diseases. They can infect a culture when using infected material and when working with diseased soil. The spread of the disease is observed when watering a cucumber bush with cold water and with sudden changes in temperature. The disease is especially common in the transitional winter-spring and summer-autumn periods and is aggravated by rainy weather and abundant dew. The fruits shrivel, rot and become bitter, their stems partially dry out, despite the abundance of moisture.
Powdery mildew
A gray layer with pink blotches (less often - slightly reddish) on the leaves is powdery mildew. The stem begins to dry out due to the dark moist areas at the root. This disease can spread to other seedlings in the garden, and it does it especially quickly in cloudy weather.
Peronosporosis
Peronosporosis, or downy mildew, is one of the most dangerous fungal diseases for the crop. Culture is subject to him at any age. It is possible to determine peronosporosis when the bush is in an active stage of growth. Small dry areas with veins appear on the shoots. They come in the form of squares or triangles. Further, the leaves and stem dry up and crumble. The cucumber shoot is affected from the bottom up. The disease spreads very quickly, as its spores are carried by the wind.
Cladosporium
Due to strong temperature changes with increasing humidity, a fungal infection develops - cladosporium, or brown olive spot. The plant becomes infected when spores come into contact with it. Drops appear on the surface of the deciduous part, which harden, the skin of the fruit cracks, they become crooked, young ovaries die. In addition, the cucumber stalks also dry out.
Conclusion
Infections, bacterial and fungal infections and pests harm not only cucumber stems, but also leaves, flowers, fruits. When you change the appearance of at least one leaf, you must carefully examine the entire plant. In greenhouse conditions, all plantings are affected, since with high humidity the infection spreads quickly. If you help the plant in time, it will stop drying and will again delight the crop.
For the prevention of cucumber diseases, it is necessary to pay attention to soil disinfection, use proven seeds for seedlings. It is also recommended to avoid planting too densely, observe the irrigation regime, maintain crop rotation and harvest the fruits in a timely manner.