Why tomato seedlings can turn white
One of the most popular vegetables in almost every Russian family is a tomato. Summer lunch or dinner cannot be complete without it. The tomato is nutritious and rich in vitamins. Many amateur gardeners dream of growing tomatoes in their beds, but this is an extremely troublesome occupation. In order to properly grow tomatoes and get a good harvest, you need to monitor the plantings and prevent the development of various diseases. Sometimes not all gardeners can correctly figure out why tomato seedlings turn white.
Causes of diseases of tomato seedlings
This type of plant is susceptible to a large number of diseases and many of them are manifested precisely by a white bloom on the ovaries of seedlings or on fruits. Due to the difficult cultivation of tomatoes and possible diseases, many gardeners simply refuse to plant tomatoes in their beds. If you properly care for the seedlings and prevent the emerging diseases in time, then in the future, tomato seedlings will delight you with a bountiful harvest and tasty fruits.
Causes of the appearance of white spots on tomato seedlings
- Sunburn
- Brown spot
- White spot and white rot
- High temperature and excess moisture
- The presence of pests on plantings
- Deficiency or oversaturation of various fertilizers
- Bacteriosis
- Late blight and powdery mildew
- Top rot and streak
Sunburn
The most common seedling disease is sunburn. Such a disease occurs due to improper care and location of plantings. Sunburn is characterized by the appearance of white spots and streaks on the seedlings. All leaves up to the stem can turn white at once, but only the upper young leaves can. In any case, if the leaves of the plantings turn white, then most likely this is a sign of a burn. Also, the reason for this phenomenon is the unpreparedness of tomatoes for direct sunlight. To avoid the appearance of burns when some parts of the tomato turn white, it is necessary to accustom the tomatoes to the effects of ultraviolet radiation from the very beginning.
To do this, many gardeners put a box with seedlings on the windowsill where there is a lot of light. In the spring, before planting in open ground, it is necessary to gradually accustom young plants to light. Seedlings should be taken out to fresh air only for a few hours a day. Increasing the stay of seedlings on the street every day. Well, if the leaves of the tomatoes still turn white, it will no longer be possible to return the green color to the foliage, but you can try to restore the tomato. To do this, after sunset, the leaves of tomatoes must be treated with special chemicals. Chemicals relieve stress from the plant. This procedure should be repeated 3 times with an interval of 7 days. It should be noted that most of the problems for novice gardeners are associated with this phenomenon.By following the correct sequence of actions, you can easily avoid sunburn on your seedlings.
Brown spot
The disease is treated with Bordeaux mixture
Mostly greenhouse tomatoes are susceptible to this disease. Brown spot appears on seedlings at the time of the beginning of fruiting. This attack can be recognized by the following symptoms: the leaf on the underside is covered with a white bloom, after which the foliage becomes a porous structure. Over time, the color of the leaves becomes white and begins to dry out. If there is high humidity and temperature in the greenhouse, then the disease will very quickly spread to healthy plants.
To prevent this disease, you need to monitor the humidity and temperature in the greenhouse. Be sure to ventilate the room once a day. If, nevertheless, the plantings are infected, then they should immediately be treated with a Bordeaux mixture. Re-processing is recommended after ten days. If there is no improvement, then this procedure is repeated two more times with the same interval.
White spot and white rot on tomato seedlings
If on tomato seedlings on the lower leaves you notice white spots with a dark border, then this is a sign of white spot disease. Subsequently, a fungus begins to develop in these spots, thereby infecting the plant. Such tomatoes need to be urgently removed from the garden, since they cannot be treated, but they can infect healthy bushes.
White rot is a common fungal disease. It is characterized by the appearance of mucus on the stems of the plant, which later develops into white growths, the so-called white mycelium. The plant affected by the disease gradually begins to wilt.
High temperature and excess moisture
Very often, under the influence of direct sunlight and high temperatures, tomato leaves begin to curl. Thus, tomatoes try to protect themselves from moisture loss. In the evening, the leaves bloom again, replenishing their moisture reserves. To protect the plants, they erect a canopy over them during the hours of the sun. In such a situation, many summer residents usually make a gross mistake, starting to water the tomatoes in the midst of the heat. This is not recommended, especially if you are watering with rain. With this method of irrigation, the water remaining on the leaves works like a magnifying glass in the sun, gradually burning out the foliage.
An excess of moisture, like a deficiency, can harm the plantings and this can manifest itself in white stains on seedlings. This usually happens during the rainy season of the summer. During heavy rains, if the soil is clay, then water begins to accumulate at the rhizome, blocking the access of oxygen to them. The plant, not receiving air, begins to wither and dry out over time. To prevent such a situation, when planting a tomato, loose soil is added to the soil so that water is absorbed faster. It serves as a kind of drainage system. In the bed itself, small furrows are made from the stem to the side for unhindered drainage of water.
Pests on tomato seedlings
Common pests that attack tomatoes are aphids, whiteflies, and red spider mites. Insect pests can be another problem for the gardener, although they do not often affect tomatoes. In particular, pests attack tomato seedlings if the beds are large and there are many plants on them. Insects settle on the underside of the leaf, gradually sucking out all the juices from it. The leaf begins to turn yellow, turn white and curl.
If there are few insects, you can try to treat the affected plants with a solution of onion peels, or celandine. If it does not help, then you need to try to treat it with chemicals. It should be remembered that stronger drugs should not be used if tomato ovaries appear. Since the drug is deposited in the fruit and can be hazardous to your health.
Deficiency or excess of nutrients
Leaves can curl from excess minerals
A lack of nutrients, as well as an excess of them, can adversely affect the condition of tomatoes. Often, many gardeners follow the rule - more is better than less and begin to fertilize their beds even more. Basically, among the common problems on the site, there is a shortage of mineral and organic fertilizers. Used as fertilizer - fresh manure, various infusions or just chemical fertilizers.
With an excess of fertilizers, the tomato is no longer able to absorb them and begins to twist the leaf so that the process of photosynthesis does not go on.
In addition, with abundant fertilization of the soil and high temperatures, ammonia begins to be released. He burns the leaves, which subsequently turn white, curl and die off. The soil itself also suffers from ammonia. An excess of fertilizers has a detrimental effect on biological processes in the soil. If the temperature in the greenhouse is high, but the soil has not yet warmed up, then the nutrients in the soil are not activated. Therefore, plantings need to be fed with special fertilizers, with the correct dosage and application time.
Tomato seedling bacteriosis
This disease can be recognized by the following signs:
- Seedlings grow poorly, the leaves turn white.
- A shortened stem, ugly shoots are observed.
- Basically, such seedlings do not bear fruit.
Tomato bacteriosis is not cured. The disease is seed-borne and the diseased plant infects the soil. The surest way is to remove the plant and treat the soil with potassium permanganate solution. After the infected tomatoes are planted, mustard can be planted in this place. Mustard kills bacteria of this disease in the soil. And only after that it will be possible to try to plant tomatoes again.
Late blight and powdery mildew
Late blight is another of the diseases affecting tomatoes. First, it affects the potatoes, and then it moves on to the neighboring tomatoes. The main symptoms are the appearance of brown and white spots on the leaves, stem and the fruit itself. The fruit begins to harden, dries, and then turns sour. In some cases, the tomatoes turn white. In this case, you need to remove the damaged areas of the plant and fruits. And the tomato itself must be processed with a Bordeaux mixture. Also, for disinfection, tomatoes are removed for a couple of minutes in water heated to a temperature of 60 degrees.
The main cause of powdery mildew disease is the marsupial fungus, which leaves a white bloom on plantings. Signs of powdery mildew are: gray bloom at the bottom of the leaf and yellowing of seedlings at the top. This disease occurs as a result of increased humidity in the air and is easier to prevent than to cure. Prevention should take place after planting seedlings in open ground by spraying with chemicals.
Top rot and streak
Top rot occurs when there is a lack of calcium in the soil. If the leaves are unevenly white or have acquired an unnatural shade, then it is possible that your seedlings were attacked by apical rot. Not getting enough mineral, the seedlings begin to wilt. If the situation is not corrected in time, then you can lose the entire crop sown on this soil. Subject to the correct conditions for growing tomatoes, such a disease does not attack your plantings.
Streak disease can affect all tomato seedlings. With this disease, tomatoes begin to become covered with strokes of brown and white. The stem becomes thin and very brittle. The streak is not treated and it will be almost impossible to track it at an early stage. First, the seedlings grow, they develop ovaries, and then the fruits, which grow to the level of peas, and then fall off. Only after that, the leaves begin to change color. To avoid this disease, it is best to buy processed plant seeds.