Why do tomatoes have a twisted top?
If the top of the tomato begins to wither or curl, you should immediately determine what exactly is causing the plant discomfort.
Why do tomatoes have a twisted top?
Causes of the problem
Tomatoes react immediately to inappropriate growth and development conditions. There are many reasons why the tops are twisted. Let's consider the most common:
- Root damage during planting. A plant with a pruned system weakens quickly. Root pruning is less scary because the roots will heal and the leaves will revive.
- Incorrect or insufficient feeding. Tomatoes need constant feeding. Once every 2 weeks, fertilizer must be applied both in the greenhouse and in the open area. Often the tops of tomatoes curl from an overabundance of organic matter. If you apply a lot of manure or compost, the plant begins to give all the fertilizer to the green parts, forgetting about the fruits. Also, from insufficiently rotted manure, the plant begins to wither.
- The temperature is very high. At high temperatures, seedlings in the greenhouse begin to lose their attractive appearance. The upper leaves stop growing and begin to curl. To prevent this from happening, there must be air circulation in the greenhouse. A urea solution can be used to protect the plant. For him they take 1.5 tbsp. l. urea and 10 liters of water. Leaves are treated with this agent. You can also mulch. An 8-centimeter layer of grass will help keep the roots from overheating.
- The plant does not receive enough light, and the process of photosynthesis is slowed down. This has a bad effect on the growth and development of vegetable crops.
- Improper watering of tomatoes. From a lack of moisture, tomato leaves begin to curl even when the top is cut off. So they try to retain water in themselves. For proper watering, you need to take 1 bucket of water per 1 bush. It is necessary to water in several approaches, because if you pour in all the water at one time, it will spread out without getting to the roots of the vegetable.
- Twisting the tops of tomatoes provokes aphids and various bacterial infections. The fight against them must be carried out immediately after detection in order to prevent the death of the plant.
It is important not to overdo it when watering the plant: from an excess of moisture, the tops of the bushes also begin to turn yellow and curl. If tomatoes are planted in an area where constant moisture is kept, you need to make channels to drain water.Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
One of the possible causes of chopping and curling of the upper leaves on tomatoes is a viral disease, such as aspermia. To understand the nature of the disease, you need to remember that all fungal and bacterial diseases begin from the lower leaves, and viral ones - from the upper ones.
Tomato leaves can become curly from damage by various pests.
Some of the most common pests are aphids and whiteflies. They need to be dealt with as soon as possible in order to prevent serious diseases.
Aphid
It hides under the leaves and feeds on their sap, which sometimes leads not only to twisting of the tops, but also to a change in the shape of the stem.
To combat aphids, both chemical agents and folk methods are used.It all depends on the site of damage and the period of development of the tomatoes.
Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
During the season, under favorable conditions, aphids can give up to 10-12 generations! Therefore, do not think that getting rid of aphids in early summer, you have permanently solved the problem. Watch out for winged aphids on your plants. Their appearance suggests that the aphids have begun to settle again.
Chemicals
It is necessary to process the aphid culture with chemicals with extreme caution, since they are completely removed from the tomatoes after 25-30 days, therefore, the fruits that have almost reached maturity must be plucked and placed in a dark room until they are fully ripe.
To combat the pest, you can use insecticides such as:
- Akarin. For spraying, take 8 ml of the drug and 1 liter of water.
- Biotlin. It is used to kill adults. Also, the drug prevents the reproduction of aphids. For processing, use 5 ml of insecticide per 10 liters of water.
- "Spark". The drug is strong. He fights not only with aphids, but also with other pests. For the solution, use 1 tablet of the drug per 10 liters of water.
There are, in addition to chemicals, biological preparations that can be used 2 days before harvesting the fruits. Such preparations are Fitoverm and Aktofit. An ampoule of the drug (4-6 ml) is diluted in 1 liter of water and plants are treated with it.
All chemicals are used according to the instructions and at a temperature not lower than 16 ° C. At a lower level, the drug does not work.
Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
The high temperature also negatively affects the effectiveness of the prepared preparation. As a rule, all chemical protection products are prepared on a water basis. High air temperature promotes rapid evaporation of the substance. The drug simply will not even have time to work. Therefore, it is recommended to use plant protection products in the morning and evening hours, when the air temperature is below +25 degrees.
In the greenhouse, all chemical treatments must be carried out with extreme caution, in special clothing, the greenhouse after processing is left open overnight.
Traditional methods
You can get rid of aphids
Alternative methods are used to control aphids as an alternative to chemical agents. A soapy solution is a good remedy. To prepare it you need:
- rub a bar of laundry soap;
- dissolve it in a little water;
- pour the finished mixture into 10 liters of water;
- add 1 liter of water with boiled and strained ash.
Tomato leaves are treated with this tool, not forgetting about their lower part.
In the fight against aphids, soap foam also helps, which is used to wash the damaged leaves. You can also try to kill pests by washing them off with a strong jet of water.
Aphids do not tolerate garlic solution. For its preparation, use 3 cloves of garlic and 0.5 tbsp. water. This tool is insisted for 3 days, after which it is filtered, added to 1 bucket of water and the culture is treated.
Folk remedies will be beneficial if used regularly: 1 time in 7-10 days.
Prophylaxis
To prevent the appearance of aphids, you need to dig up the ground by 10-15 cm in the fall after harvesting. For the winter it is not leveled, but left loosened.
In the spring, the area allotted for tomatoes is treated with a solution of fufanon. For its preparation, take 60 g of the drug and dilute it in 10 liters of water.
Equally important is the correct planting scheme for tomato seedlings. It is necessary to consider the distance between the bushes. It should not be less than 30 cm in a row and 70 cm in a row spacing.
Near the plot with tomatoes, anthills are destroyed so that ants do not transfer aphids to seedlings.
Tatiana Orlova (Candidate of Agricultural Sciences):
Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely and permanently remove ants from your site. They leave one place, migrating to another. But to control their number, use the preparations Muratsid and Medvetox in the form of granules.Several granules of these preparations are placed in the passages of the anthill and in a short time the ants in it disappear.
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Whitefly
Leaves begin to curl from whitefly infestation. She, like aphids, hides under the leaves of tomatoes. Adults are more harmful than larvae. With a small amount, damaged leaves are cut off, but this is not a very effective method.
To completely get rid of this pest, use chemicals such as:
- Mospilan. Processing is carried out only during the growing season. The result can be seen within an hour. To prepare a solution for spraying, take 2.5 g of the drug and dilute it in 1 liter of water. Then this agent is poured into 6-8 liters of water. It is used only on the day of preparation.
- "Fufanon". For processing, 10 ml of the drug is diluted in a small amount of water, then added to 10 liters of water. This remedy even destroys the larvae. 0.5 l of the ready-made solution is used on 10 m² of the plot.
- Aktara. With this tool, the vegetable crop is watered at the root. For its preparation, 1.4 g of the drug is dissolved in 10 l of water. Processing is carried out 3 times with a break of 7 days.
- "Confidor". To completely get rid of this pest, one treatment is enough - after 1.5 hours the insects begin to die. To prepare the solution, take 1-2 g of "Confidor" and dissolve it in 1 bucket of water. The resulting product is used to treat tomato leaves damaged by whitefly.
Bacterial infections
Tomato tops curl due to bacterial infections. Most often it is tomato bacteriosis. At first, the leaves spin, then shrink at the crown and discolor.
This infection is carried together from seeds and is very difficult to cure. It is better to destroy the affected bushes, and to treat the soil with "Farmayod". For 1 liter of water, take 10 ml of the drug. The next season, mustard is planted on this site. It disinfects the soil.
Bacterial infections are the most serious cause of curly upper leaves in tomatoes. It leads to the complete death of the plant.
Conclusion
Proper care is the key to a good tomato harvest, but even if all favorable conditions for growing tomatoes are observed, it happens that the upper leaves of the bushes begin to curl. The reasons can be both infectious and non-infectious. To deal with them correctly, you need to select the right means.
