Yesterday, funny pumpkins were pleasing to the eye, and suddenly the leaves lost their healthy attractiveness, turned yellow, and suspicious spots appeared on them. What is the reason? Pumpkin urgently needs help!
Yellowing pumpkin leaves: causes and help
Pumpkin leaves may turn yellow for the following reasons:
- adverse weather conditions;
- plant chlorosis;
- defeat by a spider mite.
Inclement weather
This reason is the most common. Yellowing leaves can cause both a prolonged cooling, and dry, hot weather.
Pumpkin leaves may turn yellow and disappear from cold air temperature
If it became cold for a pumpkin, then it needs to be insulated: you can put arcs and arrange temporary shelter. After the heat returns, the film is removed, and the leaves can be sprayed with Epin or Zircon solution.. This procedure will help the plant more easily cope with the stress.
If the melon plantings become cold, you can arrange temporary shelter from a plastic film
Pumpkin leaves may begin to turn yellow during the heat, which is not surprising. In this case, of course, watering will come to the rescue. It is better to use evening sprinkling, which cools the surface of the sheet plate and moistens the surrounding air. The best option for irrigation in the heat is cool water with a temperature of +20 to +27 ° C.
So that the leaves do not turn yellow from the heat, it is important to water the pumpkin on time and correctly
Chlorosis
A cause of yellowing of the leaves may also be a disease such as chlorosis. Its appearance in plants is associated with a lack of potassium in the soil and with a violation of the formation of chlorophyll in the leaves. The main symptom of the disease is precisely the rapid yellowing of the leaf, while the veins remain green.
When chlorosis leaves turn yellow from a lack of potassium
To cure the plant, first remove all diseased leaves, then feed the pumpkin with infusion of ash from deciduous wood. The solution is applied under the root. Or simply choose a fertilizer with a high content of potassium.
Table: pumpkin feeding in open ground
| Type of dressing | Terms and conditions of application |
| Ash | A glass of ash is dissolved by stirring in 10 l of water and the plants are immediately watered, without waiting for the insoluble particles to settle. |
| Potash fertilizer | The application rate is 20-25 g per 1 m2. |
You can not make ash together with nitrogen fertilizers: fresh manure, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, urea, because this will lead to a nitrogen loss of up to half.
Photo Gallery: Potash Fertilizers
- Potash fertilizers are different, each is used according to its instructions
- Humic fertilizers are considered the most modern.
- Diammofoska - complex fertilizer with a high content of potassium and phosphorus
- Wood ash contains potassium, phosphorus and other elements
Spider mite
The spider mite, which settles on the underside of the leaf, covering it with a cobweb, can cause yellowing of leaves at the pumpkin. Insects are almost impossible to notice with the naked eye. Their presence is indicated by small cobwebs that appear on plants. Gradually damaged leaves become marble in color, turn yellow and dry. The spread of the pest is facilitated by dry, hot weather.
A spider mite can also cause yellowing of leaves
Regular weeding is a preventive measure. Planting next to pumpkin marigold scares away both the tick and the aphid. Plants can be sprayed with a solution of ammonia or hydrogen peroxide - 1 h. l. / 1l of water.
Video: simple spider mite remedies
I also practice planting calendula around pumpkins, and practically throughout the garden. I use folk remedies more. I spray the leaves with a solution of ammonia, for which I dilute 2 tablespoons of 10% ammonia purchased in a pharmacy in 10 liters of warm water, add 2 tablespoons of liquid tar soap. This procedure helps to get rid of ticks, aphids and ants. Can be used for spraying roses, peonies, dill. Spraying should be carried out in the first half of summer on a cloudy day.
What to do if the leaves curl
Deprived of juices, the leaf dries and shrinks. The main causes of this trouble may be:
- parasite insects;
- viral and fungal infections.
Gourd aphids
Pumpkin gourd aphid most often harms. Pests are located on the underside of leaves, on shoots, ovaries and flowers. Damaged leaves curl, flowers and leaves fall off. If you do not take action, the plant may die.
Melon aphid settles on the underside of leaves and can gradually destroy the entire bush and ovaries
Table: ways to combat melon aphids
| Means of struggle | Mode of application |
| Foliar phosphorus-potassium top dressing | 20 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium chloride are diluted in 10 l of water and the plants are sprayed so that the solution falls on the underside of the leaf where the aphid is located. |
| Spraying infusions |
|
| Soap solution | Take 10 liters of water, a glass of 9% vinegar, laundry detergent or finely grated laundry soap. The resulting solution must be manually wiped leaflets. The tool effectively helps against parasites, so they can be treated with leaves to destroy larvae and more developed aphids. Soap solution works best in combination with herbs and other folk remedies. |
| Use of insecticides | Spraying with Biotlin solution in a concentration of 5 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water. |
Proper use of Biotlin or other insecticides will help get rid of pests.
In the market today you can find many effective pest control products. When used correctly, they can protect the garden and get rid of insects in just a day. The main thing is to carry out the procedure on a dry, windless day so that the poison does not wash off into the soil and does not blow away.
Why do pumpkin leaves dry
Fragility and brittleness of pumpkin leaves can signal a fungal disease - peronosporosis, or downy mildew. Diseases are especially susceptible to plants with high humidity and a sharp temperature drop. If humidity approaches 90%, peronosporosis can kill them in a matter of days.
A sign of peronosporosis is the drying of the leaves
Peronosporosis can be controlled by spraying. Used funds:
- 1% Bordeaux liquid;
- copper oxychloride (Oxychom);
- Gates;
- Carcocide;
- Cuproxate;
- urea solution (10 g of granules per 10 l of water).
White spots or bloom on the leaves of a pumpkin
Such a sign can serve as a signal about the disease of the plant with powdery mildew. First, medium-sized, whitish spots of rounded shape appear on the surface of the leaves, which then grow and cover the entire plate with white coating. Petioles and stems are also affected. The fungus sucks nutrients from the plant. Leaves gradually dry out.
Often trigger this fungal disease is too hot weather or sudden fluctuations in temperature. If you do not start timely treatment, then the consequences will significantly affect the harvest. The fruits will be medium-sized, which will reduce yield by 70 percent.
White plaque on leaves is the first sign of powdery mildew.
At the first signs of powdery mildew, fungicide preparations can be used:
- The karatan;
- Gates;
- Topaz;
- Fitosporin M (biological product).
Strobi fungicide is used in diseases of plants with powdery mildew
From folk remedies, I can recommend a solution based on whey for the fight against powdery mildew. To obtain it, you need to take one part of serum to ten parts of water. The action of such a solution is due to the fact that it forms a protective film on the leaves, which prevents the spores of the fungus from spreading.
Video: powdery mildew control measures
Preventive actions
To prevent diseases affecting your plants less, it is important to adhere to preventive measures:
- carry out pre-sowing preparation of seeds;
- destroy weeds and pests, especially aphids;
- observe crop rotation;
- carry out deep plowing or digging in the fall;
- disinfect inventory, greenhouses and greenhouses;
- remove affected plants in a timely manner.
Compliance with the simple rules of agricultural technology and periodic inspection of plants will help prevent the occurrence of the disease or, if an illness is detected at the initial stage, stop it in time. However, when carrying out the treatments, it is important to pay attention to the safety of the drugs and strictly observe the recommended doses and terms of use.
Subject to disease prevention and proper handling, pumpkin will grow large and tasty
The statement that the disease is easier to prevent than to cure is also true for plants. So that there are no problems in the garden, often inspect the beautiful pumpkin, destroy weeds in time, because often with them numerous diseases and pests make their way to plants.
