New leaves on a tomato are curling up. Tomato leaves curl down

The question that worries most summer residents from the beginning of creating their site, namely why the leaves of tomatoes curl, both outward and inward. Let's try to consider this issue as scrupulously as possible. To begin with, plants with curled leaves photosynthesize less intensively, while receiving less nutrition and, as a result, loss of yield.

Two basic groups can be distinguished as causes of tomato leaf curl: associated with infection and not.

The first of them is a "provider of problems" through the appearance of bacteriosis in tomatoes. The start of plant disease is the twisting of all leaves outward, where at the top they become smaller, become weak, lose color, and the fruits do not set.

This disease can be transmitted by plants with infected seeds, and also carried by insects. Unfortunately, the affected plants are already incurable, so best solution they will be removed, after which it will be necessary to immediately get rid of the pathogen: it will be effective to shed the beds with Farmayod, and then fertilize with green manure in order to disinfect the soil (for example, mustard). It is possible to fight bacteriosis, but is the game worth the candle, since the war will be serious.

Often, as soon as we see curled leaves on plants, we are more likely to assume that the problem lies in non-infectious causes, of which a sufficient number are known. In each case, there is an opportunity to solve the problem, thereby saving future tomatoes.

Consider the causes of leaf curl.

lack of moisture

The most obvious of them is the lack of moisture. Unfortunately, even the gardeners themselves are well aware that the curly tops are nothing but the cause of the drought. The process is quite simple to explain from the point of view of biology: when there is a shortage of water in plants, they try to evaporate a smaller amount of liquid.

Consequently, tomatoes roll their leaves on their own - reducing the area for evaporation. In this case, the problem has a solution, which will require proper organization of irrigation. Watering tomatoes is rare and plentiful. A single watering of 1-2 buckets per bush per week will be quite sufficient, so that the moisture is distributed as intended. In the case of heat, you can water twice.

Too much moisture

It may sound paradoxical, but excess moisture can also harm tomatoes by causing leaf curl. The current situation becomes clear as the leaves curl upwards, outwards. This phenomenon is not uncommon during periods of prolonged rainfall. How to help plants in this situation?

An effective option can be a film roof to prevent watering outside the greenhouse. As a result, it is necessary to loosen the earth on the site, so that it has the opportunity to pass moisture. In this case, the moisture will begin to go into the soil, freeing the roots of the plants and allowing them to breathe.

Heat

Hot weather can cause curling of tomato leaves due to the fact that the air temperature in the greenhouse reaches 35 ° C or more. Such heat quite often affects the twisting of the leaves. Each leaf segment literally curves into tubules along the central vein. However, at night, as soon as the heat subsides, the leaves unwind again and are visually similar to the usual ones.

What to do with them and how to help get rid of it? In this case, it is worthwhile to ventilate the greenhouse, organize drafts, mulch the beds with an organic layer, shade the bushes, covering direct sunlight by covering them with material.

Too much nitrogen fertilizer

When there is an excess of manure in tomato beds, or due to frequent feeding with herbal infusion, chicken manure, urea, it is natural to twist the upper leaves into a ring. The stem at the same time becomes thick, while the leaves are juicy. As a result, tomatoes are said to be "overfed" with nitrogen.

As a solution to the problem, one can resort to the complete exclusion of all types of top dressing with a nitrogen content, thereby restoring the material balance. You can resort to complex fertilizer based on the proportion of 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water or potassium monophosphate. During the fruiting period, it is necessary to feed the tomatoes exclusively with potassium phosphate fertilizers.

Micronutrient deficiency

Rolled leaves are a signal of a lack of one of the trace elements. Often, tomatoes lack phosphorus or potassium.

In the case of a lack of phosphorus, the leaves turn down, moving away from the stem at an acute angle, in the process becoming green or acquiring a purple color. Potassium deficiency is manifested by twisting the leaves up from the edges to the middle, young leaves begin to curl, and ripe tomatoes acquire light spots.

In this case, top dressing will be an ideal assistant. Representatives organic farming they mean gold. To admirers of mineral fertilizers - superphosphate and potassium nitrate.

Wrong stepson

Often, tomatoes can curl up after the pinching procedure. With multiple removal of stepchildren at a time, the plant receives severe stress. In this case, not only the leaves are twisted, but the flowers are also dropped. For the fastest fight of tomatoes with stress, foliar top dressing with a complex of fertilizers or biostimulants will be required. In addition, timely removal of excess leaves and stepchildren will occur.

Pest infestation

Certain harmful insects may well cause leaf curl. In this case, the tick or whitefly lives on the other side of the leaf. Although there are other symptoms: yellowing, drying of the leaves, the appearance of spots on them.

How to deal with pests, probably, no one will have to explain - deliverance and destruction. Basically, all products fight pests based on spraying, say, Fitoverm or other drugs (preferably biological).

There is also such a possibility that the leaves of tomatoes began to curl over a long period, from the very beginning, and not suddenly. Some varieties of tomatoes have certain features: hanging, thin, twisted. Often this "sin" cherry. In this case, there is absolutely no reason to worry.

If we take into account the classification of the causes of twisting of tomato leaves, then in this case three main directions should be distinguished:

• changing conditions environment;
• violation of agricultural cultivation;
• damage to seedlings by diseases and pests.

Monitoring the state of seedlings, timely correction of agrotechnical errors will allow you to get a big harvest. Everything becomes more complicated in the case of infectious diseases. In this regard, it is necessary to fulfill all the requirements of disinfection at the stage of purchasing seeds. However, some gardeners try to survive only the preparatory period, after which they complain about the unsuitability of the seedlings. The reason for this is the violation of cultivation technology.

Changing environmental conditions as a cause are quite common. Tomatoes are often demanding on certain environmental conditions. Tomato leaf plates can be twisted in both directions, a tube, a boat, separate parts and more elaborate forms.

The next item should be violations of the agrotechnical rules of cultivation. As the main methods of agricultural cultivation, they resort to fertilizing at the stage of preparing the soil and top dressing in the process of caring for the plant.

A number of vegetable growers in case of delay in the preparation of seedlings for her permanent place overfeed it with all sorts of substances, especially nitrogen fertilizers for more expensive seedlings.

Damage to tomato seedlings by diseases and pests

In case of improper care, seedlings are most often affected by infections. A certain proportion of them cause leaf curl, which is easy to confuse with another cause. After some time, the disease acquires a specific manifestation.

Unfortunately, we have to admit that not all plants are perfect. In our case, tomatoes are the very plant that can provide joy for the owners, with the only difference being that joy is achieved at the final stage - the stage of plant growth and harvesting.

In terms of growing tomatoes, there is nothing complicated at first glance. The growth period is accompanied by problems, such as twisting the leaves. Of course, a cure for cancer has not yet been found today, there is no way to fly to distant stars or simply learn how to fly. However, we have found the causes and dangers of their cultivation.

Now you know what to do when tomato leaves begin to curl. However, this is not a reason to take care of the prevention of this problem, which requires thoroughness and scrupulous care: timely watering, dosing of fertilizers, weeding, pest control. Decent pest control will allow you to get an effective result after the first harvest.

More about this phenomenon and methods of solution here:

Despite all the efforts of the gardener, the leaves of the grown tomatoes may curl. At the same time, they can not only curl up, but also turn yellow, blacken or dry out. What causes it, and what consequences it will lead to, how to get rid of it, and what preventive measures are needed to prevent this from happening. Find out the answers to these questions below.

Causes of leaf curl in tomatoes

The reasons are divided into two groups:

• non-infectious nature;
• Infectious.

The first group includes the following causes of leaf curl in tomatoes:

• Lack or excess of moisture;
• Increased ambient temperature;
• The shoots were wrong pinched or pinched;
• Damaged the root system during planting;
• fed incorrectly;
• Pests.

The second group includes all plant diseases. Let's consider each cause and methods of struggle separately.

Mistakes in care

lack of moisture

In this case, the twisting of the leaves causes a banal lack of water in the soil. This is often the fault of inexperienced gardeners. Due to insufficient watering, the plant itself begins to twist the leaves, thereby reducing the evaporation area. You can easily find out - the leaves twist inward and become brittle.

Treatment is simple - watering.

But we carry out the procedure according to the rules, otherwise we will harm the plants:

If for some reason there was no watering for a long time, then you can not immediately water abundantly. Otherwise, from the same a large number moisture, the plant may die.

Excess moisture

It also causes the leaves to curl up, but outward.

In addition, other factors indicate excess moisture:

• stems of waterlogged plants become brittle;
• the soil is too wet.

On the open ground, this condition is caused by heavy rainfall, and in the greenhouse only overflow.

The situation will be saved by the suspension of irrigation. And in case of heavy rainfall, the installation of a temporary film shelter over the landings. As a preventive measure, plant tomatoes in loose soil, equip the beds with good drainage.

Elevated ambient temperature

If there is a strong heat, then the leaves of the tomatoes will definitely curl. If this is the only reason, then by the evening, when coolness sets in, the pouring will take its usual form.

As a preventive measure during a period of intense heat, tomatoes are sprayed with a solution of urea. It is prepared as follows - one and a half tbsp. spoons are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Three days later, we process the plants with potassium permanganate.

Tomatoes in a greenhouse have curled leaves due to an increase in room temperature above 35 degrees. It is enough to ventilate the greenhouse and the leaves return to shape.

Wrong stepchildren

As they grow, tomato bushes require shaping, although not all. At the same time, stepchildren, which are recognized as superfluous, are removed from the bush. But if you remove too many stepchildren from the bush at a time or remove overgrown shoots (more than 5 cm), the tomatoes will experience a shock. This will eventually lead to curling of the leaves.

Therefore, the removal of processes must be taken seriously:

Excessive pruning will cause the leaves to curl and cause the plant to drop flowers and ovaries in an attempt to recover. In this case, the harvest will have to be forgotten.

The fight against adversity is to provide plants good care: timely watering, ventilation of the greenhouse, shading in the open field.

In extreme cases, tomatoes are fed with a complex mineral fertilizer or poured with a biostimulant.

Many experienced gardeners advise - if you are not sure that you will correctly carry out stepsoning, then do not risk it. It is better to have a small crop than none at all.

Root system damage

This often happens when transplanting tomatoes to a permanent place.. In this case, even partial damage to the roots leads to the fact that the upper part of the plant receives less nutrients, since it devotes all its forces to the regeneration of the roots.

The leaves, not receiving adequate nutrition, begin to curl. Then the roots are restored, and everything returns to normal, but time will be lost. To shorten the recovery period, the plant must be fed.

malnutrition

As can be seen from the above, if the soil is deficient in trace elements, the leaves of tomatoes also curl.

But exactly what mineral the plant needs, the appearance will help to find out:

But it is necessary to understand that if the surface of the twisted foliage does not swell and is not covered with plaque, then the plant is absolutely healthy. And you can remove the consequences by adding the necessary trace elements to the soil. In particular, potash or phosphorus fertilizer. If for some reason you do not use chemistry, then use wood ash, it contains almost all the elements.

Rolling the leaves down

Twisting the leaves up (boat)

Twisting the leaves of seedlings

Tomato pests

A common cause of leaf curl is harmful insects. Therefore, if there are no obvious reasons for this, then it is necessary to carefully consider the twisted leaves. Surely you will find a considerable number of pests on them.

How will they harm the plant? Pests suck the juice from the leaf, as a result, its plate becomes thin and lifeless. Under the sun's rays, the leaf dries quickly and curls up. Other symptoms can be added to this symptom - yellowing of the leaf, its drying, followed by falling off.

Insects are usually found on the underside of the leaf. There are a lot of tomato pests.

But all gardeners recognize the most dangerous:

• Red poutine tick;
• Whitefly larva.

In the fight against them, ready-made chemicals are used:

1. "Fufanon";
2. "Alatar";
3. "Biotlin";
4. "Decis";
5. "Aktara";
6. "Rembek".

Fufanon

Alatar

Biotlin

Decis

Aktara

Usually two treatments are enough, but there are subtleties:

• Firstly, chemicals are not recommended for use during fruiting;
• Secondly, tomatoes have such a bad "feature" as the accumulation of harmful substances.

All industrial preparations are available in ampoules or tablets. 1 ampoule or tablet is dissolved in a certain amount warm water and spray them on pest-affected plants. It is best to do this in dry calm weather in the morning. At the same time, use the means personal protection- rubber gloves and a respirator. In extreme cases - a gauze bandage.

From store funds during fruit set, you can use Fitoferm. It has a biological basis, and there is practically no chemistry in it.

But it's better to use folk recipes- less harm, almost the same efficiency:

• 2 tbsp. spoons of usually wood ash stir in a bucket of water, there is also 100 gr. planed laundry soap. Mix everything thoroughly and leave for a day to infuse. Then we spray the plantings;
• 200 grams of onion peel pour a bucket of warm water and insist for about half a day, after which the infusion is ready for use;
• 4 kg of celandine we insist for 2 days a bucket of water. The resulting infusion perfectly relieves planting from any pest. The only thing is that celandine belongs to poisonous plants and work with all infusions and decoctions from it very carefully.

infectious causes

As mentioned above, these causes include bacterial diseases. On the this moment gardeners have identified more than two dozen tomato pathogens. Each has its own symptoms and treatments. We will briefly talk about the most common diseases of tomatoes and how to deal with it.

The disease first affects the lower leaves, then goes up. In addition, Fusarium can be recognized by the following symptoms - the color of the leaves changes to light green or even yellowish.

If the humidity is high, then the plant is covered with a light-colored bloom, in the region of the root collar, the trunk is covered with a pink bloom.

All affected individuals must be removed and destroyed.. And the remaining bushes must be treated with any antifungal drug. If this is not done, then the entire crop is guaranteed to die, and the next year's crop is also under threat. Therefore, after harvesting, we also cultivate the soil.

The cause of this disease are organisms of microscopic size - phytoplasmas. The main distributors are leafhoppers. In addition to twisting the foliage, there are other symptoms of the disease - enlarged flowers, woody fruits, the trunk of the bush becomes brown.

Protection measures are divided into three points:

thin leaf virus

In this case, there is only one positive moment - the plant does not die. But you can't wait for the harvest.

How the medicine is used pale pink solution of potassium permanganate or urea solution. They are sprayed with tomato bushes every two to three days until the signs of the disease disappear. It will also help to arrange a shadow over the plant.

In addition to curled leaves, the disease manifests itself in the form of ulcers on the leaves and cracking of the stem. The cause of the appearance is infected seeds or an infection left in the ground from previous plantings.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease, the only way out is to remove the affected bushes with further destruction.

How preventive measure deep digging and cleaning of the site in the fall after harvesting, soil and seed treatment before planting with Fitolavin-300 is necessary.

bacteriosis

Or bacterial wilt of tomatoes. It is also called the disease due to the fact that wilting occurs. And often in one night. External examination reveals a void inside the stem with liquid inside. In this case, the tissues of the stem acquire a brown tint.

There is no treatment, all infected bushes are removed and destroyed. All remaining bushes are sprayed with a solution of Fitolavin-300 at a concentration of 0.6-1 percent. We use Farmayod for cultivating the land - this antiseptic will help destroy the pathogen.

In this case, the leaves change their monotonous color to mosaic, where two colors alternate - dark and light green. The manifestation of the disease is directly related to age, conditions of detention and plant variety. The first reason is the lack of lighting.

All diseased plants must be removed from the garden. because they cannot be cured. It is also recommended to remove all weeds, even those that grow in the aisle.

the only effective way The fight against this viral scourge is hygiene. Cleaning tools and gloves with hot soapy water. The soil must be steamed - for example, on open ground, the affected earth is folded onto a film and steamed under direct sunlight for several days.

Preventive measures

To prevent problems, follow simple rules:

• Protect plantings from extreme heat. Place awnings in open areas, ventilate in the greenhouse.
• Water correctly and on time.

By all indications, tomato plants in a greenhouse “fatten” from an excess of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil. Tomatoes in this case expel a large green mass, but do not seek to give offspring, since they do not feel danger to their lives. That is, they form very weak flower brushes with a small number of flowers. In this case, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, which include phosphorus, potassium, zinc, boron and other trace elements, will help to balance the nutrition of tomatoes and correct the situation. Superphosphate (3 tablespoons) is ideal for this. Dissolve spoons in 10 liters of water and feed 1 liter per bush.) But it is best to use wood ash infusion as a top dressing, it contains all the nutrients except nitrogen. Twisting of the apical leaves can also occur for other reasons:

• From the high temperature in the greenhouse (more than + 35 ° C). In this case, the apical leaves curl up by lunchtime, and by night or in the morning the leaf blades are restored. It is necessary to ventilate the greenhouse more often and shade the roof with non-woven materials (spun-bond, lutrasil, agril and others). From a large difference in night and day temperatures. In this case, greenhouses are closed at night, and opened for good ventilation during the day. From frequent, but shallow watering of plants. It is better to water the tomatoes less often, but more abundantly. From the belated removal of a large number of overgrown stepchildren and abundant pruning of leaves, as the balance between the ground part of the plant and the roots is disturbed. It is necessary to stepchild when stepchildren have a length of no more than 5-7 cm. It is permissible to cut 2-3 leaves on a plant per week. From damage by viruses or pests. A plant affected by a virus cannot be cured. The fruits from such plants can be used as food, but the seeds cannot be collected. Aphids and whiteflies can deform young leaves. In this case, immediately treat the plants with one of the insecticides (Agrolan, Actellik, etc.).

Preparation of ash top dressing Pour 2 liters of wood ash hot water and mix thoroughly. Bring the solution with water to 10 liters and leave for a day so that all the elements are completely dissolved. To obtain a liquid top dressing, take 1 liter of infusion, dilute it in 9 liters of water heated in the sun, and add 1 liter under the root of each plant.

Below are other entries on the topic "Cottage and garden - with your own hands"

Tomato leaves curl

Sometimes you can observe the following picture: the leaves of tomatoes begin to curl along the central vein. Why does this happen? Tomato leaves can curl with an excess of fertilizer in the soil. As a result, the leaf becomes similar to a ram's horn.

Why do tomato leaves curl? Most often this happens in the first weeks after planting tomato seedlings, when the plants take root. Gradually, during the growth of plants, and especially towards the beginning of the filling of fruits, the leaves straighten.

Therefore, this twisting does not pose any danger to tomatoes. If the twisting of the leaf is complemented by a thickening of the stem and the development of powerful stepchildren, this is a sign of excess nitrogen. Excess nitrogen harms fruit formation.

To reduce the amount of nitrogen, it is enough to water the plants abundantly once to wash the topsoil. At the same time, it is important that the water can leave the site, and not stagnate near the plants.

Otherwise, your tomatoes will suffer not only from excess nitrogen, but also from excess moisture. It will help to restore balance and the introduction of ash. Ash is rich in phosphorus, potassium and trace elements.

You should also know that fresh manure is categorically contraindicated for tomatoes, since it promotes strong growth of plant leaves and thickens the stem, causing damage to fruit formation. It is better to underfeed tomatoes with fertilizer than to overfeed them. If your tomatoes are fattening, then you can help them shed some excess.

Do not rush with the first stepson. Let the side shoots grow up to 10-12 cm long, and only then remove them. The second reason for twisting the leaves of tomatoes is a lack of water. In this case, the tomato leaves are twisted along the entire axis, forming a boat.

In such a situation, the plants will have to recover for a long time - about two weeks. Try to prevent this: water the plants in a timely manner, ventilate, shade if necessary. However, a viral infection may well be the cause of the second type of twisting.

Protecting plants from all kinds of infections (and there are a lot of them in tomatoes) will help you proper care for plants: timely watering, optimal temperature, light and nutrition. If you see that the tomato bush is completely withered, its leaves are twisted into strings, the flowers do not become fruits, or the plant has ugly woody fruits, remove such plants. And in no case, after contact with a diseased plant, do not touch healthy ones!

Tomato leaves are curled in a greenhouse

If such a problem appeared in adult tomatoes, a slowdown in plant growth is observed, then it is worth checking the temperature in the greenhouse and remembering the necessary temperature regime for growing tomatoes. As you can see, there are many answers to the question “why the leaves of tomatoes curl” - it is necessary to analyze several factors that affect the development of plants, and only then draw conclusions.

Curled tomato leaves under the film

If you just planted your tomatoes in the garden and carefully covered them with a film on top to protect them from the cold, then in this case the leaves may begin to curl due to elemental heat - do not forget to ventilate young tomatoes, providing them comfortable conditions for further growth. In addition, be sure to watch for timely watering - this is very important for established plants, and a lack of water can also lead to leaf curl. At the same time, do not forget that an excess of water also does not bring benefits and leads to sad consequences. It is interesting:

Varietal feature

There are quite a lot of varieties of tomatoes, especially tall (indeterminate), with thin stems and leaves, strongly cut and hanging or slightly twisting downwards. This is not a disease - you just need to know that such popular varieties as Fatima, Japanese Crab, Oxheart, Honey Drop, and a good half of cherry tomatoes have such a feature. When planting seedlings, pay attention to the condition of the leaves - if they are equally thin and slightly wrapped in all bushes - you should not worry about why the leaves are curled.

high air temperature

Leaf curl in tomatoes is often observed in hot summer weather, especially when dry winds blow. Thus, the plant tries to reduce the area of ​​evaporation of such valuable moisture.

Usually in the evening, at dusk, the leaf unfolds and returns to its normal shape in order to receive more dew at night and restore balance. There is only one way to help the plant - to shade.

For this purpose, both in open beds and in a greenhouse, white spunbond or lutrasil, thrown over plants at noon, is excellent. But we categorically do not recommend watering tomatoes by sprinkling.

If you do it in the sun - from water drops that work like miniature lenses, the leaf gets burned, and if you refresh it in the morning or evening - this is a direct path to late blight. We also recommend that you mulch the soil in the beds and in the greenhouse. 8-10 cm of cut grass, forest floor will significantly cool the roots in the very heat and the plant will be much more comfortable.

lack of moisture

This is the most common reason why tomato leaves curl. Many vegetable growers either do not pay attention to watering at all, hoping for rain, or they do it incorrectly - they water often, but in small portions.

But only the top layer of soil is wetted this way - 3-5 cm, and the roots are mostly located deeper, and the tomato suffers from a lack of moisture. Proper watering it is enough to do it once every 2-3 days on uncovered beds and 1 time in 5-7 days on mulched ones, but at the same time, a bucket of water must be poured onto a fruit-bearing bush. This should not be done at the same time, but divided into several portions so that the water does not spread around the sides, but all gets to the roots.

Too much moisture

An excess, like a lack, can be the reason why the leaves of tomatoes curl, but only their edges are wrapped up. During prolonged rains in clay soils, water slowly sinks to a depth, and the roots of tomatoes literally suffocate from lack of air.

You can avoid this problem even during the transplanting period by filling the hole with loose soil. And during the growing season, make small grooves from the bushes to the side to divert water from the roots.

Pests: aphids, whiteflies, red spider mites

These garden pests rarely, but still, affect tomatoes, especially when the beds are large, as well as in a greenhouse. They settle on the underside of the leaves and actively suck out the juices, as a result of which the leaves curl inward, turn yellow, necrotic spots and nodules appear. Finding pests, it is urgent to save the plant.

If there are few insects, try folk methods- infusion of ashes, celandine, onion peel.

If it doesn’t help, one of the modern drugs, for example, Bankol, Akarin, Karbofos (Fufpnon), Aktellik. Systemic preparations such as Aktara, Tanrek, Biotlin cannot be used for plants where tomatoes have already started, since toxic substances can accumulate in fruits for 2-4 weeks.

Nutrient deficiency

This happens often if, for some reason, the bushes are not fed at least once every two weeks. Especially often this happens in greenhouses, where the air is very warm, but the soil is not. The plant does not have the ability to accumulate trace elements in sufficient quantities. At the same time, the twisting of the leaves in tomatoes is accompanied by a change in color, and the central vein becomes rough and convex:

• with a lack of phosphorus, they become red-violet, especially on the underside and veins, and the upper part seems to turn gray; with a lack of zinc, the leaf bends down, the tops of the shoots also curl and become rough and brittle; twisting of young leaves and their lightening indicates a lack of boron; crushing the shoots, wrapping the leaves into a tube is a sign of a deficiency of copper and sulfur; with a lack of calcium, the edges of the leaves twist up, and they become pale in color, the veins turn white, necrosis begins; with iron deficiency, the foxes turn yellow, thinner and sag.

Correct the situation can be properly selected top dressing. If you determine exactly which trace element is missing and why, then universal way- spray with a solution of immunomodulators: in hot weather - with Zircon; in cool and rainy - Epin; between them - apply Mortar (2 tablespoons per bucket of water) for general top dressing.

thin leaf virus

As a rule, it develops only with prolonged drought and an excess of illumination in the greenhouse. In this case, the plants do not die, but the yield is very weak, the fruits are small, wrinkled, with a hard middle. You can try to save them in this way: at intervals of 2-3 days, successively spray the leaf with a solution of urea and pale pink potassium permanganate, and shade with synthetic material from excess sun.

If this does not help, then it is better to remove the plant from the garden and burn it so that the virus does not spread.

Tomato bacteriosis

Sick tomatoes do not grow well, they have shortened shoots, small and ugly flowers, and the leaves curl, as a rule, only adult plants. Juveniles simply grow thin and heavily feathery.

The disease is transmitted by seed, with diseased plants infecting the soil. It is almost impossible to cure such tomatoes - just remove and then disinfect the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate and then sow mustard as green manure - its phytoncides kill pathogens, and the green mass after overheating will become an excellent source of humus.

Wrong stepson

• If, after splicing, the tomato leaves are wrapped in a funnel, it means that you overdid it with this manipulation. Firstly, you missed the optimal time when the stepchildren reached 5-7 cm in length. Secondly, too many vegetative parts were removed at the same time. Twisting the tomato leaves into such a situation is a reaction to stress. Usually at the same time, flowers are massively showered. The way out is just to make a foliar top dressing, and in a week the plant will recover. True, part of the crop will be lost.

Too much organic fertilizer

Too little is bad, too much is even worse. Excessive application of manure (especially fresh), watering slurry undiluted to the desired concentration or herbal infusions leads to the fact that the plant can no longer absorb as many nutrients and rolls the leaf to reduce photosynthesis. And, in addition, evaporation and ammonia released from fermentation of organic substances lead to burns, from which the leaves curl up and die.

Why do tomato leaves curl and how to avoid it?

Editor:

Tomato is a rather demanding and whimsical plant. From improper care, the leaves may change color or curl into a tube. Because of such changes, many gardeners are concerned about the question of why the leaves of the tomato curl.

It is known that this is how tomatoes react to temperature changes and changes in the irrigation regime. Do tomato leaves curl? This phenomenon can be explained.

There are a number of reasons for leaf deformation. Why do tomato seedlings curl leaves Regardless of whether the leaves of the seedlings or the adult plant curled, the reasons should be sought in the following:

• The tomatoes are very hot. Heat during the day adversely affects the development of seedlings. Young and adult plants need ventilation. Especially if the tomatoes are grown in a polycarbonate greenhouse. Temperatures above 35 degrees cause the plants to react. That is why the tomato leaves curl in a boat during the day, and at night and in the morning the foliage straightens to its usual position. If it is not possible to periodically ventilate the greenhouse, then you need to build gauze curtains to shade the seedlings a little. Improper watering. It is known that tomatoes need to be watered abundantly. But frequent watering harms no less than meager watering. Taking moisture from the upper layers of the soil, tomatoes do not develop lower roots. A lot of lateral ground roots are formed that are not able to feed the plant. Tomatoes are watered abundantly, but not more than twice a week in hot weather. Many gardeners try to get rid of extra stepchildren and lower leaves in one or two doses. Pinching should be carried out gradually, and the leaves should be cut as the ovaries form. Deciding to thin out the foliage in one go may result in curled leaves the next day. Overfeeding. It is very difficult to get an excellent harvest without mineral fertilizers. But even increased fertilizing can cause leaf curvature. The fact is that nitrogen fertilizers lead to a lack of phosphorus, zinc and potassium. This is why the leaves of the tomato curl up - due to an imbalance in nutrients. The introduction of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers should stabilize the situation, and the leaves will straighten.

What other causes of leaf curl could be? If the care is carried out correctly, and the leaves still do not look healthy, it is worth carefully examining the leaves from above and below.

Often the reason why the leaves of a tomato curl are pests and diseases. If you find aphids or whiteflies, then treatment with special chemicals will help.

Tools such as "Fufanon", "Tantrek" or "Biotlin" effectively fight tomato pests. But to defeat an infection caused by a viral pathogenic environment is quite difficult. The only way out is to remove the diseased lower leaves and not leave the fruits on the seeds.

But in this case, do not despair. You can stop the development of the disease and get decent harvest using drugs from late blight. For example, the Aviksil remedy will stop the development of the infection and allow the tomatoes to survive.

If you just planted tomatoes, then after a while you may notice that the leaves of the tomato seedlings are twisting and the buds are spoiling. Remember that tomatoes are rather capricious plants that require particularly strict adherence to the rules for their maintenance.

Even with a minimal discrepancy with these rules, the fruits and leaves will signal you about their deplorable state. Today, the question of why the leaves of a tomato are twisted worries many gardeners. But, as it turned out, there are more than enough reasons for this.

The most important of them is an excessive passion for nitrogen fertilizers, infusion of herbs and organic matter with a sharp lack of zinc, potassium and phosphorus. In this case, it is important to apply complex fertilizers, such as potassium monophosphate or solute, and also to balance the nutrition of the plants according to the rules. In addition, when you apply a lot of insufficiently decomposed slurry or manure, the released ammonia can cause superficial necrotic damage to the fruit or leaf scorch. Also the reason why the leaves of the tomato curl up may be a violation of the humidity and temperature regime.

Increasing the temperature to 35 ° C intensifies the breathing process of the tomato, resulting in a rapid breakdown of nutrients, although the accumulation and assimilation of these substances at the same time drops sharply. Due to starvation, the leaves of the tomato are twisted.

A particular danger to the plant occurs if the roots are located in the cold, and the upper part is under high-temperature stress. You can relieve stress by treating tomato leaves with urea, and after about 2 days, sprinkle the leaves with potassium permanganate, which must be diluted to the color of wild rosemary and treat the leaves with a solution . After a few days, you will notice that the tops straighten out. Intensive watering, excessive pinching or pinching can also be the reason why the leaves curl on the tomato.

Such curling may appear in the middle of the growing season. It usually begins with the lower leaves and gradually spreads to the top. The leaves crumble easily, become dense and somewhat hard to the touch.

With strong twisting, plant flowers often fall off. If you are sure that the plants are provided with the correct humidity and temperature conditions and proper nutrition, but you don’t understand why the leaves of the tomato are twisted, then maybe the cause was a bacterial infection that is transmitted when planted with seeds. We want to assure you that it will not be possible to cure this disease, but it can be stopped a little with a special systemic drug"Avixil". The last piece of advice: in order to avoid unpleasant situations in growing tomatoes, from the beginning of the season we recommend that you strictly observe agricultural practices, properly prepare seeds before sowing, use complex fertilizers with microelements for top dressing, and take preventive measures in the first half of summer to combat the most common diseases and pests. Only in this case, tomatoes will delight you with a healthy and good harvest!

Leaf curl in tomatoes is a common problem when growing crops in greenhouses. In open ground, such a nuisance is less common. .

Causes of leaf curl

The main reasons are

1. The greenhouse is too hot.
2. Tomatoes lack moisture.
3. Lack of batteries.
4. Excess fertilizer.
5. Root damage during planting seedlings or subsequent care of tomatoes.
6. Untimely removal of stepchildren. The leaves curl, too, when too many stepsons are removed at the same time.
7. Pests are sometimes also the cause of tomato leaf curl.
8. Features of the variety.

Depending on the cause, the leaves curl either up in a boat or down in the form of a chicken foot.

Reason 1. Temperature

In the greenhouse, the temperature is always at least 5-7 ° C higher than outside, even if the doors and vents are open. Therefore, at a temperature in the greenhouse above 27-28 ° and low air circulation, in order to avoid excessive evaporation of moisture, the leaves are twisted into a tube. At night, when the heat subsides, they straighten up again.

Very often the leaves curl due to high temperatures.

What to do

To prevent leaf curling in hot weather, greenhouses are left open overnight. To reduce the temperature, the greenhouse is shaded. There must be constant air circulation inside it. Even in cold weather, it must be ventilated.

reason 2. Lack of moisture

At insufficient watering, especially in the heat (and in greenhouses, these factors are inextricably linked), tomatoes also reduce the area of ​​​​evaporation due to the twisting of the leaves.

• It is recommended to water tomatoes in greenhouses at a temperature of 16-20°C every 7-10 days.
• At a temperature of 20-25°C once every 5 days
• At a temperature of 25-30 ° C every other day
• Over 30 ° C - daily, but very moderately.

This only applies to greenhouse plants, for open ground such an irrigation regime will not work, because there the tomatoes are additionally watered with precipitation. When choosing an irrigation regime, you should always take into account the growing conditions in your area.

If the leaves of the tomatoes are curled, then the first thing to do is to ventilate the greenhouse and water the crop.

Immediately abundantly water the plants should not be. It is better to water for several days in small volumes. It is especially necessary to observe this regimen during the fruiting period.

reason 3. Lack of batteries

If neither watering nor airing helped, and the leaves remained twisted, then the problem is more serious than expected: plants. The leaves curl differently, depending on which element is in short supply.

Phosphorus deficiency

The leaves curl up and turn purple on the underside. Phosphorus is a macronutrient; tomatoes consume it in large quantities.

To compensate for the deficiency of phosphorus, the culture is watered with an extract of superphosphate. To prepare it, pour 1 glass of fertilizer with 1 liter of boiling water (otherwise it will not dissolve) and leave for 12-18 hours, stirring regularly. The finished extract is diluted with water up to 10 liters and the tomatoes are poured under the root. The application rate is 0.5 liters per bush.

You can add dry ash or superphosphate, but then you will have to wait 7-10 days longer for the effect.

Tomatoes need to be fed with phosphorus.

Copper deficiency

The lack of an element is much less common (especially when treating tomatoes with copper-containing drugs for diseases), but its deficiency is not as rare as one might think. With a lack of copper, the edges of the leaves twist up. Yellow vague spots appear on the leaves, which blacken in acute deficiency.

There are many spots and they are randomly distributed over the entire leaf surface. The leaf looks healthy but is yellow and curled. To eliminate the problem, tomatoes are sprayed with any preparations containing copper. The same solution can be watered bushes.

Both spraying and watering not only make up for the deficiency of the trace element, but also protect tomatoes well from many diseases.

Requires micronutrient supplementation.

Potassium deficiency

The leaves are rolled up with a tube, a brown border forms along the edges. Tomatoes consume potassium slightly less than phosphorus, so it is advisable to make it with each top dressing. With a pronounced deficiency, the bushes are fed with any chlorine-free potassium fertilizer.

The best for tomatoes is potassium nitrate, which also contains a small amount of nitrogen. 1 st. l. fertilizers are diluted in 10 liters of water. Irrigation rate 0.5 liters per bush.

An excellent fertilizer will be an ash retract: 100 g of ash is poured with boiling water and insisted for a day, stirring regularly. Then the solution is filtered and watered tomatoes under the root. The consumption rate is 0.5 liters per bush. If ash infusion is sprayed, then 40 g of laundry soap is added to the working solution as an adhesive.

Such bushes require potash top dressing.

Lack of nitrogen

It usually happens on poor soils and with gross violations in the agricultural cultivation technique. With a lack of nitrogen, the leaves become yellowish and shrink. As nitrogen starvation increases, the leaves begin to curl down, turn yellow and dry.

Urgent top dressing is necessary with any nitrogen mineral fertilizer. If it is not there, then the tomatoes are fed with manure, or an infusion of grass. 0.5 l of infusion is diluted in 10 l of water and the plants are fed. The application rate is 1 liter per bush.

Pale leaves in tomatoes due to lack of nitrogen.

lack of calcium

Leaves curl up. A little earlier, top rot appears on the fruits. Feed the tomatoes calcium nitrate: 10 g / 10 l of water.

This is where calcium supplementation is required.

reason 4. Excess fertilizer

Some summer residents, in an effort to get the maximum yield, apply so much fertilizer (especially organic matter) to tomatoes that the plants begin to suffer from their excess, and this, in turn, very quickly leads to diseases.

excess nitrogen

The leaves at the top of the bush are twisted, the rest are very powerful, of a normal appearance. To neutralize excess nitrogen, stop all organic top dressing. Under the bushes, an extract from wood ash or any potash fertilizer that does not contain chlorine is added.

Excess nitrogen can also be harmful.

Excess zinc

It does not occur so often, but most summer residents cannot recognize it and only aggravate the situation. This happens when the multiplicity and frequency of applying microfertilizers is violated. The leaves curl up and hang like during a drought.

The main sign of excess zinc is the appearance of a purple hue on the lower part of the stem (no higher than 20-30 cm). To correct the situation, tomatoes are fed with organic matter, and microelements are not added for at least 15-20 days.

Some varieties have a genetically determined purple hue. But then the stem is evenly painted in this color.

Excess zinc is difficult to recognize.

reason 5. Damage to the root system

After planting seedlings, especially in a greenhouse, tomato leaves may curl slightly. This is fine. The root system of seedlings is usually less developed than the aerial part, so for several days after planting, the leaves of the plants are twisted. If after 5-7 days they have not acquired a normal appearance, it is necessary to water the tomatoes with Kornevin or Heteroauxin stimulants.

When planting seedlings in the ground, try not to damage the roots of plants.

Often the roots are damaged during deep loosening of tomatoes. The leaves curl up evenly throughout the bush. Neighboring plants look healthy. To remedy the situation, tomatoes are watered with root formation stimulants (Kornerost, Kornevin) and substances that support plant immunity: Epin-extra, Zircon.

reason 6. Incorrect pinching

Untimely removal of stepchildren leads to twisting of the leaves. Stepchildren are removed when their size is no more than 5-7 cm. If they have already outgrown, then this is too painful for the plant, so you either have to leave them or remove them gradually over several days.

Removing overgrown stepchildren can affect the leaves of tomatoes.

If the large stepchildren were removed and the tomatoes reacted to this by twisting the leaves, then the only thing that can be done is to spray the tomatoes with Zircon or Epin-extra.

reason 7. Pests of tomatoes

The greenhouse whitefly often affects tomatoes in greenhouses. This is a small butterfly that lays its eggs on the underside of leaves. The larvae and adults (butterflies) feed on the juices of the plant. Insects secrete a sweet pad, on which a sooty fungus settles. The insect reproduces very quickly. It settles first on the youngest and most tender leaves on the tops of plants.

Avoid a large accumulation of pests on tomato bushes.

Signs of defeat.

1. The leaves are deformed and curled, and then turn yellow and fall off.
2. On the underside, insect secretions can be found in the form of sticky honeydew and small white scales - the remains of cocoons.
3. Backlog of bushes in development.
4. The appearance of black spots of soot fungus on the stems and leaves.

What to do

When the whitefly spreads, it is very difficult to deal with it. The pest reproduces extremely quickly, and most insecticides do not work on older eggs and larvae. Therefore, emergency measures must be taken at the first detection of a pest.

When shaking whitefly-infested bushes, the butterflies take off and are easy to spot.

1. To catch butterflies, sticky traps are used, which are placed on the tops of the bushes.
2. With a small spread of the pest, Fitoverm is used. Spraying is carried out on the underside of the leaves. and tomatoes can be removed 2 days after treatment. Spraying is carried out repeatedly with an interval of 3-5 days to destroy newly appeared individuals, since the drug does not work on eggs. With strict adherence to the intervals of treatments, you can significantly reduce the number of pests.
3. Simultaneously with Fitoverm, tomatoes are sprayed with Fitosporin or Alirin-B for the prevention and destruction of black fungi.
4. In case of mass infection of tomatoes with a pest, all fruits are removed in the phase of technical ripeness, and the bushes are treated with Aktara. Treatments are carried out on the underside of the leaves at least 3-4 times with an interval of 4-7 days. After spraying, tomatoes should not be eaten for 20 days.

reason 8. Features of the variety

In some, leaf curl is a genetic trait. Cherry and small-fruited tomato varieties are mainly prone to this.

There are also some tomatoes.

Usually in this case, the leaf blade curls down, forming a "chicken foot". But in some varieties, the leaves can curl up. In this case, nothing needs to be done, neither feeding, nor watering, nor airing will help here. It's just a feature of the variety.

Conclusion

If the leaves on the tomatoes are massively twisted throughout the greenhouse, then this is either a violation of the temperature regime or a lack of moisture.

If the leaves curl only on individual bushes, then most likely this is a lack of nutrients. In this case, they twist gradually, first on one plant, then on the second, third, etc.

First of all, these bushes are carefully examined, and then on one of them they are fertilized with the necessary fertilizers. If the measures taken have given a result, then the rest of the plants are also fed. If there is no result, then continue to select the desired fertilizer until a positive response is received. Only after receiving a positive reaction to top dressing, all other tomatoes are fed with the same fertilizer.