Why cucumber leaves curl - 8 possible reasons

There can be many reasons why cucumber leaves curl: errors in care, diseases, and invasion of pests. How to figure out what exactly led to the problem and what to do to help the cucumbers?

Many summer residents prepare seeds for sowing and care for the seedlings, seemingly according to all the rules, but as a result they are perplexed why the leaves of cucumbers curl after picking or during growth in a greenhouse or in open ground.

Let's look at the eight most likely causes of this phenomenon and how to eliminate them.

Insufficient watering

Most often, cucumber leaves curl due to an oversight: they did not have time to water on time, dry weather. The result is that the leaves of the plant dry out and curl into tubes.

The solution to the problem is simple: you need to restore the water balance of the soil. Proper watering of cucumbers in a greenhouse is when the soil is moistened to a depth of at least 10 cm.

It is also worth considering that dry air is detrimental to cucumbers, especially when grown in protected soil. Do not forget to regularly spray the bushes and the inside of the greenhouse (this should be done in the first half of the day so that the drops of water have time to dry by the evening). The optimal air humidity in a greenhouse for cucumbers is 80-90%.

Prevention

Most problems that cause leaf curl can be avoided. To do this, it is necessary to strictly follow the recommendations for a particular variety, maintain optimal humidity and temperature. Cucumbers love moisture, but excess of it also harms them, so watering also needs to be regulated. Basic tips to help avoid curled leaves:

maintain an optimal climate in the greenhouse;
observe crop rotation; you cannot plant one crop in one place for too long;
regularly disinfect and disinfect the soil before sowing;
grow seedlings in separate containers and replant carefully;
replenish mineral deficiency on time;
loosen and moisten the soil, do not let it dry out;
treat seeds before planting;
remove the remains of previous crops from the soil;
Inspect plants regularly to identify any problems.

Nutrient deficiency

Another possible reason for leaf deformation is “starvation” of plants.

If you notice that the cucumber leaves have turned pale and are curling inward, it is possible that the problem is a lack of nitrogen. In such plants, the rachis (central vein) is stretched out, and the leaf plate behind it “does not keep up” - so the cucumber leaf curls.

Fertilizing with urea, ammonium nitrate or any other nitrogen fertilizers (according to the instructions) will help stimulate the growth of leaf mass.

If cucumber leaves curl upward, this is most likely a signal of potassium deficiency in the soil. Such plants need to be fed with a solution of potassium salt (3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

How to feed cucumbers for good growth
If you do not want to use chemicals for feeding, they can be easily replaced with improvised means.

The main reasons for what to do in this case

Why do cucumber leaves begin to curl? The first reason is improper watering. For example, if there is a deficiency, the farmer must normalize this process: perform it once every five days, the depth is at least twelve centimeters.

If the case is too advanced, it produces it twice as often, that is, every three days. If the leaves look lifeless and droop, it means they have received excess moisture. In this case, you should pause.

Curling upward indicates a lack of nitrogen. It is necessary to immediately add urea or ammonium nitrate to the soil. Down - you should prepare the following solution: dilute five milliliters of potassium salt in ten liters of water and pour it into the soil.

Weather conditions also negatively affect the harvest. It is recommended to create greenhouses in which optimal temperatures can be maintained. If the seedlings are outdoors, then it is recommended to plant other plants around them that will serve as shade.

Note! In greenhouses, leaves should not come into contact with glass. After all, it is capable of taking on the surrounding temperature, which is why they can get a burn, which will negatively affect their general condition.

The cause of curling is also caused by parasites that attack the plant and live on the inside of the leaf. They will not only spoil the cucumbers, but also bring diseases to them. In the second case, the harvest will be lost and it will not be possible to cure it. Therefore, we must not hesitate to destroy them. Removal can be done using various chemical means.

Powdery mildew is also a cause of curling. It appears due to too dense planting, watering with cold water, sudden temperature changes and lack of oxygen. In order to forget about this scourge, it is recommended to spray the plantings with a special solution: ten milliliters of Bordeaux mixture must be diluted in five liters of water, mixed well, poured onto the ground.

If the withering of the crop began from below, then the problem is in the root system, it has begun to rot. Getting rid of this is very simple; just prepare a manganese solution before planting, which is used to treat the soil. It is also worth remembering warm water for irrigation and ventilation of the greenhouse.

Sheets may wither due to poor-quality humus or an excess of ammonium nitrate. In this case, the crop gets burned. To avoid this problem, saltpeter must be added strictly according to the instructions written on the package. The humus must be thoroughly rotted before use.

Burn or hypothermia

Cucumbers, like any living organism, react equally poorly to both an excessive decrease and a sharp increase in temperature. As a result of a sudden cold snap, the leaves turn yellow and wrinkle. The same thing happens when plants are exposed to excessively high temperatures.

If you grow cucumbers on a balcony, windowsill or in a glass greenhouse, plant the seedlings so that the leaves do not come into contact with the glass. It heats up and cools down quickly, and this negatively affects the development of the young plant.

When and what to feed cucumbers

Cucumbers, like other crops, need to be fed periodically. Mineral and organic foliar and root applications of nutrients are suitable.

It is recommended to apply fertilizers and growth stimulants at least four times:

The first feeding is carried out two weeks after planting the seedlings in a permanent place. From organic matter, you can use chicken droppings, manure or herbal infusion. It is better to choose Ammophos from mineral supplements.
The second feeding coincides with mass flowering. Superphosphate, boric acid, and wood ash are used.
The next feeding is carried out during the period of active fruit formation. Potassium nitrate, urea, and wood ash are suitable.
After the first harvest, the last application of fertilizing is carried out to increase the duration of fruiting and the quality of the crop.

It is recommended to fertilize along with watering. Moist soil promotes better penetration of all components into the plant.

Pest Infestation

Let’s say you water your cucumbers regularly, don’t allow them to overheat or overcool, don’t forget about fertilizing, but the leaves still curl. What can be wrong?

Another common reason for deformation of the leaf plate is the “attack” of insect pests. This is easy to check: just look at the back of the sheet. Aphids or spider mites - the worst enemies of cucumbers - will be visible to the naked eye.

If your fears are confirmed, there is no need to waste time: insects not only inhibit the development of the plant, drawing out all the juices from it, but can also transmit viruses.

To get rid of aphids, cucumbers are sprayed with insecticides (Aktara, Inta-Vir, Konfidor Extra, Fitoverm, etc.). Ticks are fought with acaricides (Antikilesch, Bitoxibacillin, Fitoverm, etc.).

Fufanon-Nova will help you cope with mites and aphids at the same time, as well as most pests of cucumbers: dilute 13 ml of the drug in 10 liters of water and spray the affected plants.

Many of the pest control drugs are dangerous for humans, so they should be used with caution - before the formation of ovaries, if you do not want to receive a dose of poison along with fresh summer salad.

If you are against any “chemistry”, then try to solve the problem with the help of folk remedies. To control cucumber pests, gardeners most often use infusions of onion peels, dandelion, celandine or wood ash. So that after spraying the infusion stays on the leaves longer, soap is added to it as an adhesive.

Garlic infusion is also effective against aphids and spider mites. To prepare it, grind 500 g of cloves, pour 3 liters of water over them and leave for 5 days.

Pests of cucumbers in greenhouses and open ground: description, photos, control measures
Protecting cucumbers from pests is the most important task of a gardener, because otherwise you can easily be left without a harvest!

Powdery mildew

In mid-summer, the appearance of powdery mildew on vegetable crops is not easy to avoid. If you miss the moment, the leaves begin to turn yellow and curl.

Factors that provoke the development of this disease are dense plantings, rainy and cool summers, poor ventilation of greenhouses (or balconies where cucumbers are grown), watering with cold water, and sudden temperature fluctuations.

You can tell that a leaf is curling precisely because it is affected by powdery mildew by its characteristic whitish coating.

At the first signs of disease, spray the cucumbers with a solution of baking soda (dissolve 2 tablespoons of soda in 10 liters of water) with the addition of laundry soap. To combat powdery mildew, use Alirin-B, Sporobacterin or Fitosporin-M.

Incorrect picking of cucumbers

Let’s say right away that the agricultural technology for growing cucumbers does not imply picking: their root system is very weak. She does not tolerate transplantation well and can easily die. It makes more sense to plant cucumber seedlings immediately in separate containers, but many people first plant the seeds in a common container and then plant them out after a while. If the roots were damaged during picking, this will immediately affect the foliage. They quickly begin to turn yellow and curl down. For prevention, use growth activator solutions during picking: “Kornevin”, “Epin”, “Zircon”, “Silk”. The roots are dipped in them before planting.

Bringing cucumbers back to their former health is not always easy. Therefore, do not neglect preventive measures, follow the established rules of care: maintain heat and light conditions, follow the instructions when using medicinal and nutritional preparations, water enough, properly prepare seeds for planting. Only in this case will your plants thank you with pleasing greenery and a rich harvest.

Root rot

Often, cucumber leaves curl at the edges and turn pale as a result of root rot. However, the most characteristic symptoms of this disease are wilting and yellowing of leaves, starting from the lower ones. In this case, the stem near the ground becomes brown. Most often, the disease affects cucumbers growing in a greenhouse, but sometimes those plants that are in open ground also suffer from root rot.

To avoid this problem, before planting, disinfect the soil with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, avoid over-wetting the plantings and do not water the plants with cold water. You should also regularly ventilate the greenhouse to prevent overheating of the air.

Dust the lower part of the plants with chalk, ash or coal. As a preventive measure, use Fitosporin-M (soaking the seeds before sowing and treating the leaves during the growing season) or Sporobacterin and Fitolavin (watering at the root).

Main diseases of cucumbers - photos, descriptions and methods of treatment
Any disease is difficult to cure without proper diagnosis. This also applies to cucumbers, whose diseases are very similar in symptoms, but the “medicines” required in each case are different.

Problems associated with planting and care

Many gardeners grow cucumbers through seedlings. There are several reasons why the leaves of seedlings curl:

improperly prepared soil (it is recommended to mix soil from the garden with sand, peat and humus);
untreated seeds (planting material needs to be heated, disinfected, germinated, treated with growth stimulants);
transplanting seedlings into unheated soil (the soil should warm up to +16 degrees);
damage to roots during picking.

As a result of improper care, problems also appear during the cultivation of cucumbers: improper watering, fertilizing, lack of light.

Cucumber vines need shaping and pinching. The procedure allows you to collect a numerous, tasty and healthy harvest. It is recommended to tie the lashes to improve access to daylight and oxygen. In addition, the branches do not intertwine, and the risk of developing diseases is reduced.

Weather

Cucumber is considered a heat-loving crop. For the development of a healthy underground part of the cucumber, the ambient temperature during the day should be from +25 to +29 degrees, and at night - 17 degrees.

If the air temperature drops to +10 degrees, the plant stops absorbing moisture and nutritional components, which leads to the leaves bending, drying out and falling off. If the temperature drops to +3 degrees, the cucumbers die.

In open ground, cucumber leaves can wither and dry out due to high air temperatures. Heat at +32 degrees harms plants. The leaves dry out and the pollen becomes infertile.

Hypothermia

Curling and yellowing of cucumber leaves can occur due to prolonged exposure to cold air:

Sudden return of frost or heavy rains.
Planting seeds or seedlings in poorly warmed soil.
Improper hardening of seedlings before transplanting to a permanent location.
Hypothermia can occur as a result of cucumbers growing in a place where there are drafts.

Before planting cucumbers, you need to choose the right place, calculate the timing and protect the beds from rain and cold, for example, by covering them with film.

Violation of the landing pattern

There are many ways to plant and grow cucumbers. To obtain healthy seedlings, there is one main rule - maintaining the interval between seedlings. Thickened plantings of cucumbers are more lacking in daylight and nutritional components.

It is better to grow seedlings in separate peat cups, since cucumbers often get sick after transplanting. When planting seeds directly in open ground, a strip scheme is often used. The interval between rows is 62 cm, between seedlings - at least 22 cm.

Several seeds are placed in each prepared hole. As soon as the first pair of leaves appears, the first thinning is carried out, and after 12-14 days thinning is repeated.

In the greenhouse

There are several reasons why cucumber leaves curl in greenhouses and greenhouses:

lack of sufficient nutrients in the soil;
non-compliance with the rules and regulations for fertilizing;
leaves change color when the humidity in the greenhouse is too low;
leaf curling occurs as a result of lack of moisture;
lack of regular ventilation of the room;
attack by insect pests.

Be sure to monitor the correct temperature conditions and watering of cucumbers. It is recommended to maintain the air temperature at +21 degrees, humidity not less than 85-95%.

You can increase the moisture level in a greenhouse by frequent watering. Not only a decrease, but also an increase in humidity, especially at night, has a bad effect on cucumbers. You can reduce the level of air humidity in a greenhouse by frequent ventilation.

On the windowsill

When growing cucumbers in a room, you need to comply with all the conditions necessary for the normal growth of seedlings. If the leaves of the seedlings begin to curl and turn yellow, then problems arise:

The temperature in the room during the day should be +23 degrees, at night it can drop to +18. If the temperature in the room is below these limits, this will negatively affect the growth of cucumbers.
Lack of moisture in the soil or excessive waterlogging. If the air is dry, you additionally need to spray the leaves with warm water. Drainage organized in each container for seedlings will not allow excess moisture to stagnate.
Infertile and heavy soil. You can buy soil or make the composition yourself by mixing garden soil with sand and humus.
Lack of light leads to the fact that cucumbers on the windowsill wither, turn pale and curl.

Knowing the basic rules for caring for vegetables, you can prevent the occurrence of many problems.