Why beetroot leaves turn yellow: what to do, how to treat

Beetroot is considered the most unpretentious crop, but, like any other vegetable, it is prone to various diseases. A he althy plant has succulent, burgundy-veined green leaves.

By the leaves you can judge whether the plant feels good or not. Therefore, it is important to be able to identify diseases and know why beet leaves turn yellow.

Useful properties

The root crop contains a large amount of essential nutrients for humans. Beets are rich in vitamins C, PP, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, A and E. In addition, the vegetable includes a number of minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium, chlorine, phosphorus, sodium and others.

The product has an antioxidant effect on the human body. Regular consumption of beets helps to strengthen capillaries, increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood and heals the body.

Gardeners annually grow a crop and diligently take care of it. But it happens that a beet leaf dries, changes color or becomes stained - this is a signal that something is wrong with the plant wrong.

Causes of yellowing leaves

The state of the tops is an indicator of the he althy development of the vegetable, so if the beet leaves turn yellow, this means that the plant is deteriorating. Such a symptom may indicate several factors: the culture does not receive enough moisture or lacks nutrients (most often it is a lack of nitrogen, iron, magnesium).

The tops turn yellow if the crop is affected by a viral disease or if the root system is sick. A change in the color of the leaves also occurs as a result of exposure to pests.

Lack of soil moisture

The most common cause of yellowing foliage is insufficient watering. If the beets do not receive enough moisture, light and oxygen, then their tops grow small, weak and yellow.

Vegetable loves water, so regular and proper watering is important, especially during the formation of root crops. In hot weather, seedlings are recommended to be irrigated 3-4 times a week, using 3-4 liters of water per 1 m². For adult root crops, the volume of liquid is increased to 10 liters per 1 m², but watering itself is carried out less often - 1-2 times a week. Irrigation is stopped about a month before harvest.

Pests

If the tops of the beets have already turned yellow or turn yellow, lose elasticity, curl, dry out, then pests may be the cause. The culture is attacked by insects such as shield beetles, fly larvae and adult insects, crumb, common flea and aphids.

Quite often, a vegetable is overcome by beet aphids, which can appear at the end of May and change 10 generations over the summer. Pests suck the juices from the leaves, from which the latter curl and change color. Aphids greatly spoil the crop, so it is urgent to deal with it in various ways.

It is recommended to attract natural enemies of aphids to the garden, which are beetles, ladybug larvae and hover flies. These insects live in beds where onion, cabbage, and carrot seeds are sown.

Insecticides and various folk methods are used to control aphids and other pests. For example, you can treat the beds with an infusion of green dandelion leaves on the water. Knowing about beet pests, it is easy to prevent the problem by taking preventive measures.

Diseases

When the leaves turn yellowish or yellow with a green tint, the plant may be overwhelmed by a disease. There are several pathologies with this symptom:

1. Brown rot. The infection affects the root crop. The development of the disease is accompanied by symptoms such as underdevelopment of leaves, a change in their color and death, a lag in the development of the root system and, at the very end, rotting of the root crop. The disease can also appear during the winter storage of the product. When the first symptoms of infection are detected, the plant must be treated with boron.
2. Downy mildew. A fungal infection that is often transmitted through the soil (if there were infected plant debris), wind and water. When an infection occurs, the affected leaves are deformed, a purple-gray coating appears on them, the tops begin to fade and change color. To avoid infection, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the land after harvesting, disinfect the seeds. During the period of growth and development, beets are treated with a mixture of wood ash and water, as well as a solution of water and whey.
3. Black beet leg. Another name is root beetle. With the development of the disease, beet leaves turn yellow, lose their elasticity, and wither. Most often, the disease occurs with a large amount of moisture or on acidic soil. To prevent infection of the crop, acidic soils are fertilized with lime, and the earth is regularly loosened.
4. Cercosporosis. Fungal disease manifests itself in the form of spots on the tops. The spots have a light color and a brown border; in the process of development of mycosis, the leaves turn black and fade. To prevent infection, the seeds are heat treated. If the disease occurs on an already growing specimen, then the tops are treated with chalk and fertilized with a 0.5% boron solution.

Nitrogen deficiency

Another cause of yellowing foliage is a lack of nitrogen. Beets need a number of substances in the soil to grow, most commonly nitrogen and potassium. With a lack of nitrogen, the tops become yellowed.The change in foliage color begins with the veins and tissues around them. Over time, the tops partially die off, the plant slows down growth.

The use of fertilizers will help correct the situation, beets absorb the necessary substances along with water, and its condition gradually improves.

Gardeners recommend fertilizing crops with nitrogen-containing preparations. The best time for such manipulations is June. During this period, there is an intensive growth of tops and roots. The plant begins to feed. As a result, the root crop becomes dense, and the leaves become juicy and elastic.

What to do if the leaves turn yellow

If the leaves turn yellow, it is necessary to determine the cause of the symptom as early as possible. Feeding and watering may be needed, water the beets regularly, as this plant is water-loving.

It will be useful in the garden to use natural nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Such dressings include mullein and bird droppings.

A special solution is prepared from raw materials. Bird droppings are diluted in water 1:15, and the mullein solution contains 1:10 raw materials and liquid. So that the beets do not lose their nutritious juices, and its leaves do not turn yellow, preventive measures must also be constantly carried out.

Prevention measures

Control of crop diseases and measures against insect pests are of great importance in plant cultivation. Preventive measures include:

• regular watering;
• weeding beds;
• correct crop rotation;
• digging the soil for the winter period and removing plant debris;
• timely fertilizer;
• use of insecticides and folk remedies for pest control.

If the recommendations of gardeners are followed, beet tops will look he althy, and root crops will gain the necessary nutrients. As a result, you can get a rich harvest of a he althy and tasty vegetable.

Recommended