Why beet leaves turn red: what to do, how to fight

Changing the color of the leaves of vegetable crops often indicates disease or poor growing conditions. Having figured out why the beet leaves turn red, what to do in such a situation, you can avoid problems with the future harvest.

About growing beets

The plant is not a difficult crop to care for. Beet seedlings of any variety already a couple of months after planting give a bountiful harvest of root crops with a minimum of fertilizer use. Loamy soils are a suitable option for growing a vegetable.

You can plant a crop simply in dry and warm soil. Beet seeds may have not 1, but several embryos, so timely thinning is a guarantee that young shoots will not interfere with each other's growth.

Growth of seedlings can slow down or even stop with strong temperature fluctuations, which will negatively affect the future harvest. Before transplanting beets into open ground, the soil should be watered abundantly.

Crop should be planted at a distance equal to the diameter of the future root crop that is supposed to be grown. Harvesting should be done when the formed vegetable reaches the required size, the leaves become coarser, and the skin is tough. Harvesting the beets from the garden ahead of time will lead to poor preservation of root crops and a deterioration in their taste.

Culture is not afraid of many diseases common to other vegetables, and its seedlings are more resistant to pests. You can also forget about weed control - she is not afraid of them.

Growing beets is a fairly simple process. Culture is not afraid of anything, it is not afraid of anything. But a he althy plant is purple, if the beets turn a reddish tint to the leaves, then this can signal problems.

Reasons for discoloration of leaves

When red leaves appear on beets, you should carefully understand the causes of this phenomenon. The tops can not only turn red, but also become yellow, purple, acquire a brownish or gray tint. All the negativity of the environment, negatively affecting the growth of the plant, can manifest itself in a change in the color of the leaves. Reddening of the leaves of some varieties of beets may also occur due to excessive irrigation.

There is only one criterion for identifying problems - if there are no delays or stunting, then everything is fine; if there is a slowdown or a stop in development, then you need to urgently look for why the leaves change color.

Why beet leaves turn red: what to do

There may be several reasons why beet leaves turn red.

The most common factor is soil acidity. Soils with a neutral indicator are suitable for vegetables. To determine the level of soil acidity, litmus paper is used. A method using baking soda and vinegar concentrate is also suitable. If the soil turned out to be acidic, it is neutralized with wood ash.

Another reason for a change in color may be a lack of chemical elements necessary for nutrition and growth. Deficiency of sodium, potassium or phosphorus leads to reddening of beet leaves.The lack of each of the elements has its own characteristic manifestations. Carrying out periodic top dressing with the missing elements will eliminate their deficiency.

The most difficult problem is a fungal disease called cercosporosis. It's not easy to deal with her. Symptoms of the disease: covering the tops with dry maroon spots with a brown tint (which eventually turn into holes), as well as reddening of the edges of the leaves with the formation of a border.

Mycosis, most often attacking from mid-July or August, can easily destroy half of the crop. The main thing is to immediately take measures to save the plants.

You can dig the soil up to 20 cm. This will kill the fungus. In addition, it is recommended to spray every week. Tools that contain copper are suitable. Cartocid, Bordeaux mixture and other preparations can be used.

We must not forget to thoroughly clean the beds from the remnants of grown crops after harvesting.

If the plant and leaves are stained and covered - it is necessary to treat; the culture became covered with bubbles and covered with red spots - experienced gardeners advise not to worry and calmly figure out why this happened in order to quickly solve the problem.

Causes of yellowing leaves

It happens that beet leaves change color to yellow. The most common reason for this phenomenon is lack of moisture. If the yellow color of the leaves begins at the veins and gradually reaches the edges, then the matter is most likely a nitrogen deficiency. Fertilizing the soil with an aqueous solution of cow or bird droppings will help solve the problem.

How to help beets

Depending on the reasons for the change in the color of the tops, you need to act to save most of the future crop. In one case, fertilizing and watering will help; watering the plant with preparations against fungus and pests will be enough in another.

Lack of sodium

Since a lack of sodium also leads to reddening of the leaves, treatment with saline will increase the content of this element in the soil. Ordinary kitchen s alt is suitable, which must be diluted with water in a proportion of 250 g per bucket of water.

Manganese and sodium deficiency is a common cause of red beet leaves. It is enough to replenish these batteries to fix the problem.

Phosphorus and potassium

Reddening of beet leaves may be associated with a deficiency of other trace elements. Phosphorus is an essential element for normal plant growth. With a lack of it, the leaves darken, become dull and then turn red.

This problem is more difficult to deal with, however, with the help of appropriate top dressing, the situation can be improved. A great option would be to use superphosphate.

A symptom of potassium deficiency, in addition to redness, is leaf curl. Feeding with preparations containing potassium and treatment with wood ash is necessary.

You can fix the situation. The main thing is to follow the dosage correctly.

Soil acidity

Beets are best cultivated on fertilized soils with neutral acidity. If it turns out that its level in the area is increased, the acidic soil must be limed.

To neutralize the soil, you can use wood ash, which will not only reduce acidity, but also help beets grow and develop.

How to grow beautiful beets?

The process of growing a vegetable, like any other crop, has its own characteristics. In order to get a good harvest, you need to follow the proper rules of care and show care and diligence at every stage; water and fertilize regularly.

At the same time, the fertilizer consumption should be such as to provide the beets with the required amount of the necessary microelements. Taking care of young and fragile plants will bear fruit in the future, when harvesting.

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