Why cabbage leaves curl: reasons for what to do

Cabbage is a plant that requires special care from a person. Quite often, she is exposed to various diseases. The most common include black leg, late blight, powdery mildew, gray and white rot. Also, gardeners often face the problem of leaf curl. To get rid of this problem, you need to figure out why cabbage leaves curl.

Reasons

Most often this problem occurs in young seedlings. There are several main causes of cabbage leaf curl:

Nutritional deficiency;
Some gardeners prepare the soil for seedlings incorrectly and because of this, the plant lacks nutrients.

Often lack of phosphorus leads to twisting. This phenomenon may appear immediately after planting cabbage in a permanent place of cultivation. Also, the leaves curl due to a lack of potassium. You can get rid of this with wood ash. It must be applied under the base of the cabbage.

Micronutrient deficiency

Sheets can curl due to lack or excess of zinc, sulfur, copper and boron.

With a lack of boron, the leaves on the cabbage begin to curl and lighten. In some cases, they turn red-purple.

The youngest sheets are the first to feel the lack of copper. They immediately start curling up. If preparations that contain copper are not added to the soil in a timely manner, then the cabbage will begin to turn yellow and dry out. It is best to use mixtures containing sulfur with copper, as they increase each other's effectiveness.

A large amount of zinc affects old leaves. They curl and become more fragile. With a lack of calcium, they not only spin, but also turn very white.

Excess mineral fertilizers

During overfeeding with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, the leaves begin to curl into a ring. At the same time, their plate becomes very dark and brittle. Due to the large amount of nitrogen, the flow of phosphorus is blocked. To correct this problem, you need to use phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which should be applied to the soil during irrigation.

Heat temperature

When the air temperature is more than +30 ° C, the leaves begin to curl inward. When it gets a little cooler outside or indoors, they return to their normal shape. In order for the plant to better tolerate high temperatures, you need to spray it with micronutrient fertilizers or a solution of potassium permanganate.

Lack or excess of moisture

Lack of moisture is observed at high temperatures and low humidity.

Because of this, the sheet falls down and twists into a tube. With an excess of moisture, they become very brittle and rise up.

Aphid attack

Some people don't immediately understand why cabbage leaves curl. Quite often this happens due to aphids. This insect causes great damage to the plant. It sucks all the cabbage juice out of it, which is why the leaves begin to become covered with white spots. Over time, the growth of cabbage slows down, and it dies. Therefore, you need to deal with aphids immediately after its appearance.

Whitefly attack

This white midge, which looks a lot like a small moth, often attacks cabbages. She lays her larvae on the leaves, which feed on the sap of the plant.

After a while, because of this, the leaves of the cabbage are twisted. If you do not get rid of the whitefly in time, then the cabbage will dry out.

Prevention

Many beginner gardeners don't know what to do when leaves curl. To return to their previous form, it is necessary to properly care for the plant during cultivation.

Irrigation

You need to know how to properly water the cabbage so that the leaves do not curl due to a lack or excess of moisture. Watering is recommended only in the evening 1-2 times a week. In summer, cabbage is watered every two days. To preserve moisture on the soil surface, a mulching peat layer of 5-7 cm is made.

Feeding

Proper feeding will help maintain the optimal amount of nutrients and trace elements in the soil. You need to feed the plant 15-20 days after planting. During the growth of cabbage, the procedure is carried out three times:

First dressing. To create a mixture of 2 g of s altpeter, 5 g of superphosphate and 2 g of potash fertilizer is mixed with a liter of water. This is enough to fertilize 30-50 bushes.
Second feeding. Held one week after the first. During the creation of the solution, a liter of mullein and bird droppings is mixed with 10 liters of water. One bush consumes no more than one liter of the mixture.
Third feeding. Held in early June or late May. During the preparation of the solution, a tablespoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate are mixed with 10 liters of water. A square meter of land should be treated with 3-5 liters of the mixture.

Processing

It is possible to protect cabbage from diseases and pests that cause leaves to curl with the help of proper processing. Immediately after planting the plant in the ground, you need to add tobacco dust with ash. This will protect her from fleas and slugs.

We fight aphids with a solution of tomato leaves: 3 kg of tops are added to a five-liter pot of water. The mixture is boiled and infused for about three hours. After that, it is filtered and diluted with cold water.

Also, the plant can be sprayed with a solution of onion peel. To prepare it, boiled water is added to a liter jar of husks and insisted for several days. After that, three more liters of water are added to the mixture.

You can fight harmful insects with the help of spicy plants: sage, mint, rosemary, cilantro. They need to be planted near the cabbage.

Conclusion

Cabbage leaf curl is a fairly common problem that is not too difficult to get rid of. To do this, it is enough to properly care for the plant and know how to process it.