Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetable crops in our country. Starting from the very early spring, gardeners begin work on growing seedlings in order to plant them in the ground in the future and get a good harvest of healthy and tasty tomatoes. This requires a lot of effort and time, so any diseases of tomatoes force summer residents to take immediate measures. For example, it is important to understand in time why tomato seedlings turn yellow, sometimes this is the only chance to save the crop.

If yesterday a healthy seedling starts to fade today, the leaves on it turn yellow, curl and become covered with brown spots, its treatment should be started immediately. Almost always, yellow leaves indicate problems with plant development. There are several reasons why this is happening.

Why does tomato seedling grow poorly and turn yellow

Tomatoes cannot be called capricious plants, but with improper care, tomato seedlings turn yellow, and it is important to know what to do in this case.

The main mistakes when growing tomatoes:

  • Planting seeds too dense.
  • Insufficient lighting and moisture.
  • Poor soil nutrients and trace elements.
  • Its high acidity.
  • Failure to comply with the rules for disembarking in open ground

First signs

Important! Some reasons may stem from one another. So, too dense planting of seedlings entails a lack of illumination, and abundant watering with improper lighting contributes to the elongation and even death of seedlings.

The lack of trace elements also contributes to wilting and yellowing of the leaves. To prevent this from happening, you should timely apply fertilizers rich in:

  • Nitrogen.
  • Potassium.
  • Magnesium.
  • Zinc.
  • Iron.
  • Manganese and other substances.

With high acidity and a large amount of salt in the soil, you can also see a yellow halo on the tips of the leaves.

Seedlings give a similar reaction to too close placement. After all, the roots of plants simply have nowhere to develop and the leaves do not receive sufficient nutrition.

What to do if the leaves turn yellow and fall off

After the causes of the disease have been identified, you can proceed to solving the problem.

Eggplant seedlings turn yellow: what to do

The lack of illumination is corrected by rearranging the plants on the windowsill, where there is more sun. If all windows in the house face north, additional lighting sources are used. Among other things, this allows you to extend the daylight hours in winter by several hours, which is very important for the proper development of plants.

If the reason is non-compliance with watering rules, you need to reduce their number, but not the intensity. The complete cessation of access to water can only do harm.

Important! Densely planted containers should be thinned out and the seedlings should be transplanted into separate pots.

The lack of one or another trace element can be determined visually:

  • With a lack of nitrogen, the leaves begin to fall off. Moreover, the new leaves will be much smaller than the previous ones.
  • Low potassium content provokes leaf curling and yellowness.
  • The yellowing of the veins indicates a lack of magnesium. If you feed them with a special solution, the problem will disappear.
  • Ugly brown spots on the surface of the leaves indicate a lack of zinc.
  • Too light color of the leaves means that the plants lack iron.
  • If the base and lower layer of leaves turn yellow, there is not enough manganese in the soil. Watering with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate will save the situation.

Watering with cold, hard water or fertilizing the soil too often can also explain why the leaves of tomato seedlings turn yellow. If you remove the top layer of soil and sprinkle with soft water at room temperature, the problem can be eliminated. In this case, you need to refrain from feeding for a while.

Leaving is not easy

In addition to the main factors, indirect conditions also affect the development of tomato seedlings: the state of the soil layer, the temperature regime of the external environment, fungal diseases and others.

Each of these problems has features that you should be aware of in order to save a yellowed sprout from death.

Soil condition

If poor soil is used for sowing seeds, in which there is no balance between the components, the sprouts that appear will initially be thin and painful. Such soil usually resembles a dense lump, which is not easy for a weak sprout to break through. Therefore, it is worthwhile to carefully monitor that in addition to earth and peat, the substrate contains sand or perlite in the required amount. Then the soil will be light, which will provide normal conditions for the development of plants.

Peat and sand for fertilization

Soil moisture

Waterlogged soil does not allow the tomato root system to develop normally. This is due to the lack of oxygen in such a viscous environment. From this, plants will grow weak, and their foliage may turn yellow over time. At the same time, a lack of moisture will lead to drying out of the root system. As a result, the seedlings will turn yellow and the lower leaves will fall off.

Influence of the environment

Very often, yellowing of tomato leaves is associated with weather conditions: both too high and too low indoor temperatures. Moreover, in cold weather, the condition of the seedlings is also influenced by the lack of sunlight.

Required items

Diseases

The most dangerous lesion of tomato seedlings is the black leg. In this case, the root begins to dry and then the seedlings die. As a rule, disease-causing spores are found in the soil, and specifically in its upper layer.

Important! To prevent the disease, you must strictly observe the irrigation regime and control the air temperature in the room.

Another common disease is fusarium. It is manifested by the gradual wilting of the leaves with proper care. To save the seedlings, they are treated with Fitosporin at least twice with an interval of a week.

Brown spotting on the leaves can also be a problem. This is a sign of the presence of pathogenic phytophthora spores. A saline solution is used to fight the disease. In five liters of water, 100 g of salt is dissolved. You need to spray the seedlings several times. You can also purchase a ready-made product from the variety of drugs that are sold in specialized stores.

Experienced summer residents use popular folk recipes to fight. They are no less effective than commercial formulations and at the same time are available to everyone.

Other factors

In addition, there are several other reasons leading to yellowing of tomato leaves.

These include:

  • interlacing of plant roots with a dense planting. This usually happens when the plants have not been transplanted for a long time;
  • insufficient capacity for the full development of the root system;
  • root damage;

Important! As soon as yellow marks appear on the leaves of tomato seedlings, urgent measures must be taken. Procrastination can weaken plants, resulting in the death or loss of some of the crop.

How and what to feed

Leaves of tomato seedlings curl - what to do

Seedlings require constant monitoring. Even if all the rules of planting and care are followed, problems with its growth may arise.

Note. Correct feeding of plantings is of no small importance. During the summer period, this procedure must be done at least twice.The first feeding is carried out when the first true pair of leaves appears.

The second is done a week after that. The timing of the feeding is just as important as the composition of the mixture used.

For the first time, copper sulfate is used. For its preparation, a teaspoon of copper is dissolved in a liter of water. Such treatment will protect the seedlings from late blight.

During the second feeding, the seedlings are saturated with nitrogen, which is necessary for its normal development. For feeding, a tablespoon of urea is dissolved in ten liters of water.

In the future, you should monitor the condition of the seedlings and react to the slightest change in their appearance. If necessary, you can feed the seedlings again with complex fertilizers.

The cause of the disease may be non-compliance with the method of care. Therefore, you need to strictly follow the recommendations of specialists. This is the only way to grow healthy seedlings and get a good harvest.

Important! It is worth remembering that root dressing is carried out after preliminary moistening of the soil. This helps to protect the plantings of root burns.

Currently, Fitosporin M. is considered the most popular plant treatment preparations.

Prevention of seedling diseases

Leaves dry from tomato seedlings - what to do

To get healthy seedlings and grow a good harvest, it is necessary to carry out preventive actions... It is not difficult and takes little time.

  • Already when sowing seed material, it should be disinfected. The most accessible method is the exposure of seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate and soil treatment. This kills fungal spores and improves plant immunity.
  • In the future, you should strictly follow the rules for caring for seedlings and ensure that the room has suitable climatic conditions.
  • Before planting grown plants, it is recommended to process the upper part of tomato seedlings with Epin. The procedure is carried out the day before with a solution of a liter of water and three drops of the active ingredient. This will protect the tomatoes from the negative effects of the external environment.

Knowing why the leaves of tomato seedlings turn yellow, what to do and how to save the plants, you can quickly cope with the problem and get a good harvest.