What to do if cucumber leaves are curling

Among the many vegetables that are easy to grow in our climate without much skill or investment, cucumbers are the most popular and sought-after. But even the most experienced gardeners sometimes encounter problems affecting greenhouse cucumbers. One such problem is when cucumber leaves curl. This leads to a reduced yield and sometimes even the complete death of the plants.

Content

1 Determining the cause
2 Video: "Why Do Cucumber Leaves Curl?"
3 How to deal with the problem
4 Preventive measures
5 Video: "Preventing Cucumber Diseases"

Determining the cause

Experience shows that cucumbers curl for a variety of reasons, often multiple causes simultaneously. In most cases, the plants survive, but their growth, development, and productivity are significantly reduced.

Sometimes cucumber leaves curl, turn yellow, and then fall off. However, before starting treatment and resorting to serious measures, you should first carefully inspect the plants, examine the problem from various angles, and then decide what to do and how.

Failure to promptly identify the problem or incorrectly address the factors that influence these changes in greenhouse cucumbers can result in the gardener being left without a harvest, and all the effort and hard work of the spring being wasted.

Therefore, it is extremely important not to make a mistake when identifying the first signs of the disease, which are most often indicated by cucumber leaves.

The most common reasons why cucumbers or cucumber leaves begin to curl are considered to be the following:

lack of the required amount of essential nutrients in the soil (nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and others);
the soil is depleted by improper spring preparatory work of the greenhouse soil;
soil fertilization that was performed incorrectly or in insufficient quantities;
insufficient moisture in the greenhouse soil or disturbed humidity levels in the air, which often occurs on hot or dry days;
attack by parasites that have entered the greenhouse (wireworms or aphids);
high air humidity;
lack of a good ventilation system;
sunburn, which is often the result of improper watering.

The most common causes are considered to be insufficient nutrients in the soil and inadequate humidity levels in the greenhouse. Unfortunately, leaf curl in cucumbers is increasingly being caused by pests.

Video: "Why Do Cucumber Leaves Curl?"

This video will tell you why cucumber leaves may curl.

How to deal with the problem

As mentioned above, there are many reasons why cucumbers curl. The success of treatment, as well as the methods that should be used, directly depends on the correct identification of these reasons.

As for the main treatments recommended to cure a twisted cucumber and problem areas of its leaves, the following stand out:

if there is insufficient moisture, you should carefully loosen the top layers of soil, and then water the plants generously;
After each watering, mulch the moistened beds, which will reduce moisture evaporation in the greenhouse;
Root and foliar feeding are particularly effective, as they do not take much time and allow you to protect your cucumber crop from danger;
Cucumber leaves can curl due to pest attacks, and to get rid of them, you need to resort to serious and radical methods - the use of insecticides (Dehyphen, Metaphos, Inta-Vira and others), these preparations must be used strictly following the instructions;
There is a safer, but no less effective method, which involves the use of biological preparations, such as "Aktofit" or "Fitoverm".

In addition, many gardeners note the effectiveness of garden lye, which is prepared by diluting a small bar of regular soap in a bucket of warm water with some wood ash. To minimize stress on greenhouse cucumbers, you can periodically spray them with water containing biostimulants, of which there is a wide selection. Some gardeners recommend treating the beds with a solution of laundry soap with a small amount of red pepper.

Preventive measures

To prevent leaf curling and loss of greenhouse cucumber crops, preventative agricultural practices must be followed.

First of all, we must not forget the importance of regular and proper watering. We must constantly monitor the air temperature and humidity levels in the greenhouse, and frequently ventilate the greenhouse, especially in dry and hot weather.

To protect plants from pests, it is necessary to strictly adhere to a full range of preventative measures, which primarily includes soil disinfection and the use of high-quality planting materials.

Knowing why cucumber leaves curl, how to combat it, and what tricks to avoid will ensure you'll always enjoy working with this garden crop, and the harvest will always be bountiful and delicious!

Video: "Preventing Cucumber Diseases"

This video reveals the secrets of how to prevent cucumbers from all sorts of diseases.