We study the problem thoroughly: garlic turns yellow in spring - what to do and how you can prevent it

It happens that even experienced gardeners find an unsightly picture in their beds: garlic turns yellow in spring. What to do in this case? What is the reason for this phenomenon and how to deal with it? Let's figure it out.

If the garlic turns yellow ...

First of all, make sure that your garlic not attacked by diseases or pests. To do this, pull one of the plants out of the ground and carefully examine the root crop. In some cases, this will help you quickly understand the situation and choose the right tactics for further actions.

Why dig up a plant for inspection? If the root crop is safe and sound, you need to look for another reason for the yellowing of the leaves. If there is white rot or mold on the head of the garlic, you see rotten roots, white or pinkish bloom - this means that the garlic is infected.

Main reasons

There are many factors that can negatively affect the growth and development of a plant. Among the main and most common causes of yellowing of garlic leaves are climatic conditions, violation of crop rotation rules, improper care, diseases and pests.

Frosts and violation of landing rules

Freezing is the most common cause of yellowing of garlic leaves. The plant could freeze either in winter with very severe frosts, or already in spring, when young shoots fall under spring frosts.

Planting too early can also be bad for the plant. There are optimal dates for planting garlic: for central Russia - the end of September or October, for the south of Russia - November. If you plant the garlic earlier, the first leaves will appear in the fall, which will freeze in winter, and then yellowed seedlings will appear on the beds.

Garlic can freeze when planted very shallowly, especially in the absence of snow cover or its rapid melting. The topsoil freezes and the root system stops working. As a result, the plant takes all the vitality from the leaves, which turn yellow.

If the garlic is planted too deeply, then in the spring the soil will not have time to warm up quickly enough, the root system will not be able to develop normally, from which the leaves may also turn yellow. The optimal planting depth for garlic is 4-5 cm.

You can protect your plants from low temperatures by mulching the soil. In the fall, after planting, mulch the garlic bed well with fallen leaves or sawdust. This will help future seedlings survive the winter period without loss. Make a layer of mulch thick so that no frosts are terrible for your plantings.

However, the question arises: if the garlic still got frozen and turned yellow, how to process it? Here biostimulants come to the rescue. They will help the plant grow stronger faster and cope with adverse conditions.

reference... There are many drugs that have proven themselves well among gardeners: Epin-Extra, Zircon, Energen and others. All of them have an "anti-stress" effect, restore damaged shoots and promote plant growth.

Lack of moisture

Too hot spring with insufficient rainfall is the second reason. If during such a period you do not water the garden in a timely manner, then this will inevitably lead to rapid yellowing and drying of the leaves.

Note, however, that garlic tolerates drought better than excess moisture. Therefore, it is very important here to know when to stop and not to overdo it with watering. If the air temperature in spring is within normal limits with little rainfall, water the garlic once every two weeks. There is no need to water in a damp cold spring. Also, beds mulched with a thick layer do not need watering.

Diseases and methods of dealing with them

Diseases that cause yellowing of garlic leaves include white rot, bottom rot, downy mildew, yellow dwarfism, and mosaic.

White rot

This fungal disease causes a white bloom on the root vegetable and roots. At the same time, the leaves of the plant turn yellow. The garlic cloves become watery and soon rot. The pathogen overwinters in the soil or on root crops.

Rot of the bottom (fusarium)

A fungus that attacks the root system of garlic. Plant infection occurs in two ways: through the soil or seed material. The first sign of infection is yellowed leaves, after which root decay occurs.

A yellow-pinkish bloom forms on root crops, and mold is formed between the layers of husks. An increase in air temperature helps to activate the pathogen.

Downy mildew (downy mildew)

This fungal disease also causes yellowing of garlic leaves, especially their tops. The growth of the plant slows down, its leaves completely turn yellow and dry out.

Peronosporosis "loves" wet rainy weather, and in dry and hot conditions, the causative agent of the disease dies. The disease is transmitted in several ways: through infected planting material, with the help of pathogens that have overwintered in the soil, and by the wind carrying fungal spores.

Yellow dwarf garlic

This is a viral disease that manifests itself in the yellowing of the leaves and their modification. They become corrugated, as it were. Diseased plants are stunted (dwarf) and do not yield a good harvest.

Mosaic

Mosaic is also a viral disease. Leaves are mainly affected, on which poorly visible specks first appear, which later merge into wide light green stripes. A "mosaic" pattern appears. Root crops grow very small and poorly stored.

reference... Viral diseases are spread by planting and caring for plants through infected planting material or tools, various insects are carriers: aphids, garlic mites, etc.

Methods of dealing with fungal diseases

Treatment with complex fungicides will help in this trouble. For example, "Tiram" (according to the instructions), "Fentiuram" (3 kg / 10 l of water), "Polycarbacin" (40 g / 10 l of water), "Arcerid" (30 g / 10 l of water).

Methods of dealing with viral diseases

They do not exist, such diseases can only be prevented. Therefore, it is very important to take preventive measures that will avoid both fungal and viral diseases.

Prevention of viral diseases:

1. Maintain a crop rotation: Plant garlic in the same garden bed no earlier than three years later.
2. Carefully remove and destroy last year's plant debris and infested plants. Not plant garlic where other onion plants were grown.
3. Use healthy, well-dried seed. Warm the heads of garlic in full sun for one to two days before planting.
4. Spill the beds with the solution of the drug "Fitosporin-M" (15 ml / 10 l of water), copper oxychloride or "Bordeaux liquid" (1%).

Pests and methods of dealing with them

Pests garlic are onion fly, onion moth, garlic nematode, tobacco thrips, root onion mite and others. All of them can cause significant damage to your crop, so take urgent action at the first sign of their presence.

Onion fly

This insect looks like an ordinary small fly, it lives most often on loams and sandy soils. Onion fly pupae winter in the soil at a depth of 15-20 cm, with the onset of heat the insect crawls to the surface.

After one to two weeks, the fly lays its eggs in the ground between plantings. After five to eight days, larvae hatch from the eggs, which begin to eat the cloves of garlic. After two to three weeks, the grown larvae leave the eaten root crop, penetrating deep into the soil for pupation. The cycle repeats after two weeks.

reference... In one growing season, the onion fly is able to give birth to two or three generations and completely destroy your crop. Therefore, it is important to start fighting this insect as soon as possible.

Here are the methods of dealing with the onion fly.

Basically, various deterrent solutions are used, with which the plants themselves and the ground around them need to be treated. The same methods are also means of prevention.

Especially effective is the infusion of tobacco shag (250-300 g) and ground pepper (10-20 g). Pour the specified mixture with 3 liters of hot water and leave for at least two days in a warm place. For the best effect, cover the vessel with a warm blanket. After that, strain the solution through cheesecloth, add 20-25 g of laundry soap grated on a fine grater and dilute with water to a volume of 10 liters.

Another way to scare flies away from garlic: simply sprinkle the beds with a mixture of finely chopped tobacco (5-6 g), wood ash (100-120 g) and finely ground pepper (5-6 g).

Onion moth

It is a small butterfly with a body length of about 8 mm and a wingspan of about 14 mm. She flies out with the onset of warmth, usually in May or early June. The moth attaches its eggs to the lower surface of the leaves or to the root collar of the plant.

After a week, caterpillars appear and begin to eat young shoots. Because of this, the plant ceases to develop normally, longitudinal stripes appear on the leaves. A month later, a new generation of butterflies appears.

Use the same folk remedies against onion moths as against onion flies. Treatment of garlic during the growing season with the Iskra preparation will also help.

Garlic nematode

Nematoda is an extremely dangerous parasitic microscopic filamentous worm (helminth) for garlic... It belongs to the most dangerous organisms that cause pathogenic processes in plants. As a result of damage by nematodes, large amounts of food and feed products are lost annually.

In addition, nematodes contribute to the spread of bacterial, viral and fungal diseases of plants. This worm is able to fall into a state of suspended animation and survive any adverse conditions. Therefore, it is almost impossible to deal with it, all that remains is to destroy the infected plants in time and further observe preventive measures.

There are three types of nematodes: stem, root, and root.

The appearance of the stem nematode is characterized by pale color of the leaves, on which yellow-brownish spots appear. The stem becomes soft, the plant deforms and curls.

When infected with root gall nematode, neoplasms (galls) with a diameter of up to 2 mm appear on the roots of garlic. Close inspection of the root vegetable reveals light brown ovipositions on the root surface.

It is very difficult to recognize the root nematode, since it usually coexists with fungal and viral diseases, the symptoms of which are superimposed on the main signs of root nematode damage. These include weak growth of lateral roots, the formation of elongated yellow-brown inclusions on the roots, yellowness and dryness of the stem and leaves garlic.

Prevention methods against garlic nematode:

• purchase seed in specialized stores;
• Soak the planting material in an ash solution for two hours or soak for a day in a solution of edible salt with the addition of finely crushed fern leaf (160-200 g per 3 l);
• remove self-seeding garlic in time and weed the beds;
• before planting garlic, spill the soil with saline (20 g of salt per 3 liters of water - per 1 sq. m);
• dig up heavy clay soil and add coarse sand and peat into it (one bucket per 1 sq. m);
• to deoxidize the soil, add chalk or dolomite (limestone) flour (300-400 g per 1 sq. m).

Tobacco thrips

This is a microscopic insect up to 1 mm long, light yellow or dark brown in color. Females of thrips lay eggs in the juicy tissues of garlic leaves, after which larvae appear after a few days. They feed on plant sap, which causes the garlic to grow poorly, the stems become lethargic, and characteristic yellowish passages appear on the leaves. This pest hibernates in the upper soil layer.

Method of struggle: spray the plants with celandine infusion (1 kg of dry grass per 10 liters of water, infusion time - two days).

Prevention methods: combine crops of garlic with crops of carrots, otherwise the recommendations are the same as against other pests.

Root onion mite

This pest is widespread. Usually, the defeat occurs already in the store. However, it happens that the mite attacks the garlic already during cultivation. It gets to the garden bed together with infected planting material.

Root mites literally gnaw the head of garlic through the bottom, making their way further and further and leaving behind dust - decay products. Tick ​​females lay hundreds of eggs, which develop into adults in about a month.

The pest actively reproduces at any temperature above 10 degrees and loves a humid environment. Particularly favorable conditions for it are high temperature and humidity of at least 60%.

It is very difficult to notice the lesions of the root crop, since the root mites settle in the bottom and they can be detected only with a careful examination. However, already at this stage, the leaves of the plant may turn yellow and dry out.

The complexity of the fight against root mites, as well as with a nematode, lies in the ability of this pest to survive even in the most adverse conditions. Females fall into a state of lethargy, hiding in hard-to-reach places or burrowing into the soil until favorable conditions for their life come.

Therefore, if you find this dangerous pest in your garden, immediately destroy all infected plants and follow further preventive measures (see the section on the garlic nematode).

Improper care and lack of minerals

If you are convinced that the garlic is not infected with diseases, is not attacked by pests and could not freeze, then most likely the reason for the yellowing of the leaves is a lack of minerals.

Garlic loves light sandy loam neutral soil, into which manure was introduced two or three years ago. A suitable soil acidity level for garlic is 6.5. This plant does not tolerate heavy clay soil and stagnant water.

For planting, the soil must be prepared in advance: for winter garlic - at the end of summer, a month before the intended planting, for spring garlic - in the fall.

In order for the plant to develop normally, it is necessary to timely apply mineral fertilizers to the soil. Deficiency of nitrogen in the soil often causes spring yellowing of garlic leaves. To avoid this, before the autumn planting, it is necessary to add ammonium sulfate or urea to the soil.

If you did not do this in the fall, then carry out the first spring feeding of garlic with nitrogen, as soon as plant growth begins. In a rainy spring, nitrogen fertilization is best done with urea or ammonium sulfate, in dry spring - with a solution of ammonium nitrate (20-25 g per 10 liters of water).

Garlic can also turn yellow due to potassium deficiency. In addition to yellowing, a border may appear at the edge of the sheet, making the sheet look as if it is burnt. In this case, it is good to use foliar feeding with a complex mixture or a solution of potassium chloride at the rate of 10 g per 1 liter.Do this in clear weather and in the absence of wind by fine spraying.

In the spring, at the first top dressing, it is good to add ash to the soil at 100-150 g per 1 sq. m. It contains many useful trace elements, including potassium and magnesium. If you brought in the ash in the fall, and in the spring the leaves of the garlic still began to turn yellow, it means that some trace elements are missing or they are in the wrong ratio. In this case, it is better to apply a more complete complex fertilizer for garlic according to the instructions.

Conclusion

We have sorted out all the main reasons that can lead to spring yellowing of garlic leaves, and shared folk recipes for pest and disease control. Now you can make your own plan of action to combat this problem.

Observing the simple rules for growing garlic, promptly removing infected plants and feeding with mineral fertilizers, you can grow a wonderful harvest on your site.