What to do if the onion turns yellow in the garden, and why it happens

Yellowed onion feathers at the end of August indicate that it is time to harvest. A cause for concern and emergency measures is yellow onion feathers in the spring or summer. Folk remedies or purchased chemicals will help to save the harvest in such a situation.

From the article you will learn why the onion turns yellow in the garden, how to eliminate and prevent this problem.

The main reasons for yellowing onions in the garden

Various factors provoke the yellowing of the feathers of onions growing in the garden. Yellow spots and dry ends that appear ahead of time cause the following reasons:

• damage by insect pests;
• diseases;
• deficiency of substances necessary for the growth and development of plants;
• unfavorable weather;
• violation of the rules of agricultural farming;
• soil composition.

Diseases

The yellowness of onion feathers is often caused by the defeat of plantings with diseases such as bacterial rot, rot of the bottom, rust, Alternaria, yellow viral dwarfism of onions.

Reference. The defeat of plants by fungi and bacteria often provokes the use of low-quality planting material.

Pests

The consequences of attacks of insect pests on onion beds are noticeable by yellowed feathers. Plants dry out when damaged:

• onion moth;
• tobacco thrips;
• the onion lurker;
• stem nematode;
• weevil;
• onion fly.

Lack of nutrients

When growing a vegetable crop in infertile soil, the yellowness of onion feathers is also observed. The problem is caused by a deficiency of certain substances, in particular nitrogen.

Reference. With a lack of nitrogen, onions in the beds not only turn yellow, but also die.

Improper care

Violation of the rules of onion agrotechnology is fraught with the appearance of yellowness. The culture is not considered capricious in terms of care, however, with gross agricultural mistakes, the onion will begin to turn yellow and dry.

Important. To onion landing did not disappear, choose the right place for the garden, water the plants regularly, use top dressing. Care rules are determined by the variety of the onion.

Unfavorable weather conditions

Drought often causes yellowing onions. In the absence of precipitation in the form of rain and well-organized irrigation, a failure occurs in the process of sap flow. Plants continue to grow, but feathers begin to turn yellow and dry.

Frost can also provoke a problem. Yellowness affects plants if they were planted in open ground ahead of time and were exposed to low temperatures.

Soil composition

Acidic soil provokes the appearance of yellowish tips or spots on onion feathers. The vegetable loves fertile, loose soil with a neutral and alkaline reaction.

Diseases that can cause yellowing and how to deal with them

Planting onions are affected by diseases (bacteria, fungi, viruses) due to violation of the rules of agricultural cultivation.To save the crop, you need to figure out how to deal with diseases that lead to yellowing and death of plants.

Rust

Rust is a fungal infection that manifests itself as dotted yellowing and the formation of bulges on the onion feather. The first symptoms appear in May-June. Over time, the diseased plant begins to turn black, lose leaves.

Only prevention will save you from rust:

• compliance with the rules crop rotation;
• warming up the planting material on the eve of storage;
• heating the seedlings for 12 hours at a temperature of + 40 ° C before planting in open ground;
• spraying plants with copper oxychloride (1 tbsp. l. the drug is dissolved in 10 l of soap solution), followed by treatment with the drug "HOM", produced after 7 days.

Rot of the bottom

Rot of the bottom threatens all species and varieties onions. This is the defeat of the bulb by the fungus Fusarium, which lives in the ground. Diseased plants turn yellow and die.

Compliance with the rules of agricultural technology of vegetable crops will protect from the problem. Prevention consists in:

• a competent choice of a place for a garden bed - it should not be subject to flooding;
• planting onions in the area where cereals were previously grown;
• disinfection of seedlings and seeds with a fungicide like Fundazol;
• planting on the garden bed in due time;
• proper storage of the crop.

It is possible to fight the rot of the bottom that has affected the onion planting only in the early stages of the disease. Treatment of the beds with a solution of copper oxychloride will help.

Alternaria

Signs of onion lesions with Alternaria include:

• whitish spots on the leaves, becoming concentric over time;
• cracking and drying of the feather with spots;
• the appearance of a gray-black bloom if there is high humidity.

Old feathers are more susceptible to fungal infection. The disease leads to blackening of the leaves, damage to the bulb - its wateriness increases, a brownish bloom appears between the layers.

They are fighting the problem with the drugs Acrobat, Cabrio Duo, Poliram, Fitosporin.

Yellow onion viral dwarfism

Symptoms of the disease:

• the appearance of yellowish stripes, curvature of feathers;
• complete yellowing of feathers;
• deformation of plants and the bulb itself;
• lack of fruit on the testes.

The disease can completely destroy the landing. The virus persists in the bulb.

Virus protection methods:

• fight against aphids;
• tool processing;
• separation of onion beds by other representatives of the subfamily;
• removal of affected plants.

Pests

A common reason for yellowing onions in the garden is insect attacks. To save the crop, consider pest control methods.

Onion moth

The onion moth, which looks like a small brown butterfly, is found by gardeners in the garden in late spring. She lays the larvae, which, becoming caterpillars, devour plants.

Prevention of the problem is:

• in planting seedlings in the early stages, allowing for harvesting before the pest activates;
• the use of fertilizers related to the insecticidal range;
• competent choice of "neighbors" in the garden.

They fight onion moths by treating the garden with Iskra-type insecticides.

Thrips

Onion (tobacco) thrips are tiny pests. Their body length is up to 1 mm. The insect is dangerous not only for onion planting, but also for other garden and vegetable crops. Whitish spots appear on the affected onion, which subsequently merge, and the leaves themselves fade.

The fight against thrips consists in spraying the beds with insecticides Iskra, Confidor, etc.

For prophylaxis, planting material is disinfected with hot water: the onions are lowered for 10 minutes in water with a temperature of + 45 ° C. Then the set is washed with cold water.

Plants that have already infected thrips are burned.

Onion fly

Onion fly infestation is observed in early spring (April - May). The main symptom is yellowing of the tips of the feathers.If you dig up the vegetable, you can see that the fruit itself has rotted.

It is easier to scare a carrot fly away from the beds than to fight it. Pollination of row spacings with a mixture of tobacco dust and sunflower ash, taken in a 1: 1 ratio, will help. Affected bulbs are dug up and destroyed.

Stem nematode

Yellowing and wrinkling of onion feathers is a symptom of an attack on a stem nematode planting... If you rip up the affected leaf, then in the middle you will see small thread-like white worms.

Measures to combat the nematode include preventive treatment of seedlings and soil before planting. In the summer, when the larvae of the parasite move from bulb to feather, it is necessary to immediately burn diseased plants so that the entire crop is not lost.

Weevil

If a yellowing of the feather is observed, and passages are visible through the film of the plant, it means that the leaf from the inside is being eaten by the larvae of the onion lurking proboscis (weevil). They look like caterpillars of yellowish-white color with a brown head. The parasite reaches 7 mm in length.

If bugs are found on the onion bed, they are collected from the leaves until they are laid. A deterrent measure is mulching the soil with ash. When the settlement of beetles is observed, the garden bed is treated with Karbofos.

Plants damaged by the larva are burned.

Lack of nutrients in the soil

Yellowing of onion feathers often causes nitrogen deficiency. This happens if humus or compost was not introduced into the soil on the eve of planting.

Nitrogen deficiency is determined by the appearance of the plants. Leaves become faded, fruits small.

To make up for the nitrogen deficiency, feed the plants with mullein:

1. Dissolve 200 g of this natural fertilizer in 10 liters of water, adding 1 tablespoon of urea to the resulting solution.
2. The resulting product is used for glaze beds (consumption 2-3 liters per 1 m²). The procedure is repeated, if necessary, after 2 weeks.

More often than 3 times per season, you cannot feed the plants with mullein solution.

Nettle infusion will also help to solve the problem:

1. 200-500 g of raw materials are soaked in 10 l of water and infused for 1 week.
2. The infusion is filtered and used for watering the beds, after diluting it with water in a ratio of 1:10.

Root top dressing with this agent can be used once a week, foliar (leaf spraying) - no more than 1 time a month.

Failure to comply with the rules of care

Errors in care sometimes lead to yellowing of plants in the garden. One of them is illiterate watering of onion beds.

To avoid the problem, the onion is watered once every 3 days during the beginning of the growth of the culture, before noon. Water with a temperature of +18 to + 25 ° C is poured under the root.

Reference. It is desirable to combine watering with feeding. It is recommended to dissolve ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium salt in water. The first time the plants are fed when they reach a height of 3 cm, the second - after 7 days.

The yellowing of the onion provokes an excess of weeds that take nutrients from the soil. Regular weeding will help prevent this.

Loosening after each watering also prevents yellow spots on the feathers. The procedure enriches the soil with oxygen, contributes to the destruction of onion fly eggs.

Unsuitable weather conditions

Drought causes yellowing of onions in the garden. The problem is solved by additional watering. You will need to water the garden every day, monitoring the soil moisture level.

Folk recipes to combat yellowing

To solve the problem of yellowing and drying onion feathers, provoked by pests, folk remedies will help:

1. Saline solution... Dissolve 200 g of salt in a bucket of water, add a little ammonia and 3 handfuls of ash. The means are watered between the rows, then the soil is loosened. You cannot often use it - only 2-3 times per season. Apply once every 10-15 days until the onion feather turns green.
2. Soda solution. Dissolve 100 g of soda in a bucket of water, 1 tbsp. l. iodine and add 2-3 sachets of potassium permanganate.The tool is used for watering the beds, after diluting it with water in a ratio of 1:10. One plant will require no more than 1 cup of solution. Avoid getting the product on the leaves when watering.
3. Infusion of wormwood, dandelion, calendula. Half fill the bucket with herbs, fill them with warm water. Insist in a dark place for 2 days, then filter. Dilute with water in a ratio of 1:10 and add a little liquid soap. The resulting product is sprayed on the garden bed, avoiding contact with the leaves. Plants affected by pests are treated with herbal infusion no more than 3-5 times per season.

An excellent preventive measure is sprinkling the rows with wood ash, tobacco dust, and ground pepper.

Anti-yellowing chemicals

The use of chemicals for spraying onions ("Confidor", "Mospilan", "Karate", "Aktara", "Karbofos") will help to solve the problem provoked by pests.

To combat fungal diseases, the drugs "HOM", "Gamair" and "Fitosporin-M" are used.

Important. Onions on a feather cannot be treated with chemicals. This is done to obtain complete bulbs.

Prevention measures

The best way to prevent the problem of yellowing onions is prevention, which consists in observing the rules of agricultural cultivation.

Experienced gardeners recommend:

• do not return to growing onions on the old site earlier than after 4 years;
• grow a crop after pumpkin, zucchini, potatoes, beans, peas, tomatoes;
• carry out pre-sowing treatment of seedlings;
• do not compact the planting with carrots so that it does not inhibit the growth of onions;
• take care of feeding;
• place the garden bed in a sunny and ventilated place where water does not stagnate;
• weed and loosen the beds regularly;
• observe the watering regime - several times a week, 10 liters per 1 m²;
• harvest in time, dry it.

Conclusion

The yellowing of onion feathers is caused by many reasons: from the defeat of a vegetable crop by diseases and pests to violation of the rules of agricultural technology. Correct care and timely use of folk remedies or purchased drugs will help to cope with the problem and save the harvest.