When it comes to growing plants, the most important thing is always to learn to recognize their status. Since plants use very different forms of communication from animals, recognizing their signals is laborious work, patience and trial and, unfortunately, error. One of the symptoms that something is not right with your plants is that you run into twisted leaves or rolled up on their stems. Sometimes it is only a few leaves, in others it affects a large part of them. In any case, it is always a sign that something is wrong and that your plant needs attention before the damage is greater.
If you want to know why the leaves of the plants roll and how to prevent or treat the problem, join us in this Green Ecologist article about why there are rolled leaves on plants and what to do.
Physiological stress
This is one of the top four causes of leaf curl on plants and also one of the most common and easy to treat.
Plants, like all living beings, are susceptible to climatic conditions, such as wind, extreme temperatures or dehydration, only that they, having no locomotion capacity, are even more exposed to the elements. All of these things can wear down the plant, which roll and fold its sheets as a form of defense before a very dry or hot environment: by offering less surface susceptible to sunlight, they also minimize the loss of water through evaporation. Grasses are particularly prone to this method of survival, the condition of their leaves being a clear indicator of the level of hydration of the plant.
To treat this problem, you simply have to protect the plant from the element that is stressing it or, if it is something specific and minor, simply wait for it to happen: the plant will recover as soon as its conditions improve again. It will be enough to protect it from the sun that is too intense, increase the frequency of watering or protect it from the wind. For example, here you can learn more when to water the plants.
Herbicides
If you use herbicides in your crop or garden, which we never recommend in favor of ecological and sustainable cultivation, your plants can be damaged by these products, causing the known monkey hands or shoelaces, which particularly affect the tomato plants.
In fact, you don't have to be the one who applied the herbicide products, because drift, that is, the wind or the elements, can drag the products to your orchard or garden if a neighbor has used them. A gentle wind of 5 km / h can be enough to move the herbicide up to 1 km away, causing enormous potential damage.
If your plant has the folded leaves from herbicide damageUnfortunately there is very little you can do. Make sure the soil in which you plant does not have residual deposits of any of these products, and do your best to ensure that people close to you avoid these destructive chemicals. It is also important, if you buy mulch or manure, check that it does not contain residues of these substances, which can remain in the product for up to 18 months.
Pests
There are many pests of insects and mites that attack plants by feeding on their sap, especially on the leaves, from where it is easier to obtain it. One of the most common pests that causes wrinkled and curled leaves is the white mite, particularly voracious with nightshades. This small mite bites the leaves to suck the sap from them, causing them to curl up with the toxins they transmit.
The white mite hides on the underside of leaves and, although it is difficult to see it, its small oval eggs can be identified. Do youWhat to do if the leaves of the plants curl because of this mite? Once located, it is easy to treat with sulfur or any organic miticide.
Virus
There are also many viruses that can cause this symptom in our plants, hundreds of them, in fact. Stand out geminiviruses, which prevail especially among tomatoes and some other plants, which are always propagated by the white fly. The affected plant is unable to provide sufficient nutrients to the bud leaves, which turn yellow and become shrunken and curved. On the other hand, in the potato or potato it is also common the PLRV, which can take a long time to be clearly noticeable and ends up making the plant roll up and dwarf, with some leaves turning purple or necrotizing at the margins.
Unfortunately, most of the time there is no treatment, so the only solution is to uproot the plant, being very careful not to transmit the virus to any other plant, put it in a tightly closed bag and dispose of it safely.
Here we tell you how to eliminate and prevent whitefly to avoid the problems that it causes directly and indirectly, such as these viruses.
If you want to read more articles similar to Rolled leaves on plants: why and what to do, we recommend that you enter our category of Cultivation and care of plants.
