Seedling tomato falls and withers at the root, what should I do?

When growing tomato seedlings on their own, many gardeners are forced to observe how young plants wilt and fall. The reasons for this condition lie in improperly organized care of seedlings or in diseases. To correct the situation, it’s important to understand why tomato seedlings die, and take some actions to improve the plants.

Conditions for successful growing seedlings

For active growth and well-being tomato seedlings need special conditions. These plants are very moody. If the microclimate in the room does not suit them, the tomatoes do not grow, fade and fall.

Tomatoes prefer plenty of moisture. In a well-moistened soil, they feel comfortable and are actively growing. But it is important not to allow the fluid to stagnate in the seedling box. From this, hydrogen sulfide is formed, provoking the decay of the roots of seedlings. If decay begins, the access of oxygen to the root system is blocked. Then saving the seedlings is very difficult.

In winter, the air in the apartment is drained by working central heating. Tomatoes do not like this and fall. Cold air masses have the same effect on seedlings. Seedlings for active growth need to provide warm air in the room, without sharp temperature jumps and drafts.

Reasons for wilting

Most often, wilting of tomato seedlings is observed if initially the seeds were sown too densely. In this case, the sprouts simply do not have enough space for full growth. They stretch out, trying to get as much light as possible, suck out soil nutrients. In the struggle with neighbors for better living conditions, seedlings destroy each other and wither.

The problem of thickening is solved very easily. It is enough to thin out the landing, leaving only the strongest specimens. The remaining to improve the condition you need to sprinkle a little earth, then they will straighten.

Other causes of the diseased state of tomato seedlings include:

• unsuitable soil;
• wrong place for growing;
• incorrect fertilizer application;
• watering errors;
• improper lighting;
• non-compliance with the temperature regime;
• illnesses.

Incorrect soil

One of the reasons for poor growth of tomato seedlings is too acidic and dense soil. In it, seedlings begin to turn yellow and fall. Tomatoes prefer to grow in neutral and light soil. Suitable buy in florist shops or mix yourself from the following components:

• 1 part of garden land;
• 1 part of sheet land;
• 1 part humus;
• 0.5 parts of sand;
• 2 parts of peat.

Before sowing seeds, self-prepared or purchased soil is disinfected to get rid of pathogens or pests. To do this, the soil is shed with a pinkish solution of potassium permanganate or roasted in an oven.

Wrong place to grow

Seedling boxes can not be placed on the windowsill right under the window. Tomatoes do not tolerate the effects of draft.Even if it is not opened, a cold air stream seeps through the cracks and destroys young, immature plants. Therefore, to preserve seedlings in a normal state, all cracks are closed.

The cold coming from the window pane is also detrimental to tomato seedlings. This problem can be solved by limiting the contact of seedlings with glass. For this, it is closed with a newspaper.

Incorrect fertilizer application

The cause of lethargy of young plants excessive nutrient intake sometimes becomes. Especially often, this problem occurs when the soil is mixed independently and incompletely rotted organic matter is added. The composition of the storey soil is already balanced and does not need additional fertilizers. But nutrients cannot be fully absorbed if the seedlings are kept at low temperature.

An excess of nitrogen in the soil is judged by the whitish deposits on the surface. In this case, they are removed and the soil is sown with a humate solution. It contributes to the restoration of soil fertility.

Watering errors

After a dive at tomato seedlings sometimes the cotyledon leaves turn yellow and fall. So, it happens from excessive soil moisture. Transplanted seedlings need less watering. Therefore, within 2-3 days after the picking, seedlings are not watered.

To prevent this problem, the seeds are planted in containers with drainage holes at the bottom so that excess moisture comes out. If this does not occur, drainage may become clogged. In this case, the box is turned over and the holes are cleaned.

Insufficient watering is also detrimental to tomato seedlings. If the earth in the pot is very dry and crumbles, the lethargy of the stems begins from a lack of moisture. But in this case, you can not immediately abundantly irrigate seedlings. To restore the plants watered 1 tbsp. l water per day.

In order for tomato seedlings to develop normally, they are watered regularly and abundantly, after the top layer of the soil has dried. Periodically, for oxygen access to the roots, the soil in the box is loosened.

Incorrect lighting

An insufficiently long daylight often causes a loss in the color of tomato seedlings and their strong stretching. In winter, ordinary sunlight is not enough for the quality development of newly hatched sprouts. Therefore, they are illuminated with phytolamps, creating a lighting duration of at least 12 hours.

Young sprouts also do not tolerate direct sunlight. From this, the leaves wither and burn. Therefore, boxes with seedlings are best not to be placed on the southern windowsills.

Non-compliance with temperature conditions

If the air warms up above +36 degrees, young seedlings overheat and die. Therefore, you can not install containers with seedlings in the vicinity of heating appliances. Insufficient temperature is also harmful to seedlings. If warming does not exceed +15 degrees, the tomatoes stop growing and fade. For normal development, it is enough to maintain the air temperature at a level of +18 to +20 degrees.

The grown plants harden so that they are strong and healthy at the time of transplantation into the ground. To do this, gradually reduce the temperature by 3-4 degrees at night.

Disease

It is very easy to eliminate errors in the care of tomato seedlings. If all the rules for maintaining seedlings are observed, and the plants still die, then the cause of wilting and poor growth in the disease. Most often, tomato seedlings affect the black leg, fusarium, or rot.

Blackleg

This dangerous bacterial disease not only infects tomatoes.It can be recognized by rotting of the root neck, yellowing and falling of leaves, wilting of the plant.

Save black leg infected instances fail. They are torn out and destroyed so that neighboring healthy tomatoes do not become infected. To prevent this disease, it is important to disinfect the cargo with a potassium permanganate solution before planting seeds.

Fusarium

Fusarium is a fungal disease that affects the blood vessels of a plant. Not only tomatoes suffer from it, but also many other cultures. The disease manifests itself first in yellowing and wilting of the lower leaves. Then gradually the disease spreads to the upper part of the seedling.

If yellowing has not spread throughout the specimen, it can be saved. For this, the seedling is removed from the soil and transplanted into another container with disinfected soil. If the disease has completely covered the whole plant, it will not work to save it.

Rot

This disease develops due to waterlogged soil and growing seedlings at low temperatures. In plants affected by rot, the leaves turn yellow and fall off. Gradually, the plant itself begins to rot and wither. When infected with rot, it is impossible to save seedlings. In this case, infected instances are torn out and destroyed. For protection against infection, healthy ones are transplanted into another container with disinfected soil.

Conclusion

To prevent lethargy seedlings, it is important to provide the plants with the necessary care and create suitable conditions for growth. Seeds must be used quality and buy them only from trusted sellers. Helps avoid infection diseases soil pretreatment with potassium permanganate solution or by calcination in the oven.