What to do if strawberry leaves turn red?

When strawberry leaves turn red, this can happen for a variety of reasons. The first one is natural aging. Each strawberry leaf lives for 70–90 days, after which it turns red, dries up and falls off. If new bright green leaves come to replace the dried lower leaves in the center of the outlet, then there is no reason to worry. It's a different matter if the leaves turn red ahead of schedule. It is necessary to accurately determine the cause of this phenomenon and eliminate it.

What factors cause reddening of strawberry leaves?

The factors causing changes in the color of strawberry leaves towards redness can be divided into two groups. This is usually caused by an imbalance in the chemical composition of the soil and some fungal diseases.

Signs of a lack of macronutrients

Strawberries are soil-demanding crops. For its full development, it needs an impressive complex of macro- and microelements.

Soil acidity indicators also play an important role. If the soil pH is 5–6 units, then everything is in order. It is this acidity that is essential for the successful cultivation of strawberries.

Perhaps you should look for the reason in the lack of one of the most important chemical elements:

• if the leaves of garden strawberries turn red in mid-summer, this may indicate a lack of nitrogen;
• during fruiting, foliage can acquire a reddish-purple color due to a lack of phosphorus;
• if redness is observed only along the edge of the leaves, and then the border turns brown and dries up, the plants lack potassium.

In the process of development and growth, strawberry bushes intensively draw nutrients from the soil. Rains can also contribute to the disappearance of minerals - water simply leaches useful elements from the soil.

Symptoms of fungal infections

Concomitant factors play a significant role in the development of fungal infections on strawberries. The bushes do not have enough sun, the plantings are thickened, the weather is warm and rainy - all these are favorable conditions for an outbreak of diseases caused by various pathogenic fungi.

Most often, strawberries in summer are affected by the following diseases:

• Brown spotting. At first, the spots are purple in color, then they turn brown. Small specks merge over time into one large lesion area, after which the leaves turn brown and dry. The disease almost does not affect leaf petioles and whiskers.
• Anthracnose. The disease can begin to develop in spring or June with appropriate weather. Spores enter the site through seedlings, can be in the ground, transmitted using an infected tool, on shoes. The strawberry leaves first turn red and then crack and dry out. Ulcers with a light center and dark edging appear on the stems and shoots. In case of untimely treatment, the bush dies. Anthracnose can also affect fruits. In this case, dark depressed areas will be visible on the berries.
• Brown spot. The symptoms of the disease are similar to those of brown spot. The leaves acquire a reddish color, against the background of which small brown spots of a convex shape are visible, containing spores of the fungus. The disease can affect the mustache and petioles.
• White spot (ramulariasis). Initially, small purple spots are formed on the leaf plates, which gradually increase to 6–8 mm in diameter, a white dot appears in the center of each of them. With the further development of the disease, the spots merge into one affected area.The fungus also infects peduncles, stalks, leaf petioles. In the advanced stage, holes form on the leaves. The bush begins to lose its foliage prematurely. With a significant lesion with ramularia, the plants look as if burnt.
• Verticillary wilting. The infection begins to actively develop during flowering and fruiting. First of all, the disease affects old leaves - they lie on the ground, covering it with a solid carpet, turn red and wither. Young leaves become dull and pale, become smaller. The growth of a diseased bush stops, and soon the plant dies. After removing such specimens from the ground, significant root damage can be seen.

All of these diseases must be treated when the first symptoms appear. Fungal infection spreads from one plant to another very quickly. If you do not take urgent measures, you can completely lose the strawberry planting.

What measures will help solve the problem?

First of all, fungal diseases should be excluded. They pose a serious danger to strawberries and require urgent treatment. If, according to the signs, a deficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium is confirmed, it is necessary to fertilize and thereby add the necessary element to the soil.

Fertilizer application

With a lack of nitrogen, ammonium nitrate, azofoska, complex fertilizers can be added to the soil. The dosage of each agent must be found in the instructions for the drug.

Mullein infusion and herbal "cocktail" are also sources of nitrogen:

• Before use, the mullein infusion should be fermented properly. In the process of cooking, combine 1 liter of slurry and 9 liters of water, leave for about a week. The mixture must be stirred periodically. Under each bush make 300-500 ml of such feeding.
• Herbal fertilizer is best prepared in a 100 liter barrel, which should be placed in a sunny spot. Any weeds are suitable as a basis. It is very good to take nettles for these purposes. The greens are crushed and filled in about half the volume of the container. There is no need to tamp the grass. The remaining space is filled with water. After that, the barrel is covered with a lid. It is necessary to wait 7-10 days for the natural fermentation process to take place. When the infusion is ready, it is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and used to water the strawberries. Consumption rate - 0.5 l per plant.

The deficiency of phosphorus and potassium is well compensated by wood ash. You can simply sprinkle it on the plantings, spending 1 glass of ash powder per square meter, or pour the ash infusion under the root of the bushes (a liter can for 10 liters of water), having previously let it stand for a day.

In order not to face a shortage of substances useful for strawberries in the future, you can sow siderates, for example, white mustard, before planting it in July. After the seedlings rise to a height of 15–20 cm, the greens are mowed and buried in the ground. Strawberries grow well on such soil, do not get sick, less often they are affected by pests.

Treatment of fungal diseases

To prevent strawberries from being affected by the fungus, first of all, it is necessary to observe preventive measures. In autumn and spring, fallen leaves and other plant debris should be removed from the garden. Before the leaves begin to bloom on the strawberries, they are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid or Topaz fungicide.

If an outbreak of a fungal disease occurs in the summer, the berry bushes are again treated with Bordeaux liquid or several treatments are carried out with the following fungicides:

• Fitosporin;
• Fundazol;
• Benorad;
• Oxyhom;
• Abika Peak;
• Ridomil Gold.

During the fruiting period, for processing, you can use a solution of iodine (3 drops per 10 liters of water) or potassium permanganate (pink). Before spraying, the infected bushes are dug up and burned.

To prevent strawberry leaves from turning red, you should plant them in a well-lit area in compliance with the planting scheme and crop rotation rules.Plants are regularly, but moderately watered, fed in a timely manner. We must not forget about preventive fungicide treatments in spring and autumn.