Salad cucumber "Livie" F1

Excess nitrogen. Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers, especially before mass fruiting begins, causes excessively strong vegetative growth and insignificant formation of female flowers. In production conditions, an excess of ammonia nitrogen is most often observed. Some of this nitrogen is released into the air as ammonia. This phenomenon occurs when manure is added to fresh high-moor peat instead of mineral fertilizers. In the initial period, nitrifying bacteria are practically absent in high-moor sphagnum peat; as a result, nitrogen accumulates in the substrate, mainly in ammonia form. At this time, light brown spots appear on the edges of the leaves of the plants, which subsequently spread between the veins towards the middle of the leaf, sometimes they acquire an almost dirty white color. At the same time, signs of calcium deficiency may appear on the growing points and on the youngest leaves as a result of the antagonism of these cations. These signs usually intensify with a lack of light. An excess of any form of nitrogen in the substrate also increases the deficiency of the element that is in minimum. Therefore, in addition to signs of calcium deficiency, visual signs of deficiency of any other nutrient may appear.

Lack of nitrogen. Signs of nitrogen deficiency are clearly visible in the spindle-shaped habit of plants. Growth is greatly inhibited, the vines are thin, hard, and quickly become woody. The leaves remain small and most of them point upward. Very few side shoots are formed. The ovaries rapidly fall off and some of the flowers die. First, on older leaves, premature yellowing of the leaf blade is observed. It quickly spreads to young leaves. With a later onset of nitrogen starvation, yellowing can also affect middle-aged leaves. With progressive nitrogen deficiency, the fruits become pale yellow in color. At first, the thinnest veins of the leaf still retain their green color, but later they also lose their green color, and even new leaves acquire a lighter color. Some fruits lose their normal color, they are shortened in size and have a pointed end.

Excess boron. The first sign of excess boron intake into plants is the lemon-yellow color of the edges of old leaves. Later, small light yellow, fairly evenly distributed spots appear along the edges of the leaves between the veins. The rest of the leaf, especially the middle, retains its normal green color. These spots then become necrotic, and signs of excess appear on young leaves. The edges of the affected leaves bend down after some time. Tissue death until complete necrosis of the leaf occurs between the veins, but has no clear boundaries.

Excess iron. There is no direct effect of excess iron on plants in the substrate. This is due to the fact that iron does not have time to accumulate in large quantities in the above-ground parts of plants. Already in the substrate, iron forms complex compounds with many other nutrients. Some excessive accumulation of iron is observed only in the roots. In this case, a lack of phosphorus, zinc and manganese may visually appear.

Iron deficiency. Signs of chlorosis appear on the youngest leaves of the main and side shoots. Only the main and lateral veins retain their green color. The entire plate takes on a light green color. Over time, the edges of the leaves become necrotic, and chlorosis spreads to older leaves. The fruits show no signs of iron deficiency.

Excess potassium. Visual signs of an excess of this element appear along the edges of older leaves in the form of a light yellow-brown stripe. An excess of potassium in a peat substrate is always associated with an increase in the concentration of water-soluble salts. The latter cause root burns and necrosis of leaf edges. At the same time, the intake of calcium, magnesium and other cations decreases, but visual signs of a deficiency of these elements usually do not appear.

Potassium deficiency. The edges of older leaves acquire a lighter color, which spreads between the main veins towards the center of the leaf. Then the entire leaf turns yellow-green, and necrotic spots appear on its edges. The edges of the leaves curl down. The appearance of fruits does not change during potassium starvation.

Excess calcium. Excessive absorption of calcium by plants causes premature aging of leaves. A simultaneous increase in pH and HCO3 ions leads to a decrease in the supply of iron, manganese, zinc, copper and boron. The absorption of magnesium and potassium is also impaired. But first of all, under these conditions, visual signs of iron deficiency appear.

Lack of calcium. Signs of deficiency of this element appear at the ends of the shoots. Young leaves are exceptionally small and initially dark green in color. The internodes are short, young leaves at the edges acquire a light color. At the same time, narrow light stripes appear on the leaf blade between the veins, which quickly expand and lose their green color until tissue necrosis occurs. The veins and the adjacent part of the plate still retain their intense green color. The edges of the leaves bend down and the leaf takes on the appearance of an umbrella. When straightened, the leaf is torn from the edges, which die first. With severe deficiency, the shoot tip dies. The same signs of starvation gradually appear on the side shoots. In long-fruited varieties, the wrinkledness of the fruit is especially noticeable at the end that is more distant from the petiole. The growth of the roots stops, they are gradually covered with a glue-like substance.

Excess phosphorus. This element does not increase the concentration of water-soluble salts in the substrate. Excess phosphorus produces complex and poorly soluble compounds with calcium, iron, zinc and other elements. Therefore, first of all, external signs of a deficiency of these elements appear.

Lack of phosphorus. Young leaves are dark green, while older leaves become a dirty gray-green color. Subsequently, large unevenly distributed yellow-brown spots appear on the leaf blade. They become necrotic and dry out. The entire leaf wrinkles, the edges become sharp and bend upward. The fruits show no particular signs of deficiency.