Sometimes bitter gourd leaves will turn black, drop, or even curl. These problems can happen because of some reasons. When these problems happen, they will affect the growth of the plant.
Affected plants can grow poor, and produce fewer flowers, and fewer fruits. You need to find ways to prevent these to happen and when the plant is safer you can expect a great harvest sooner
And to make it happen you need to take care of bitter gourd plants and they will thrive well.
Why Bitter Gourd Leaves Turning Black?
When the leaves of bitter gourd turn black, angular leaf spots or bacterial leaf spots attack the plant. This bacterial disease causes the leaves to change their normal green color to brown and black.
There are also spots on the leaves which affects the growth of the plant. Not all the time this disease attacks. But when they do, you need to control them to make the plant safe.
You can trim some of the leaves or vines that are affected by the disease. Removing those affected parts will prevent damaging healthy parts. Also, you can use copper fungicides or neem oil to control the disease. But make sure that you will apply the solution when it’s not too hot.
Applying the solution when the sun is too hot will burn the leaves and vines of the plant so you need to do the application early in the morning or much better during the late afternoon.
It is a problem when bitter gourd leaves turn yellow but it is also a problem when they turn black.
Why Bitter Gourd Leaves Curl?
When you transplant bitter gourd seedlings, sometimes some of those seedlings curl their leaves. One reason is the gardener didn’t give water to the newly transplanted seedlings.
In order to prevent the curling of the leaves for new plants, you need to water them immediately after transplanting. Sometimes transplant shock on bitter gourds happens and one solution to prevent it is by giving them enough water.
The bitter gourd plants need sunlight for at least 6 hours. This plant grows well in tropical and subtropical countries. But even if this plant likes more sun, extreme sunlight can make its leaves curl.
When you notice that some of its leaves are bending upwards, extreme heat might be the reason why it happens. During summer the temperature increases and the plant needs more water during this period.
Another reason why bitter gourd leaves curl is because of pests. You need to use pest control for bitter gourds. When there are no pests in the plant, the leaves and other parts will be safe.
Some pests damage the leaves and some are damaging the fruits. The fruit changes its form when attacked by pests. You can use pesticides as a treatment but it is better to use organic pesticides to prevent chemicals from getting in touch with the fruits.
It will be safer to consume the fruits with no chemicals used.
Why Bitter Gourds Losing Leaves?
There are some reasons why bitter gourds lose leaves. Lack of water can cause bitter gourd leaves to drop. Bitter gourds need regular watering for them to thrive well.
The water will help all parts of the plant to become healthy. There are times that the soil is still moist and you don’t need to water during that time. You can water the plant every three days to keep them growing well.
When the plant gets enough water every time, losing leaves will be prevented. The lifespan of bitter gourds will be in good condition when they are getting their needs.
Water, sunlight, and nutrients are all important for the bitter gourd’s growth. The plant will also live longer when no pests and diseases are attacking the plant. You can get more fruits from the great plant.
Preventing the leaves to drop will help to increase bitter gourd fruit size. The leaves will get sunlight and the plant will create more food which will help to make the fruits bigger.
Aside from the fruit size, the number of bitter gourds per plant will also increase in number. You can get around 15 to 25 fruits per plant but it can also change based on some factors.
There are a series of bitter gourd growth stages and the journey of this plant can last around 5 to 6 months. A seed will germinate and will turn into a seedling which eventually produces flowers and fruits sooner. You will get a lot of fruits from the plant when it stays healthy.
Those problems of bitter gourd that their leaves turn black, lose, or even curl can be prevented and can be controlled. You need to keep the plants safe so they can give you a lot of fruits that can be cooked or even sold at the market to earn some money.
It will be exciting to grow bitter gourd in your garden especially if it’s your first time growing this plant.
It is great to know why bitter gourd leaves turn black, lose, or curl. When you figure out the reason why the problems occur you can find a great solution for those problems. Fixing the problem of the bitter gourd plant is essential for them to grow better and have a good lifespan. When the plant grows longer you can get more fruits. Those fruits can be used to cook food and will help people to be healthy.