Why do eggplant leaves turn yellow? There are many plants you can try to grow in your garden. Just like the eggplant which is bearing awesome fruits. The fruits are purple once they are mature.
But growing eggplant is sometimes challenging especially if you don’t have the experience in growing this kind of plant. Some problem that you might encounter in growing an eggplant is having yellow leaves.
Eggplant Leaves Turn Yellow Causes
Some of the possible reasons for having yellow leaves on eggplant are; lacking sunlight, watering problems, improper fertilization, lacking nutrients, pests, diseases, transplant shock, and aging leaves.
Lacking Sunlight Causes Yellow Leaves On Eggplant
If you want to make an eggplant garden, where are you supposed to create it in a shaded area or a sunny place? Well if you are going to make a garden you should create it in a well sunny area.
Eggplants will have the ability to make their food if the location where they are planted receives enough sunlight. Lacking sunlight will be a problem for the eggplant because they will not be able to make their food.
Eggplant needs sunlight for at least 6 hours daily. If they are not going to get enough sunlight, then yellowing leaves are going to appear on the plant. Aside from yellow leaves, brown leaves on eggplant might also show up. Also, avoid as much as possible to make a garden near the tall trees because the wide canopy of those trees will block the sunlight away from your plants.
Transplant Shock Cause Yellow Leaves
The eggplant seedlings are transplanted mostly when they are 3 to 4 weeks old. The plants are transplanted when young to their permanent location. But some gardeners grow it in a pot and there is a time when they want to transfer a mature plant to a new location and transplant shock may happen.
In transferring a mature plant you need to be careful to keep the plants healthy. You need to give newly planted plants water after transplanting.
Lacking In Water
The eggplant plants have needs needed in order for them to grow. One example of that is the water. The eggplant plants need enough water for them to grow faster and healthier.
The lack of water can happen when you don’t give eggplant enough water or there is a long drought. Some gardeners use rainfall as a source of water for their eggplant but not all the time rainfall is available.
You need to make an effort in watering the eggplants to make them thrive well. If the eggplant becomes healthy and grows very well you will be able to see a lot of fruits on a single plant. Caring for eggplant is important for them to grow excellent.
Overwatered
If you want to avoid eggplant having yellow leaves, you need to be careful in watering the plants. Overwatering a plant is one of the most common mistakes in making a garden.
There are some factors to consider in watering the plants. If the soil is still moist, you need to wait for a few days before watering the plants again. You need to check how moist the soil is.
Also, the amount of water given to plants should be based on their size and age. Bigger plants need more water than smaller ones. The eggplant plant needs at least 1 inch of water per week. That 1 inch of water per week may also be less depending on the weather in the following days.
Improper Fertilization On Eggplant Plant
Improper fertilization may be one of the reasons why you see yellow leaves on your eggplant. This will happen if too much chemical fertilizer is given to the plant. Chemicals may burn the roots of the plant.
If you are going to use chemical fertilizer you need to apply the right amount. Some good fertilizers for eggplant are; 5-10-5, 10-10-10, 15-30-15, 20-20-20, etc. If you are practicing organic gardening and you are not using chemicals in your garden, then you must use organic fertilizers.
You can buy vermicompost at the nurseries or agriculture store near your area or online or you can make your organic fertilizer at home. It will be a great experience to make fertilizer for your plants. When applying organic fertilizer, curling leaves on eggplant and other problems may also be prevented.
Lacking Iron
The iron helps the plant to increase the production of chlorophyll on the plant. The chlorophyll is the reason why the leaves are green. You need to keep the soil rich in iron to prevent iron deficiencies in eggplant plants.
You can use soil kits to test the number of nutrients on your soil. It can test the amount of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and other elements found in the soil. In that way, you will only add what is lacking in the soil and prevent adding excessive nutrients.
Damage Roots
Floods can damage the roots of eggplant and you can prevent them from happening if you are going to make a good waterway in your garden. A heavy rainfall that lasts for a couple of hours or days can make your garden flooded.
When the roots of eggplant plants are soaked in the flood root rot may happen. The functions of the roots are compromised and the plants will not be able to get enough water and nutrients since the roots are damaged.
Aside from rainfall, overwatering can also be a cause for the roots to get damaged. Losing leaves on eggplant may happen and the plant may still have a chance to recover in a week or so.
Aging Leaves
Aging leaves is normal for eggplant and any plants. During the early stages of eggplant growth, the plant has only a few leaves. Those young leaves are green but they change color when they become old.
It is normal to see yellow leaves on any plant because it is part of their growth cycle. But even if you see yellow leaves on eggplant, you still need to check if those leaves are really old or if other factors may cause it to happen.
Pests And Diseases Attack Eggplant
Some of the pests that may attack eggplant are; aphids,
spider mites, lace bugs, etc. And some diseases that may attack eggplant are; early blight, verticillium wilt, etc. You need to control pests on eggplant as well as diseases to keep the plants healthy.
Those pests and diseases can cause a lot of damage to a single plant and affect other plants. You can use organic pesticides, insecticidal soap, copper fungicides, and other treatments that can help control pests and diseases. The lifespan of eggplant will be in a good condition when the tree keeps thriving well and safe.
Also, crop rotation is a good technique to keep pests away from your garden. It is chemical-free and also an effective method.
It is great to know why do eggplant leaves turn yellow. There are reasons why yellow leaves appear on eggplant plants, figuring it out is needed and finding a good solution to the problem.
Keeping eggplant plants is important to make them healthy, making them able to produce more fruits. Some people have a small eggplant garden in their yard and when a single plant has a problem other plants may also be affected so you need to keep plants healthy.