Everyone who has ever tried to grow a lemon tree, probably noticed some yellow spots on the leaves of a lemon. The sunny fruits of the lemon tree do more than just decorate your home.
They give a sunny mood and warm with their color at a time when outside the windows all nature has gone deep into winter sleep. Lemons make the apartment especially cozy. So, in this article we will try to figure out why yellow spots suddenly appeared on lemon leaves, how to determine the cause of their appearance. And also find out what will help restore the plant to its former beauty and he alth.
Why are there yellow spots on lemon leaves
Let's look into the reasons for this phenomenon. Yellow spots on lemon leaves, photos of which you will see in this article,may appear for various reasons. This may be due to improper care and lack of nutrients.
But also yellow spots can appear when the plant is affected by various ailments. Also an important reason is the attack of various pests. Let's take a closer look at each case.
Insect colonization
Yellow spots on lemon leaves can indicate to us that the tree was inhabited by insects sucking juices from the plant. This is often a spider mite, which at first leaves such small yellow specks that it is almost impossible to suspect its appearance. The worms are very skillfully camouflaged on the bark, because they look like scales. They not only suck the juice from the leaves, but also damage the fruits.
Defeat with scale shield
The scale insect is tiny and often looks like a waxy growth. This pest feeds on the juice of the plant, causing various ailments of the lemon tree. Most often, yellow spots on lemon leaves appear as a result of parasitism of the yellow scale insect, which feeds on leaves, fruits and branches. But the purple scale insect, which sucks juices from absolutely all parts of the tree, leaves yellow marks infrequently.
Tick attack
Leaves of the lemon tree can be eaten by several types of mites. They leave behind small yellow dots, and the surface of the leaf becomes grainy and then turns yellow.
It could be a citrus red mite, a spider mite or a Hume mite. These species are most often found on lemon trees. The underside of the leaves may be covered with tiny cobwebs. Use a magnifying glass to confirm or deny these pests on your lemon.
What causes lemons
The lemon tree is a living organism, so it can get sick, of course. Lemon tree ailments are most often bacterial or fungal in nature.
Citrus canker, which is a highly contagious bacterial infection, causes round yellow spots. Moreover, not only leaves are affected, but also fruits, and even branches.
Diseases such as citrus rind and greasy spots are fungal in origin and also start with yellow spots, which in the first case quickly become scabs, and in the second case turn brown.
Although shop soil in pots with lemon trees is subject to sterilization, but still, when transplanting a plant into a soil mixture that was formed independently, there is a risk of infection with late blight or root rot. Depending on how severely the roots are affected, lemon leaves may turn yellow or fall off altogether.
Unfavorable conditions
Yellow spots on lemon leaves can occur as a result of improper care or adverse environmental conditions.
Yellowness results from a lack of magnesium and zinc, cold damage, excessive watering of the plant. Also, the cause may be a violation of the acid-base balance in the soil.
Any sudden changes in environmental conditions can also cause leaves to turn yellow. This may be the case when watering the plant is done with cold, not settled water. In such a situation, the air temperature becomes much higher than the soil temperature. Fluctuations in humidity and room illumination also matter.
Yellow spots on lemon leaves. What to do?
Having de alt with the causes of yellowing of the leaves, we move on to the second, but no less important part of our question. Let's figure out what needs to be done to restore beauty and he alth to the lemon tree in various situations.
Let's start with the problems associated with improper care. If the acidity of the soil has decreased, then this is replenishable, it is necessary to add peat or lime to the soil. When the pH is between six and eight, it will be much easier for lemon roots to absorb magnesium from the soil. Zinc deficiency is corrected by spraying the leaves with zinc sulfate.
To combat late blight, the tree should be transplanted into new soil, while cutting off all damaged roots. After that, it is recommended to water the plant daily with a small amount of fertilizer. In this way, it will be possible to compensate for those nutrients that the lemon has lost along with the cut roots.
To get rid of plants from various fungal diseases, as a rule, they usea fungicide that has a copper base.
An effective method against ticks is spraying with a spray containing sulfur or mineral oil. In addition, such methods are not dangerous for the plant itself. This is especially important for those crops that are eaten. Many mistakenly use insecticides to control this pest. But ticks are not insects, which means that such drugs are useless against them. In addition, in this way you destroy all natural enemies of ticks. This means that nothing else can hold back their reproduction.
The fight against scale insects begins with bathing procedures. Each sheet must be thoroughly washed with a solution of liquid or insecticidal soap, or at least dishwashing detergent. Once everything is washed, use any safe insecticide. These include Aktara or Fitoverm. Strictly following the instructions for use of the drug, treat the entire plant, except for the fruits. Sometimes, to prevent the movement of this pest, a small amount of mineral oil is used. But they do this with great care and only when the ambient temperature does not exceed twenty-seven degrees Celsius.
We looked at where yellow spots on lemon leaves come from, as well as what methods of struggle are suitable in this or that case.
As you can see, there are a lot of reasons for this. Sweep them consistently, give your lemon the right care, and save it from drastic changes. Do not forget about regular top dressing andthe addition of minerals. And then it will surely give you a great sunny mood for many years, filling your home with beauty and a pleasant cozy aroma.
