The main causes of yellowing of pepper seedlings and methods of treatment
When growing a garden crop for planting in open ground or a greenhouse, similar mistakes are made. For example, inexperienced gardeners sow seeds too often and then damage the roots. Or those who already have the skill of growing make a mistake with the variety.
What to do when pepper leaves turn yellow depends on the causes of chlorosis. You should pay attention to the quality of the soil, the frequency of watering, the first symptoms of diseases, and traces of pest invasion.
Unsuitable soil
In pepper seedlings, first the tips of the leaves turn yellow, and then the entire plate curls up into a tube due to improperly selected soil. The most common mistakes:
- soil mixture with a lack of mineral fertilizers - nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus;
- the soil is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms - fungi and bacteria;
- The density of the earth is too high, access to the root system of nutrients, moisture and oxygen is difficult.
Pepper sheds its leaves when the soil is insufficiently or overly acidic. Sometimes it is necessary to determine the necessary soil parameters experimentally at the stage of seedling germination - each variety has its own pH value. Problems with soil occur in seedlings in boxes or pots, in adult plants in a greenhouse and in open ground. To help the bushes survive, the following methods are used:
- If the permanent leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow, but they do not fall off or dry out, they conclude that the supply of minerals added to the boxes (pots) has been exhausted. In this case, an additional portion of complex fertilizers is placed in the bed. And in a box with young sprouts it is enough to put potassium nitrate.
- Even specially purchased soil may be contaminated. To stop the development of diseases, the seedlings are carefully removed, the roots are dipped for 10-12 minutes in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate, and the soil is calcined in the oven and sprinkled with potassium permanganate at a 3% concentration. After disinfection, the soil is completely ready for sowing seeds.
- It is impossible to calcinate the soil in an open area or in a greenhouse. In this case, industrial herbicides are used for disinfection and sprayed with potassium permanganate.
- The leaves of bell peppers turn yellow and dry when the soil is heavy. If you prepare the bed in advance, problems will not arise. The area prepared for planting is dug up in the fall and rotted manure is added. And in the spring they loosen it again, adding sand, peat and wood ash. In this way, drainage capacity is increased without reducing fertility.
The reason that pepper leaves turn yellow, but despite this, the veins remain green, is a lack of trace elements - iron, sulfur, zinc, manganese, sulfur, boron. In this case, feeding is carried out with Cytovit, Gumat-7, Kristallon.
Peppers do not set fruit
If greenhouse pepper blooms profusely, but the ovary does not form, this may be due to several factors, the most common of which is the so-called sterility of pollen. This phenomenon is the result of the following main reasons:
- frequent sudden temperature changes in the greenhouse structure;
- prolonged rainy or cold weather, which does not allow ventilation through vents and doors;
- insufficient lighting;
- lack of potassium fertilizers or boron in greenhouse soil;
- the presence of a significant amount of condensation, which provokes an increase in the humidity of pollen;
- temperature readings are above thirty degrees, which causes complete sterility of flower pollen.
The main ways to combat this phenomenon is to use the preparations “Bud”, “Gibbersib” and “Ovary”, which should be used to spray plants in the morning. During flowering, it is necessary to reduce the volume of plant irrigation. To attract pollinating insects to the greenhouse, you should spray with syrup and plant honey plants. In addition, strict adherence to the ventilation regime is an effective measure.
We also invite you to learn about the features and options for using the Mittlider method for greenhouse structures.
Why pepper leaves turn yellow: causes and treatment
Watering errors
In order for moisturizing to stimulate the growth and not the falling of leaves, the water needs to be settled and heated in advance. It is desirable that the water temperature be at 22-25C. It is recommended to carry out all work in the morning, before sunrise, so that moisture has time to be absorbed into the ground before the air temperature drops. You shouldn’t get carried away with watering. If there is excess moisture, the leaves dry out and fall off, and the roots rot.
To select the desired watering regime, dig a hole in the garden bed, take some soil, and squeeze it in your fist. If it crumbles, an additional portion of moisture is needed, it has turned into liquid mud - refrain from watering.
You should not overuse spraying pepper seedlings on the leaves - direct the stream of water to the root. Pour carefully so as not to expose the roots that have not yet hardened.
Lack of nutrition
Bell peppers require careful care. It is especially demanding when it comes to fertilizers. If this plant lacks any nutrients or elements, this immediately affects its condition: the leaves begin to actively turn yellow, dry out and wither. Moreover, this applies not only to adult peppers, but also to seedlings.
In this case, the plant needs to be fed, but first it is worth determining what specific substances the planting lacks, otherwise there is a risk of causing even more harm to it.
So, most often yellowing of leaves appears due to nitrogen deficiency. However, a similar phenomenon can also be caused by a lack of nitrogen, zinc, iron and boron.
Bad light
A cultivated plant such as bell pepper is light-loving . When there is a lack of lighting, which usually occurs when growing plants on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, pepper grows poorly, its development slows down, which is due to a decrease in metabolism. The stems of such plantings grow weakened, and their color is usually light green, which indicates that they are painful. The same situation can be observed with the leaves of the plant. As for his bushes, they begin to stretch out and grow crooked.
To solve this problem, you need to avoid planting peppers in shaded areas of the garden.
Temperature changes
For normal growth and development of pepper plants, a temperature of 21-27 °C during the day and 18-20 °C at night is required. It must be adhered to throughout the entire period of growing seedlings.
At a temperature of 12 °C, peppers stop growing. Sudden changes in temperature usually cause leaves to yellow and fall off. Indicators above 35 °C are also detrimental to young plants.
The leaves of pepper seedlings can also turn yellow when they are standing on a cold windowsill. The plants themselves have enough heat, but their roots are in cold soil.
As a result, nutrition is disrupted and leaves fall. To correct the situation, it is enough to insulate containers with seedlings, prevent the penetration of cold air from the street, and water with warm water.
When hardening pepper seedlings before planting in the ground, you should also not sharply and greatly reduce the temperature; 15-18 °C for peppers will be enough.
Dense plantings
Pepper seedlings are very sensitive to close proximity. When planted close together, vegetables begin to compete with each other for nutrients and light, which leads to leaf fall.
Pests and diseases
Often the cause of curling, yellowing and falling leaves of peppers is the activity of pests, for example, aphids and spider mites. They use plant sap for nutrition. The most favorable conditions for these pests are low humidity and high temperature.
Important! Already at the first signs, the plant is carefully inspected for the presence of harmful insects. Aphids are visible to the naked eye; mites are identified by the presence of white cobwebs on the leaves.
Falling leaves may be a signal that the plant is affected by disease. Late blight causes thickening of the affected parts and dark spots on them. Bright yellow color and continuous wilting indicate fusarium.
In some cases, leaf drop may be caused by the leaf's central vein growing faster than the leaf itself. This situation is considered normal and does not require intervention.
Reaction to transplantation to a permanent place
When pepper seedlings are planted in a garden bed or greenhouse, the plants experience severe stress. They not only need to adapt to new living conditions, but also begin to quickly increase green mass. But until the peppers take root well and begin to intensively supply the bush with nutrients, some of the leaves will lose their color.
To prevent this from happening, seedlings should be planted in a permanent place only in warm soil. It is better to do this with a lump of wet earth without damaging the roots. You shouldn’t bury peppers deep into the ground - only up to the root collar. The earth around it must be well compacted so that the young shoots do not get exposed to air and die. Watering after planting is also required.
If the leaves of pepper turn yellow during transplantation, you can help the plant by feeding growth stimulants - Kornevin, Zircon, Humate, Silk.
Root system injuries
Sometimes yellowness on the leaves of pepper bushes appears as a consequence of damage to the roots. This happens due to careless loosening of the soil, breaking of some roots when transplanting to a permanent place or during picking, while growing seedlings in containers that are too small.
To restore the plants, they change their care: loosen the soil shallowly, normalize irrigation, and grow seedlings in separate cups. To properly nourish the foliage, a branched root system is necessary. To accelerate its development, seedlings are fed with growth stimulants. The drugs “Epin”, “Gumate”, “Zircon”, “Kornevin” are suitable.
Prevention
Even experienced gardeners cannot always avoid problems with peppers. But if you follow the rules of agricultural technology, do not forget about the specifics of growing a heat-loving crop, preventive measures, the plants will be healthy, and the harvest will definitely please you.
Recommendations:
- use healthy seeds from reliable producers for sowing. Disinfect and sort pepper seeds harvested with your own hands;
- prepare a nutrient mixture for seedlings in advance;
- grow peppers in separate containers, with mandatory lighting;
- maintain planting deadlines and harden seedlings;
- take into account the characteristics of varieties and hybrids, follow recommendations on the distance between bushes, avoiding thickening of plantings;
- water the peppers with warm water, after letting it settle;
- maintain a comfortable air temperature, humidity, and watering regime for the crop;
- carry out preventive spraying to prevent the occurrence of infections and pests. It’s easier to treat peppers a couple of times with harmless solutions than to save them with toxic chemicals and harmless insecticides.
It is clear that it is impossible to predict everything, and not a single gardener will be able to influence precipitation, winds and temperature changes. But anyone can create comfortable conditions for peppers, take care of the soil, high-quality greenhouses, and feed and water the plants in a timely manner. And then there is unlikely to be a problem with yellowing leaves and wilting of peppers.
Natalia Severova
Turn yellow at the edges and curl
Pepper leaves turn yellow and curl if pests have settled on the plant. They also collapse when infected with the tobacco mosaic virus. There is an urgent need to treat the seedlings with Fitosporin or other fungicides.
The reasons for this situation may be uneven growth of foliage due to excess fertilizer or lack of potassium.
Watering
One of the most common reasons why pepper foliage turns yellow is improper watering of the plant. Since the plant itself consists of more than 85% water, excess water content in the soil can lead to characteristic changes in pepper. It should also be understood that a lack of moisture will also worsen the condition of the seedlings and affect the yield. It is very important to get the balance right.
If there is little water in the ground, then the leaves will definitely begin to turn yellow, regardless of the planting location (greenhouse or open ground). If watering is carried out rarely, the plant will not have time to become saturated with moisture, and over time the pagons will begin to fall off along with the flowers and ovary. This means that the harvest may not be harvested at all.
If you do not properly care for the seedlings, then there should be no question as to why the foliage on them has turned yellow.
Depending on the planted pepper variety, you will need to develop a specific watering method, as well as the required volume of water. To do this, it is best to consult with experienced gardeners.
What to feed if pepper leaves dry out and fall off
Fertilizers begin to be applied 2 weeks after planting the peppers. It is useful to sprinkle the soil under them with ash: this is both fertilizing, pest control, soil deoxidation, and improving the taste of the fruit.
If the leaves dry out, apply foliar and root feeding. Fertilize with urea, potassium nitrate, and “Nitroammophos”.
If there is a lack of potassium, peppers will benefit from silty soil, 20 g of which is diluted in a bucket of water.
Useful feeding (per bucket of water):
- superphosphate - 2 tbsp. l.;
- ammonium nitrate - 1 tbsp. l.;
- potassium sulfate (potassium sulfate) - 1.5 tbsp. l.
If the peppers are cold, they will be supported by the preparations “Uniflor Bud”, “Florist micro”, “Aurum-S”.
If there is a lack of iron, the bushes are sprayed with iron chelate or Ferrovit.
The composition will also help:
- iron sulfate - 1 l;
- ascorbic acid - 20 g.
During flowering, 1 kg of manure and 0.5 kg of bird droppings are infused in a bucket of water for a week. The mixture can be used for both spraying and watering.
Plants affected by pests can be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or sprayed with onion tincture:
- onion peel - a glass;
- water - 1 l;
- leave for 24 hours.
Potassium permanganate will also help at the initial stage of root rotting. Later, Trichodermin or Fitosporin will help.
Aphids and spider mites on pepper stems and leaves are visible to the naked eye. They will be destroyed by “Bitoxibacillin”, “Karbofos”, “Keltan” or colloidal sulfur.
There are also traditional methods:
- herbal decoctions (chamomile, saffron, tobacco, yarrow, tansy, wormwood) - 200 grams per 5 liters of water;
- a weekly infusion of pine needles (larch, pine) with water in a ratio of 1⁄4:1, diluted with water (50 g/1 l) before processing the plantings;
- infusions of hot pepper or garlic (100 grams per 1 liter) - 25 g of this concentrate per bucket of water;
- wiping the leaves with alcohol or vodka, spraying with ammonia;
- spraying with tobacco dust, 500 g of which is infused in a bucket of water for 24 hours, diluted with water 1:1 before work.
Laundry soap is added to spraying compositions - 40 grams per 10 liters of product.
If the leaves turn yellow due to high acidity of the soil, add ash (half a glass per 1 m2), chalk or dolomite flour (100 grams per 1 m2) to the ground.
Lack of fertilizer
Often, with its yellowed foliage and weak appearance, pepper signals to you that it is depleted and needs feeding. The need for each mineral and organic substance has its own indicators, which are displayed on the appearance of the crop:
Iron deficiency manifests itself through paleness and fading of foliage. Long-term unsatisfied need for iron leads to yellowing and falling of leaves, freezing the viability of seedlings. This problem can be anticipated and prevented even at the planting stage: if you have chosen clay or calcareous soil for seedlings, you need to treat it with complex fertilizers.
The need for potassium is especially evident during the fruiting period. It is not recommended to feed the crop directly at this time. But a similar phenomenon can also be foreseen: sandy and peat soils for planting peppers must be provided with potassium in advance. The awl-shaped shape of the leaves, slower growth and development of the root system, the appearance of gray-yellow spots on the foliage, and rotting of the tops of pepper fruits indicate the need for calcium fertilization and an overdose of nitrogen and potassium.
Even a novice gardener knows that the main reason for the yellowing of the leaves and shoots of pepper and the appearance of thin curved fruits is a consequence of a lack of nitrogen in the soil. Adding slurry will help prevent this phenomenon.
It is worth paying attention to which parts of the seedlings the foliage turns yellow: yellowing of the lower leaves indicates a lack of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, nitrogen; the need for iron, manganese, boron, zinc is manifested in the yellowing of the upper young leaves
Did you know? Bell peppers are the largest source of vitamin C in the world; even citrus fruits can't compare.
The best step to prevent nutrient deficiencies when planting peppers is to apply complex fertilizers immediately during planting or shortly after it.
A properly organized process of planting and caring for peppers, compliance with all preventive measures will be the key to an amazing harvest.
It should be remembered that the culture is too whimsical and demanding; the plant will immediately tell you about any problem with its appearance. Therefore, the successful cultivation of juicy and aromatic fruits depends on your reserve of attention and patience.
How to care for peppers in a greenhouse?
This crop is a heat-loving plant, but high humidity causes yellowing of the leaves.
To maintain the vital signs of pepper seedlings, you must adhere to several recommendations:
- Ventilate the greenhouse regularly.
- Water with warm and settled water. The fact is that cold water can provoke a violation of the growth rate and a decrease in plant immunity.
- Watering in greenhouse conditions is carried out in the early morning or late evening, when the temperature drops to 25-28 degrees.
- Timely application of mineral fertilizers will help increase the yield of vegetable crops and activate its growth.
