Vegetable gardens aren’t complete without pepper plants. Thousands of dishes can be flavored with them, and they are easy to grow. Salads benefit from mild varieties of bell peppers as healthy snacks. You can add a little or a lot of heat to your dishes with hot varieties. Colorful ingredients add excitement to recipes of all kinds. The pepper is a warm-season crop that is relatively easy to grow, except for a few pests and diseases. To maximize plant health and yields, learn the signs of disease and pest damage when growing sweet or hot peppers.
10 Common Problems With Garden-Grown Peppers
Yellow Leaves on Pepper Plants
It is a fairly generic sign that your plants are unhappy when they have yellow leaves. The most common cause of yellow peppers is a lack of fertility or overwatering. Poor watering techniques could also be to blame. When planting peppers, give them a nice scoop of all-purpose fertilizer. They can also be fertilized biweekly with liquid fish and kelp fertilizer. Cut back on watering if the soil is soggy or waterlogged, and mulch it with compost to improve drainage. You should avoid overhead watering and timer water systems that might drown your plants. Before planting, loosen the soil with a broadfork and compost.
Wilting Pepper Plant Leaves
Pepper plants that are wilting are most likely not getting enough water. Pepper plants may also wilt temporarily in extremely hot temperatures, like over 90 degrees, but will bounce back once temperatures drop if they are adequately watered. Pepper plants with fungal wilt might not have that problem.
Several fungal pathogens can cause wilt in peppers, but verticillium wilt and phytophthora root rot are likely culprits. Yellowing and drooping of leaves are symptoms of verticillium wilt. The edges of leaves may also roll inward as they wilt. To prevent this disease from spreading to nearby plants, it is best to destroy the plant. The soil can also harbor pathogens.
Pest Infestation in Pepper Plants
- Young seedlings are highly vulnerable to cutworms, which are usually the most damaging pests on peppers.
- Under pepper plant leaves, aphids will cluster, excreting honeydew that attracts other insects. In addition, they spread several dangerous viruses, including pepper mottle, cucumber mosaic, tobacco etch, and potato etch.
- In addition to feeding on new, tender pepper pods, both armyworms and fruitworms occasionally eat the foliage.
- There is an attack on young plants by flea beetles. There will be distinct holes in the foliage if they are present. The corn borer destroys pepper pods by getting inside.
- Hornworms can decimate pepper plants but are so large that you can pluck them off by hand. In pepper plants, whiteflies can be extremely destructive.
Most of them can be removed with a soapy water spray or by hand. To prevent bugs and worms from multiplying, you’ll need to inspect your plants frequently for them. Clean and remove dead leaves and debris from the garden area around your pepper plants.
Stunted Growth in Garden Pepper Plants
There are many potential causes for stunted growth, but when combined with these other symptoms, you likely have a viral issue. A mosaic virus can attack peppers, tomatoes, tobacco, and other members of the nightshade family. Remove infected plants immediately. Next, deal with any pest infestations. Aphids predominantly transmit the mosaic virus. A hard blast of water and a diluted neem oil spray are safe and fast fixes to an aphid problem.
Fruit Drop in Pepper Plants
One of the primary causes of fruit drop in pepper plants is inadequate pollination. Pepper plants require proper pollination for the formation and development of fruits. The plant may discard the immature fruits if pollination is inadequate or incomplete. Attracting pollinators like butterflies and bees to the garden to promote effective pollination. Planting flowers that attract these pollinators nearby can help increase fruit set in pepper plants.
In case you missed it: Organic Solutions for Bell Pepper Pests and Diseases
Environmental causes also play a significant role in fruit drop. Extreme hot and cold temperatures can negatively impact fruit development and cause them to fall off prematurely. Excessive heat can lead to blossom drop, where the flowers drop off before fruits can form. Similarly, cold temperatures can damage the developing fruits, leading to premature shedding. Maintaining optimal temperature conditions for pepper plants, typically between 21-29°C, can help prevent fruit drop caused by extreme temperature fluctuations.
Leaf Curling in Pepper Plants
Curled leaves are another sign of distress in pepper plants. The most likely cause of this symptom is a significant aphid infestation. The aphids suck fluid from the leaves and stems of plants. We haven’t experienced serious aphid problems with outdoor pepper plants because their predators usually keep them in check.
In contrast, aphids can cause significant damage to overwintered pepper plants. It is easy for an aphid infestation to take hold in the home due to the high temperature and lack of predators inside. Furthermore, aphids can transmit diseases, such as the Mosaic Virus, which renders pepper plants largely useless. To control their population, you can also coat each pepper plant with neem oil or a soap-based insecticide.
Pepper Plant Diseases and Remedies
- A calcium deficiency and sporadic watering cause blossom end rot. Peppers that ripen in warm, humid conditions are susceptible to ripe rot. Peppers should be harvested before use and stored in a cool place away from direct sunlight.
- The mosaic virus is also a common viral infection that attracts insects. After it has invaded the plant, there is not much that can be done to alleviate this problem. Plants and leaves are stunted and limited in production as a result.
- The powdery mildew usually appears on the undersides of leaves. Conditions that are warm and humid are associated with this disease. To control this, do not water overhead.
Nutrient Deficiencies in Garden Peppers
Insufficient nutrients in the soil can cause several problems, such as browning, chlorosis, slow growth, fruit deformation, and fruit drop. Testing the soil will reveal what nutrients may be lacking. Leaf development depends on nitrogen, root development depends on phosphorus, and flower and fruit production depends on potassium. It is also important to provide calcium to fruit to prevent blossom end rot, a common problem.
A regular soil test and fertilization can help ensure pepper plants receive the nutrients needed to set fruit and develop. It depends on the soil condition and the gardener’s preferences, but Pepper & Herb Fertilizer 11-11-40 Plus Micro Nutrients is the best pepper plant fertilizer. Pepper plants require a balanced ratio of nutrients, which this fertilizer provides.
Fungal Infections in Pepper Plants
- Anthracnose affects a wide variety of crops and ornamentals. The fungus grows in soil and develops round orange, tan, or black leaf lesions.
- Acercospora produces oval spots of tan and red color on all parts of the plant and fruit.
- A wet rot fungus appears as a fuzzy white-to-gray mold on plant parts.
- A lemon-shaped lesion is characteristic of the Phytophthora blight and affects every part of the plant.
- White mold or southern blight causes severe wilting in plants.
Warm temperatures and excessive moisture favor the majority of fungal diseases. Fungicides should be used if necessary, and overhead watering should be avoided.
How to Prevent Blossom End Rot in Peppers
Blossom rot can also wreck the fruit in peppers, although it is more common in peppers. Soil calcium deficiency can cause blossom end rot. The soil can be amended with calcium from eggshells, oyster shells, or gypsum applied before planting. It is also possible for a plant to be calcium deficient due to a problem with calcium uptake. It’s caused by inconsistent watering. Ensure your peppers get a consistent 1 inch (3 cm) of water every week.
In case you missed it: Effective Treatment for Bell Pepper Diseases: Natural and Organic Solutions
Conclusion
In the end, peppers aren’t difficult to grow if they receive plenty of sunlight, fertile soil, and consistent water. Use row fabric or shade cloth to protect your plants from extreme temperatures, fertilize them moderately (but not too much), and space them correctly. It may take a while to fruit peppers, but your patience will hopefully pay off with a bounty of flavorful fruits!.
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