Why peppers wither in open ground and what to do to save your harvest

Appetizing and healthy dishes made from bell peppers from your own garden, without chemicals or additives - what could be tastier? Many summer residents decide to grow paprika without going into the rules and nuances of this very difficult process. But instead of juicy and bright fruits, they see withered bushes in the beds.

To prevent this from happening in your garden, let’s figure out why peppers wither in open ground and how to deal with this phenomenon.

Why do the bushes and pepper leaves in the garden beds wither?

Pepper is native to Central America. Its fruits are bright, juicy, full of vitamins, but the plant itself is capricious and heat-loving and requires careful care. His varieties differ in yield, germination time and fruit size.

Affects the viability of the plant:

• incorrectly selected soil;
• lack of light;
• too frequent watering;
• non-compliance with temperature conditions, drafts;
• dry air.

Insect pests have a detrimental effect. Even if you want to grow a vegetable organically, you should not neglect pesticides, otherwise the fruit will be eaten before you or the sprout will be destroyed before the ovary appears. Bacterial diseases are also a common cause of wilting.

Attention! When growing peppers, be prepared for the fact that some of them will die for no apparent reason - due to natural selection, that is, as the weakest in the group.

Causes of the problem

To choose a treatment method for peppers, you should find out the source of the problem.. The cause of wilting can be determined by the external signs of the affected plants, soil characteristics and current weather conditions.

Diseases

Among the most common diseases affecting peppers, – white rot, late blight, gray rot, macrosporiosis, blackleg, septoria, as well as fusarium and verticillium wilt.

White rot, or sclerotinia

Affects the root part of the plant. White fungal mycelium covers the affected areas in a continuous layer, after which black formations appear - sclerotia (hence the name).

Diseased fruits can be distinguished immediately: watery, soft, with a flaky coating. The good news is that white rot usually kills only some plants, but not all. However, it persists in the soil and on affected leaves.

Late blight

Characterized by large brown spots along the edge of the leaf with a white cobwebby coating of spores on the back, brown and retracted spots on the stems, rot on the fruits. Infection most often occurs from diseased potato plantings, spread by spores that eventually destroy the entire plant.

Late varieties are more susceptible to infection, since the pathogen prefers the second half of summer and autumn, high temperatures during the day and low at night, high humidity and frequent precipitation.

Gray rot

Appears in plants grown in a film greenhouse. Due to the dense material, humidity rises to extreme levels, which guarantees the development of diseases. A humidity of 80% and a temperature of 10-15°C causes damage to the stems and leaves, primarily the lower ones: brown spots appear with a grayish coating of sporulation.

Pathogens spread through spores wind, water and lumps of contaminated soil.

Macrosporiasis

There are varieties of peppers that are resistant to macrosporiosis, but not all have immunity. The disease is characterized by brown spots on wilting leaves.. Inside you can see a pattern of concentric rings, an increase in the number of which indicates the imminent death of the leaf.

It spreads in warm, humid weather (heat and precipitation). Transmitted through contaminated soil, potato tubers and dry impurities in seeds.

Blackleg

The symptoms of blackleg are clear from the name: The disease affects the stem. It becomes covered with black spots and becomes thinner, the leaves become yellow, and the sprout gradually dies or produces much less yield than a healthy one.

The infection spreads through the soil and is especially dangerous for young shoots. Develops in too moist soil at temperatures from +5°C.

Septoria or white spot

Capable of destroying up to half of the entire crop. It is characterized by white spots with a brownish-purple edge on the leaves, in which spores later form. Over time, the affected leaves become completely white, dry out (first the lower ones, then the upper ones), and the plant dies.

Infection develops in hot and rainy weather. The pathogen does not leave the soil for a long time.

Fusarium wilt

At fusarium wilt leaves turn yellow, wither and droop. Next, the leaves turn pale green or yellow-brown, and the stalk is surrounded by darker depressed areas. The result is the complete death of foliage.

This is due to a fungus, which enters the vessels of the stems through the roots. The plant begins to wilt a few days after infection. The disease lasts as long as plant immunity and weather conditions allow.Once it has conquered a territory, the infection can remain in the soil and on plant debris for several years.

Verticillium wilt

Before flowering, the infected plant grows poorly, the areas between the leaves are shortened, and the lowermost leaves become dark green and mottled. Over time, the pathogenic fungi move to the top, affecting the entire plant. They interfere with the formation of ovaries, and the fruits, even if they appear, will be small and sluggish. Microorganisms remain viable for up to 15 years.

The plant can become infected if it is not carefully replanted. – the infection gets into the wounds or onto the roots.

Attention! The favorable environment for the development of verticillium is about 25°C heat and unmoistened soil, which is why July and August are considered the most dangerous months.

Pests

In addition to fungal diseases, insect pests pose a danger. The most common are melon aphids, slugs, spider mites and the Colorado potato beetle.

melon aphid

Small, inconspicuous dots on the leaf sometimes cover the entire sprout, appearing on the stems, leaves and flowers. bug sucks the juices out of the plant, causing the leaves to wither, curl and dry out.

Slugs

They attack the plant in smaller quantities, than aphids, but this does not reduce the amount of damage. Slugs They gnaw leaves and fruits, preventing them from developing. Additionally, land mollusks infect the plant with bacterial diseases.

Spider mite

It's hard to notice him until he starts weaving a web.. Mite It envelops leaves and fruits with its network, also sucking out all the juices. After its attack, the plant has no chance of productive growth.

Colorado beetle

The Colorado potato beetle lives mainly on potatoes. But if you decide to plant peppers nearby, the likelihood of finding a beetle on it is high. The beetle can also come from eggplants and tomatoes.

Its black and white striped back is hard to miss on the green leaf. The Colorado potato beetle is extremely active: if you ignore its presence in the garden, it can destroy all your plants.

Read also:

Why do peppers turn purple?

Why does pepper rot on the bush?

Agrotechnical errors

Agrotechnical errors are another reason for wilting plants for beginning gardeners.

Due to lack of space in pots that are too small, the root system of seedlings becomes tangled. Undeveloped roots cannot absorb enough nutrients from the soil, even if you regularly water and fertilize the plant.

Peppers cannot tolerate long periods of drought.. Plants should be watered regularly with water at room temperature, otherwise the leaves will wither and fall off. But excess water will also harm the plant - due to a favorable environment for fungal infections.

Leaves may wilt due to lack of nutrients:

1. Nitrogen deficiency is reflected in pale green color and slow growth, stiff straight leaves and yellow veins. An excess stimulates the development of green mass to the detriment of fruits.
2. If the plant lacks phosphorus, the leaves and stems become brick-purple and wrinkled. If you do not pay attention to the problem, the stem will become thinner and the root system will not develop. An excess of phosphorus, which is rare, prevents zinc and iron from being properly absorbed.
3. A lack of potassium is characterized by a yellowing border of the leaves and their gradual drying out, while an excess slows down growth and interferes with the absorption of zinc, manganese, and boron.
4. Without calcium, the upper leaves turn yellow, become awl-shaped, and the lower ones do not develop at all. Excess prevents the absorption of boron, iron, nitrogen and potassium.
5. Magnesium deficiency is characterized by brown spots on yellow leaves.
6. A lack of boron prevents leaves, shoots and roots from growing, deforming them. Sometimes the plant cannot absorb it due to a long drought or improper calcium fertilization.

Air temperature is a significant factor. Leaves may wilt from extreme heat or cold. Drafts also cause problems, so it is recommended to protect the plant from them and place a thermometer nearby. It is important to monitor air humidity and light levels, since pepper is a light-loving plant.

Treatment methods

Each problem has its own treatment method. The main thing is to notice the disease in time and begin to eliminate it. What to do to save the harvest?

Agrotechnical methods

Maintain moderate soil moisture, avoid overmoistening and drought. It is useful to periodically remove withered, diseased leaves before the disease spreads to the stem.

Follow next to the plants: It is better not to plant peppers next to potatoes. Periodically destroy weeds that interfere with the proper development of bushes.

If the seedlings are planted in small containers, carefully replant into larger pots without damaging the root system, and do not place the containers themselves too close to each other. A mirror or a sheet of foil installed opposite will allow you to provide the plants with light so that they reflect the sun's rays directly onto the sprouts.

Traditional methods

The plant is treated against aphids with a solution tobacco dust or wood ash - 1 glass per 10 liters of water. The solution is infused for 24 hours, after which a spoonful of soap is added.

From spider mites – a mixture of dandelion leaves (1 cup) and garlic or onion minced through a meat grinder, dissolved in 10 liters of water with a spoon of soap.

Slugs will leave the soil, sprinkled with slaked lime.

Attention! In case of infectious diseases, plants cannot be saved: it is better to dig them up with soil and burn them, so as not to harm the next plantings.

Chemicals

Preparations containing copper will help overcome late blight., Fusarium wilt – copper-containing fungicides. Experienced gardeners advise using the Trichodermin biofungicide in a volume of 2 g per plant.

Medicines help against pests "Keltan" and "Karbofos", diluted according to the instructions in 10 liters of water, however, they are used strictly before or after flowering. After harvesting the fruits - “Commander” (chemical granular metaldehyde).

For diseases, the plant can be sprayed with calcium nitrate or the drugs “Barrier”, “Oxychom”, “Fundazol” - in accordance with the instructions.

Prevention of pepper wilting

Prevention begins with proper planting. In mid-latitudes, peppers are grown only as seedlings, and then in a greenhouse, in soil specially prepared a year before. They need to be planted at a distance of at least 3 cm from each other.

Particular attention should be paid to the soil if diseased plants previously grew in it. It is not recommended to plant peppers in place of potatoes, eggplant or tomatoes. Good predecessors are carrots, dill and onions.

Use only high-quality and proven seeds from healthy fruits, choose disease-resistant varieties and hybrids.

Useful tips

You can provide peppers with a favorable environment for development and fruiting, following the advice of gardeners with experience:

1. Be careful about the quality of your seeds.If you are not sure about them, before sowing, for disinfection, first soak for 20 minutes in potassium permanganate, and then, after thoroughly rinsing with water, for 12 hours in the Zircon preparation.
2. Don't plant seedlings too early. The optimal time is between mid-March and early April. In this case, you will spend much less time keeping the plant in a stuffy room.
3. Remove plant parts remaining in the soil after harvesting. Some of them can leave behind pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses that are not afraid of winter. Crop rotation may not be enough - the only effective solution is to burn all plant residues.

Conclusion

The most important thing in growing peppers is a preliminary study of possible problems. It is necessary to choose the optimal ratio of nutrients, the right soil, monitor humidity and temperature, water regularly and do not forget to inspect the stems and leaves of the seedlings. But even after planting the sprouts in the ground, continue to monitor the condition of the plants.