What to do if pepper leaves turn yellow and fall off

Pepper

Sweet pepper is a capricious garden crop. It is not planted directly in open ground; the seeds are first germinated, and only then the sprouts are transferred to the garden bed. Gardeners often encounter yellowing leaves on pepper seedlings, even though they've chosen proven seeds and the conditions are favorable. To understand why chlorosis (a condition that causes yellowing leaves on a previously healthy plant) develops, it's important to analyze the quality of care.

The main reasons for yellowing of seedlings and methods of “treatment”

When growing garden crops for planting outdoors or in a greenhouse, similar mistakes are made. For example, inexperienced gardeners sow seeds too frequently and then damage the roots. Or experienced gardeners choose the wrong variety.

What to do when pepper leaves turn yellow depends on the cause of the chlorosis. Consider the soil quality, watering frequency, early symptoms of disease, and signs of pest infestation.

Unsuitable soil

Pepper seedlings first have yellowing leaf tips, and then the entire leaf 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 soil density is too high, making it difficult for nutrients, moisture and oxygen to reach the root system.

Attention!

Peppers drop leaves when the soil is too acidic or too acidic. Sometimes, determining the required soil parameters is necessary through trial and error at the planting stage. germination of seedlings — each variety has its own pH value.

Soil problems arise with seedlings in boxes or pots, mature plants in greenhouses, and outdoor plants. To help the plants survive, use the following methods:

If pepper seedlings are turning yellow If the leaves are still standing, but they don't fall off or dry out, it's assumed the minerals added to the boxes (pots) have been exhausted. In this case, add an additional dose of complex fertilizer to the bed. Potassium nitrate is sufficient for the box containing the young seedlings.
Even specially purchased soil can be contaminated. To prevent disease development, seedlings are carefully removed, the roots are dipped in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate for 10-12 minutes, the soil is baked in the oven, and then sprayed with a 3% concentration of potassium permanganate. After disinfection, the soil is ready for sowing seeds.
It's impossible to calcine the soil in an open field or greenhouse. In this case, industrial herbicides and potassium permanganate sprays are used for disinfection.
Bell pepper leaves turn yellow and dry out when the soil is heavy. If you prepare the bed in advance, this won't cause any problems. The area prepared for planting is dug over in the fall and rotted manure is added. In the spring, the soil is loosened again, adding sand, peat, and wood ash. This improves drainage without reducing fertility.

Yellowing pepper leaves, while the veins remain green, are caused by a deficiency of trace elements—iron, sulfur, zinc, manganese, sulfur, and boron. In this case, fertilize with Cytovit, Humate-7, and Kristallone.

Watering errors

To ensure that watering stimulates growth rather than leaf drop, allow the water to settle and warm up beforehand. Ideally, the water temperature should be between 22-25°C (72-77°F). It's recommended to do all work in the morning, before sunrise, to allow the moisture to soak into the soil before the air temperature drops. Avoid overwatering, as excess water will cause leaves to dry out and fall off, and roots to rot.

To determine the correct watering schedule, dig a hole in the garden bed, take a small amount of soil, and squeeze it in your fist. If it crumbles, it needs more moisture; if it turns into liquid mud, refrain from watering.

Attention!

Avoid over-spraying pepper seedlings on the leaves—direct the stream of water at the roots. Apply gently to avoid exposing the still-weak roots.

Incorrect lighting

For this reason, the leaves of pepper seedlings and greenhouse plants turn yellow. Even if the seedlings are growing on a well-lit windowsill, they don't get enough light. Seeds are planted in February-March, when daylight hours are short. You can extend this by installing a fluorescent lamp or a special grow light. Light the lamp from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This method of germination promotes early fruiting. The lamp should be at least 60 cm from the plants. If the distance is less, the pepper leaves will burn.

Supplemental lighting can also be installed in the greenhouse during cloudy days. The upper leaves will quickly recover and turn green. However, if prolonged cloudy weather is the cause of yellowing leaves on peppers grown outdoors, nothing can be done. You'll have to wait for the clouds to clear.

Temperature changes

Pepper leaves turn yellow and fall off in cool weather. A comfortable growing temperature is 22-27°C during the day and no lower than 18°C at night. The same microclimate should be created in the room where the seedlings are growing. When the temperature drops below 13°C, the plant dies.

Beginning gardeners often overlook the fact that the room itself is warm, but the windowsill is cold. This disrupts the plant's nutrition, and the lower leaves turn yellow and fall off. Simply placing newspapers under the boxes or pots containing the seedlings will solve the problem.

After planting in a greenhouse bed, carefully close the frames, and when planting outdoors, cover the seedlings with agrotextile on cold nights. Mulch can be used, but it will be difficult to remove later.

Drafts have a negative impact. To avoid them, greenhouse windows are opened only on one side, and either the door or the window in the room where the seedlings are kept is opened wide.

Root damage

Leaves turn yellow and fall off when the root system is damaged. Roots can be damaged by overzealous loosening, excessively strong water jets, poor transplanting, or transplanting.

To preserve the harvest, beginning gardeners are advised to sow seeds not in communal boxes, but in individual containers or peat pots. Seedlings grown in this manner are transferred to a prepared plot along with a lump of soil.

To ensure uniform growth, the container (or individual pots) is rotated regularly. A few days before transplanting, fertilize with calcium nitrate at a ratio of 1 tablespoon to 1 liter of settled water. Before applying the fertilizer, spray the above-ground portions with clean water and water the soil. If planting in the ground is too early but the seedlings need to be transferred to individual containers, choose containers with a working volume of at least 1 liter.

Error when transferring to the garden bed

Lower leaves turn yellow when planted too deep. This prevents the roots from supplying sufficient moisture to the above-ground portions of the plant, disrupting metabolic processes and slowing photosynthesis. The recommended planting depth for established seedlings is 1.5-2 cm.

Also, don't plant seedlings too close together, otherwise the roots won't have enough room to develop. The recommended distance between holes is 30 cm.

Pests and diseases

Insects that love pepper leaves include spider mites, aphids, and thrips. Folk remedies are only effective in the early stages of infestation. During this time, solutions of ammonia and soap, baking soda, potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide, and strong-smelling essential oils are helpful. Once the colony has multiplied, use industrial insecticides such as Akarin, Intavir, Fitoverm, and similar products.

Symptoms of various diseases in peppers can be identified by leaf drop and curling of the edges. If the seedlings are still in the container, the diseased seedlings should be removed from the main container, and the healthy ones should be sprayed as a preventative measure. However, folk remedies are no longer effective—chemical treatments are required. The same treatment is recommended for infestations in open ground or a greenhouse.

Attention!

If the plant is infected with fungal infections, such as late blight, it should be sprayed with Fitosporin, Oxychom, or Ridomil. If pepper leaves are dropping due to phytoplasmosis, color mosaic, or viral diseases, the pepper will be unusable. Medications are ineffective against these diseases, and the planting will have to be discarded.

No help needed

Pepper seedlings are losing their lower leaves, called cotyledons, due to natural aging. These yellow leaves are no longer needed by the seedlings—the plant has grown strong enough and is ready to be transplanted to the ground. In this case, the stem and remaining green leaf blades are sufficiently turgid, with no signs of drying or rotting.

If the first pair of upper leaves hasn't formed and the seedlings' undersides have turned yellow, it's important to investigate the cause. As mentioned earlier, these could include improper watering, temperature fluctuations, hypothermia, pests, and diseases. In the latter case, the seedlings cannot be saved.

Peculiarities of growing peppers in a greenhouse

In addition to the above-mentioned causes, yellowing pepper leaves in a greenhouse can be caused by overcrowding of different types of cultivated plants. The soil quickly becomes depleted, photosynthesis is disrupted, and chlorophyll production ceases. High humidity in a greenhouse increases the risk of diseases that cause rot. To ensure a good harvest, it's important to prepare for the planting season in advance. In the fall, the greenhouse is disinfected, the soil is tilled, and organic fertilizer is added—peppers "love" well-rotted manure or humus. In the spring, the frames are washed with a solution of potassium permanganate, debris is removed, and infected plants are disposed of.

Peppers in greenhouses are often attacked by spider mites. Symptoms include yellow mosaic spots on the leaves and a white web-like coating under which the microscopic insects move.

In the initial stages of infestation, you can avoid chemicals by spraying the above-ground parts with a solution of 10 liters of water and 500 g of tobacco crumbs (Prima is best). Let it sit for 24 hours, then stir in a quarter of a bar of grated laundry soap. Dissolve it, and strain everything. There's no need to dilute the working solution.

To avoid digging up the soil in the greenhouse, use Agrovit for fertilizer—one granule is buried under each bush. If photosynthesis is impaired by bright sunlight, treat the above-ground portions of the plants with Epin.

Attention!

With a phosphorus deficiency, the leaves are not yellow, but turn purple-violet.

Prevention of chlorosis

Avoid planting peppers in the same area for several years. Instead, plan the bed where cabbage, onions, or other greens grew last season.

The ideal moisture option for this vegetable crop is drip irrigation. In a greenhouse, humidity should be maintained at 60%. This is sufficient for plant development, but insects require dry air to reproduce.

If you disinfect the soil beforehand for growing seedlings, clean and fertilize the bed in a greenhouse or open area, avoid using cold water for watering, and treat the plants at the first sign of disease or pests, your pepper leaves will not turn yellow.