Pepper is one of the favorite cultures in Russian vegetable gardens. It is not very whimsical, but to get healthy fruits you need to first grow strong and healthy seedlings. Sometimes the stems begin to bend to the ground, the leaves fall, the plant gradually dies. To prevent this condition, you need to understand why young pepper seedlings fall, adult plants wither and turn yellow, how to deal with it.
Possible mistakes when planting and caring for pepper and overcoming them
Peppers often fall due to the following care errors when growing:
- Excess fertilizers, especially nitrogen-containing. With mineral top dressing, you need to be careful to observe a dosage of 0.5 g per 1 liter of water. If the seedlings begin to stretch due to the high content of fertilizers, this process can no longer be stopped.
- Excessive watering. Because of this, the roots and stems rot, a fungal infection begins to develop, pepper falls because of this, fruiting does not occur. In case of a mild defeat, seedlings need to be dug up, the damaged roots removed and transplanted to a new place, having previously sanitized the root system and the ground on the site.
- Lack of moisture. The leaves of bell pepper fall because of this, the roots become dry, the stems bend. A sufficient amount of water should be checked regularly. To do this, you can stick a match into the ground. If the soil sticks, there is enough fluid. When the stick is dry, you need watering.
- The operation of heating appliances installed next to the culture. This leads to dehydration of plant cells. It is necessary to increase the number of irrigation, remove heaters away from plants.
- Watering seedlings with cool water. Young plants have not yet had time to grow stronger, from such actions may even die. Water should not be lower than + 20 ... +25 ° C.
- Cramped when grown in containers or thickened plantings when developing on beds.
- Cold drafts.
Pepper can be grown at home for seedlings or immediately in open nutrient ground. In the latter case, it is recommended to plant the crop in a greenhouse or greenhouse, as there you can create the most suitable microclimate for proper development. So that the stems do not bend, it is necessary to ensure the following conditions:
- When germinating seeds, the temperature should vary between + 25 ... +27 ° C. After the appearance of the first sprouts, it must be reduced to +20 ° C.
- Like any other plant, pepper needs light for photosynthesis. When growing in a greenhouse or in a greenhouse, you need to install devices for additional lighting. They are placed at a height of 50-60 cm from the tops of the bushes.
- Humidity should vary between 60-65%.
Subject to these rules, sweet Bulgarian and bitter pepper will actively develop, will give a good harvest.
Diseases of peppers and their treatment
The stalks of pepper can bend to the ground with a black leg disease. Its pathogens are in the ground and affect weakened or immature specimens.
First, the submuscular knee rots (the basal part). It becomes thinner and blackens, then the tissues become watery and soften. With a severe defeat, the stems become sluggish and fall. The following factors contribute to the development of the disease:
- cold water for irrigation;
- contaminated soil;
- insufficient soil moisture;
- lack of fresh air.
Black leg treatment:
- Prepare a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Water them with a plant until symptoms disappear.
- Loosen the earth and spud the earth around the root neck.
- Sprinkle the soil with wood ash.
- If the disease is weak, treat the bushes with Fundazole. The solution is prepared according to the instructions on the package.
- When a large number of seedlings are infected, they need to be dived into separate pots with disinfected soil. For 5-6 days, put in a dark place, after rooting, transfer to the sun. The first watering is done with the addition of Maxim or Fitosporin preparations.
Also, a drop in pepper can occur with the development of fusarium. It affects the plant at all stages (from the beginning of the emergence of seedlings). Due to infection, the foliage turns yellow and fades from below, if you cut the stem, you can see the brown ring.
With a mild defeat of Fusarium, the following agents can be used:
- Agate-25K - destroys the causative agent of the disease, promotes rapid growth and good productivity;
- Fitosporin-M - used for preplant planting of soil and seeds, watering seedlings;
- Trichodermin - used before sowing and for the prevention of infections;
- Maxim - for seed treatment;
- Bactofit - normalizes the microflora in the soil, does not allow pathogens to develop;
- Potassium humate - an organomineral mixture of lowland peat, is introduced into the ground.
With a severe defeat, these methods and alternative methods will not be effective. Plants can not always be saved, but you can try the following potent chemicals:
- Abiga Peak;
- Acrobat MC;
- Quadris;
- Home, etc.
If the listed funds do not help, diseased plants need to be dug up and destroyed. The piece of land where they grew up is sanitized. This is necessary so that other crops in the garden are not infected (for example, eggplant, cabbage, etc.).
Another disease is verticillosis. This is a fungal infection that causes reduced growth, fading of leaves, their withering and decay. First, the lower green dries, on it there is a limited chlorotic spotting, eventually affecting the entire aerial part. If the disease is not treated, the bushes will die.
The following chemicals for spraying and watering are used from verticillin wilt:
- Vitaros;
- Fundazole;
- Topsin-M;
- Previkur;
- Maksim.
Fungicides are used according to the instructions on the package.
Maintenance work
Preventive measures help prevent the fall of pepper seedlings. To avoid problems, you must follow these recommendations:
- Sanitize seeds before sowing. To do this, they need to be wrapped in gauze and lowered for several hours in a solution of potassium permanganate or growth stimulants.
- Infections that provoke kink of shoots develop in soil with an increased level of acidity. To lower the pH, add wood ash to the ground. In addition, it has antibacterial properties.
- Water pepper only with warm, settled water. It is desirable that it be melt or rain.
- To prevent crust formation, the soil must be loosened periodically.
- After any gardening work, sterilize all instrumentation.
To avoid infection, follow these safety precautions:
- for cultivation, acquire varieties resistant to diseases (Swallow, Agapovsky, Elephant, Hercules, Orange Miracle and others);
- store seed in a dry, ventilated area;
- sanitize the land and seeds before planting; • inspect plants daily for timely detection of diseases, if they are detected, proceed to immediate control with available methods;
- observe the interval between the bushes to prevent thickening;
- Do not overfill plants.
Summing up, we can conclude that the fall of pepper seedlings occurs due to errors in the maintenance and care. Even fusariosis, verticillosis, and the black leg, which provoke the bending of the stems and the drying of the plant, develop for the same reasons.
To get a rich and healthy crop that does not have to be ripened, you need to follow the simple rules and recommendations listed above.
