Why does pepper wither in the open field and what to do to save your crop

Appetizing and healthy bell pepper dishes from your own garden, without chemicals and 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, we will figure out why peppers wither in the open field and how to deal with this phenomenon.

Why bushes and pepper leaves wither in the beds

The homeland of pepper is Central America. Its fruits are bright, juicy, full of vitamins, but the plant itself is capricious and thermophilic and requires careful care. His varieties differ in yield, germination time and fruit size.

The viability of the plant is affected:

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

Insect pests have a detrimental effect... Even if you want to grow a vegetable environmentally friendly, you should not neglect pesticides, otherwise the fruit will be eaten before you or the sprout will be destroyed even 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 for peppers, you should find out the source of the problem.... The cause of wilting can be determined by the appearance of the affected plants, soil characteristics and current weather conditions.

Diseases

Among the most common diseases affecting pepper, - white rot, late blight, gray rot, macrosporiosis, black leg, septoria, as well as fusarium and verticillary wilting.

White rot, or sclerotinosis

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

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

Late blight

Characterized by large brown spots along the edge of the leaf with a white cobweb bloom 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 is more fond of the second half of summer and autumn, high temperature 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, the humidity rises to an extreme level, which guarantees the development of diseases. 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 bloom of sporulation.

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

Macrosporiasis

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

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

Blackleg

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

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

Septoria, or white spot

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

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

Fusarium wilting

When fusarium wilting the leaves turn yellow, wither and shriveled... Further, the leaves acquire a pale green or yellow-brown color, and darker depressed areas surround the peduncle. The result is the complete death of foliage.

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

Verticillary wilting

The infected plant does not grow well before flowering., the areas between the leaves are shortened, and the lowermost leaves turn dark green and mottled. Over time, 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 lethargic. Microorganisms remain viable for up to 15 years.

The plant can become infected with careless transplanting - the infection gets into the wounds or roots.

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

Pests

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

Melon aphid

Small, inconspicuous dots on the leaf sometimes capture 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.

Slugs

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

Spider mite

It's hard to see him until he starts weaving. Mite envelops leaves and fruits with its net, also sucking out all the juices. The plant has no chance of productive growth after its attack.

Colorado beetle

Colorado potato beetle lives mainly on potatoes... But if you decide to plant peppers nearby, the chances of finding a beetle on it is high. Also, the beetle can move 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 did the peppers turn purple

Why does pepper rot on a bush

Agrotechnical errors

Agronomic mistakes are another reason for wilting plants from novice gardeners.

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

Pepper is unable to withstand a long 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 the favorable environment for fungal infections.

Leaves can wither due to lack of nutrients:

1. Lack of nitrogen is expressed in a pale green color and slow growth, rigid straightness of 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 completely, and the root system will not develop. An excess of phosphorus, which is rare, prevents zinc and iron from being properly absorbed.
3. The lack of potassium is characterized by a yellowing border of the leaves and their gradual drying, while the excess slows down growth and interferes with the absorption of zinc, manganese, boron.
4. Without calcium, the upper leaves turn yellow, become subulate, and the lower ones do not develop at all. The excess prevents the absorption of boron, iron, nitrogen and potassium.
5. Magnesium deficiency is characterized by brown spots on yellow leaves.
6. 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 put a thermometer next to it. It is important to monitor the humidity and light levels, since pepper is a light-loving plant.

Treatment methods

There is a different method of treatment for every problem.... The main thing is to notice the disease in time and begin to eliminate it. What to do to save the harvest?

Agrotechnical methods

Watch out for moderate soil moisture, avoid waterlogging and drought. It is useful to periodically remove withered diseased leaves until the disease spreads to the stem.

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

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

Traditional methods

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

Spider mite - a mixture of minced dandelion leaves (1 cup) and garlic or onions, dissolved in 10 liters of water with a spoonful of soap.

The slugs will leave the soilsprinkled with slaked lime.

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

Chemicals

Preparations containing copper will help to overcome late blight, fusarium wilting - copper-containing fungicides. Experienced gardeners advise using the biofungicide "Trichodermin" in the amount of 2 g per plant.

Preparations help well against pests "Keltan" and "Karbofos", bred according to the instructions in 10 liters of water, but 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 drugs "Barrier", "Oxyhom", "Fundazol" - in accordance with the instructions.

Prevention of wilting pepper

Prevention begins with proper planting... In the middle latitudes, pepper is grown only by seedlings, and then - in a greenhouse, in a soil specially prepared a year before. You need to plant at a distance of at least 3 cm from each other.

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

Use only 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 fruitingby following the advice of experienced gardeners:

1. Pay close attention to the quality of the seeds. If you are not sure of them, before sowing for disinfection, first hold for 20 minutes in potassium permanganate, and then, after thoroughly rinsing with water, for 12 hours in the preparation "Zircon".
2. Do not plant seedlings too early. The optimal time is between mid-March and early April. In this case, you will keep the plant in a stuffy room much less.
3. Remove plant parts left in the soil after harvest. Some of them can leave on themselves disease-causing fungi, bacteria and viruses that are not afraid of winter. Crop rotation may not be enough - only burning all plant residues will be an effective solution.

Conclusion

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