What factors cause wilting of pepper leaves, why do they dry and curl?

It is difficult to observe how yesterday the seedlings bursting with health caused the envy of neighbors, and today the faded leaves of the peppers are curled up in a boat. Sometimes these symptoms are observed in vegetables recently planted in a greenhouse or open ground. What are the reasons and factors that caused such a dramatic change?

Reasons for curling leaf plates in peppers

Why do sweet peppers have leaves curling and sometimes turning them inside out? There are several possible reasons:

• uneven growth;
• lack of trace elements;
• violation of agricultural technology;
• pests;
• viral and fungal diseases.

None of these factors can be ignored, because the health of the plant and, accordingly, the future harvest are at stake.

Uneven growth

Wanting to get the first harvest faster, gardeners are guilty by the fact that at the initial stage of plant growth, they abuse feedings with a high nitrogen content. From an excess of nitrogen or organic fertilizers, the central vein grows faster than the leaf blade itself.

On the one hand, there is nothing wrong - peppers really grow more intensively, over time the leaves will become normal. On the other hand, the oversaturation of the plant with nitrogen entails a violation of the immune system. And this, in turn, is the likelihood of a viral disease or pest invasion.

Lack of trace elements

Abusing nitrogen fertilizers, the owners forget that other microelements are also needed for the harmonious development of sweet pepper:

• Phosphorus - designed to ensure respiration and photosynthesis of plants. Especially required in the early stages of development: promotes root growth, flowering, growth and fruiting. Its lack is manifested by a change in the color of the leaves and stem. The leaf plates are twisted, acquiring a bluish color.
• Potassium - provides resistance to disease and temperature drop. Promotes higher yields. Its deficiency leads to the appearance of yellow-brown spots, necrosis of the edge of the leaf plate.
• Calcium deficiency manifests itself in stopping the growth of roots, leading to their softening, decay. This entails a loss of pigmentation of young leaves, the edges of the leaf plate curl downward, the plant dies.
• Magnesium takes part in the processes of photosynthesis, is responsible for respiration. When it is lacking, "marbling" appears on the leaves.
• Iron promotes the formation of chlorophyll. If this element is not enough, then chlorosis appears. But an excess of iron is also dangerous - in this case, it becomes a poison for the plant.
• Manganese also affects the synthesis of chlorophyll. Its lack leads to the fact that the tips of young leaves turn red and dry out. An excess of this substance makes the leaves light yellow.

In order not to harm the seedlings and the future harvest, they use complex mineral fertilizers for peppers or universal fertilizers for vegetables. They follow the dosage required for growth, development and fruiting.

Agrotechnics

An important role in the health of peppers is played by optimal conditions for growing seedlings first, and then adult peppers. Caring for this crop consists primarily of watering, good lighting and maintaining a suitable temperature.

Lack of sunlight, too low or high temperatures cause the sheet to fold.A lack or excess of moisture leads to the fact that the leaves lose their turgor and go down.

But not only these factors affect the health of seedlings. Correctly selected soil, in which the seeds of the peppers will be sown, and then the young sprouts will dive, plays a major role at the first stage.

The absence or excess of mineral elements in the soil will also negatively affect seed germination and seedling growth.

Pests: aphids and spider mites

The main enemies of bell peppers are aphids and spider mites. In addition, the ground can contain the larvae of various insects, for which the roots of vegetables are a tasty dish.

It is quite simple to recognize damage to plants by these pests:

• If a cobweb has appeared on the peppers, this means that ticks have started.
• When the leaf plates are twisted into a tube, an aphid settlement is visible with the naked eye on the back of the leaf.
• Withering of the bush for no apparent reason indicates that the root system is damaged.

Aphids and spider mites feed on plant juices, especially young upper leaves suffer, since the skin there is still very tender, it is easier to bite through it.

Viral and fungal diseases

Like other vegetables, peppers are susceptible to various diseases:

• fungal - such as black leg, gray rot, late blight, sclerocinia, fusarium;
• bacterial - bacterial black spot;
• viral - tobacco mosaic, stolbur or phytoplasmosis.

The twisting of the leaf plate causes viral infections. At first, infection provokes a growth arrest, unhealthy development of seedlings. The leaves are deformed, covered with yellowing and dark spots - mosaics. At the top, the leaves take on a corrugated shape, become smaller, go down, but do not fall off. The bush becomes ugly.

With a disease of seedlings with stolbur, the leaf plates at the edges are bent up and curled, then turn yellow, then fall off.

There are currently no varieties of sweet peppers that are resistant to phytoplasmosis. On adult bushes, the disease is manifested by deformation of the fruit - the peppers are bent.

What to do when folding leaves?

Before taking measures to eliminate errors that led to the folding and wrinkling of the sheet plates, it is necessary to determine exactly why this is happening. An incorrect diagnosis will not help restore the pepper bush, but will only harm it even more or even destroy it.

When the reason is established, it is necessary to start correcting the situation.

With uneven growth of the leaf plate it is necessary either to leave everything as it is, ceasing to feed the bell peppers with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, or to spill the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate: 1 liter per plant.

With a lack of trace elements - spray the bushes with special preparations or pour with ash infusion (1 liter per plant). The tincture is prepared as follows: 1 glass of sifted ash is dissolved in 10 liters of water, allowed to brew for 3-4 hours. You can simply sprinkle the soil around the bush with ash.

With a deficiency of potassium, it is worth pouring 0.5 liters of potash sulfur solution on each pepper: for 5 liters of water - 1 tbsp. l. drug.

With a lack of phosphorus - 0.8 g of ammophos or 2.8 g of nitrate per liter of liquid.

If the problem is in agricultural technology, then it is important to correct content errors. First of all, provide the seedlings with good lighting. If it is not enough, make supplementary lighting with fluorescent fluorescent lamps or phytolamps. Make sure that the temperature at the first stage is + 20–24 ° С. When sweet peppers grow up, they need to start hardening - lower the temperature by 2-3 degrees. It is important not to overdry the soil - it should dry out by 1-2 cm.

When choosing a planting site for bell peppers in open ground, it must be borne in mind that this culture is very warm and light-requiring. A greenhouse or greenhouse should also be set up in sunny areas. For open ground, you need to prepare a covering material in case of a cold snap or for shading in hot weather.Watering is carried out as the soil dries out. Ventilate the greenhouse and hotbeds regularly.

The best method of protection from pests is prevention. During the sowing stage, not properly treated soil can contain insect larvae or viruses. Therefore, any earth must be roasted in the oven or spilled with boiling water. Various preparations can be used that require the substrate to be shed 2 weeks before planting.

Before planting seedlings in open ground or a greenhouse, the land must be deeply digged in the fall and chemically treated in the spring.

If preventive measures were not enough, then the pests must be urgently destroyed. To prevent the fruits of the pepper from absorbing toxic chemicals, the plants will have to be processed using folk methods:

• Onion peel decoction: pour a liter of peel into a liter jar of peel, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, strain, dilute in 10 liters of liquid with the addition of laundry soap.
• Decoctions from bitter wormwood, tansy, tomato or potato tops are prepared according to the same recipe.
• From the larvae eating the root system, watering with a weak solution of potassium permanganate will help.
• Infusion of garlic and dandelions: scroll a glass of each component in a meat grinder, add a tablespoon of honey, dissolve in a bucket of water, leave for 3-4 hours.

At the seedling stage, you can use insecticides. Dichlorvos helps well against aphids: sprinkle the chemical into a plastic bag, put the seedlings there for 2 hours, tie the bag tightly.

The best cure for viral infections is also prevention, since there is no effective treatment. It is recommended to remove infected bushes with subsequent destruction. At the first sign of infection, you can try to treat the peppers with 3% copper sulfate or garlic infusion, but this does not guarantee success.

Why does pepper wither in the greenhouse?

Not only beginner gardeners are faced with the fact that the pepper begins to wither in the greenhouse. There are several reasons for this:

• Heat. To prevent the culture from suffering from the heat, the greenhouse must be regularly ventilated, but not to arrange drafts, since the bell peppers do not like this.
• It is necessary to water the plants with water having a temperature of at least + 20 ° C, only at the root. Before the beginning of fruiting, the soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings. When the peppers begin to pour, the volume of water should be increased. In hot weather, when the ground dries out faster, watering is necessary more often.
• Verticillium wilting is a fungal disease that affects sweet peppers when grown in one place for more than 5 years without replacing the soil. If this disease manifests itself, you should first change the planting site or soil, treat the seeds with antifungal drugs before planting.
• Top rot - arises from an excess of nitrogen and a lack of calcium. The culture must be fed with calcium-containing preparations.

If the measures taken to save the withering bush do not help and the leaves continue to fold, then the real cause has not been identified. In this case, it is better to remove and destroy the plant.

To correct the mistakes made, you can use various stimulants. They will help the culture not only recover, but also improve immunity. But you should not get carried away and abuse them. It should be understood that such funds have a narrowly targeted effect:

• "Heteroauxin" - enhances the rate of cell division, delays their aging, accelerates the synthesis of ribonucleic acids;
• "Epin" - initiates biochemical transformations, stimulates protein synthesis, activates photosynthesis;
• "Zircon" - improves the absorption of water and nutrients by the root system, increases the rate of photosynthesis;
• gibberellins - accelerate cell division at the top of the stem, increase the growth rate of the plant. They act more intensively than auxins.

When growing any vegetable crops, agricultural techniques should be used that correspond to a specific species. When applying fertilizers and fertilizing, it is necessary to maintain a balance between the components, otherwise their uncontrolled use will only harm the plant. Pay close attention to the development of sweet peppers, then a rich harvest will be a reward for your efforts.