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Growing good pepper seedlings is tantamount to playing Russian roulette. Even if the gardener creates the most ideal conditions for young plants, problems can still arise with them. After all, pepper is a very capricious culture that reacts painfully even to the smallest changes or mistakes in care. But he cannot show his displeasure, so he shows the gardener in every possible way that he feels bad: his leaves turn yellow and curl, and then the stem also drops. Below we will talk about the reasons for this behavior of pepper seedlings, as well as first aid measures for young plants.
Why pepper seedlings turn yellow
Yellowing of leaves is a normal reaction of any plant to any problems or failures in its growth, and pepper seedlings are no exception to the rule. At the same time, it is important not to miss this signal for help and immediately start saving measures. And for this you need to know why such a situation can arise in general.
But if yellowing began on the middle and upper sheets, then this is a reason to sound the alarm.
Below we will look at the most common causes of yellowing of pepper leaves, as well as ways to help diseased plants. It is important to understand that after the implementation of certain procedures, the yellowed leaves will not turn green. But other leaves, and the plant itself, will feel much better.
Root system problems
In pepper plants, especially in young seedlings, the root system is the weakest point. The most common cause of yellowing of the leaves is precisely the problem with the roots of young plants. Moreover, yellowing of the leaves causes not only dying off or poor root development of seedlingsbut also their excessive growth. In this case, the roots are so strongly intertwined with each other that in the places of interlacing the process of supply of nutrients is disrupted and the roots begin to die off. In addition, the root system of seedlings can be damaged by excessive loosening of the soil.
If the leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow, the first thing to do is to check their root system. To do this, the plant must be pulled out of the pot or planting container as carefully as possible and the roots must be examined. If there are few of them or they are dark in color, then the root system dies. To help the plant, it is necessary to use root formation stimulants. If the roots are white, but strongly intertwined, then you must very carefully try to straighten them.
Lack of nitrogen
If the root system of the pepper is healthy, then the yellowing of the leaves may be caused by a lack of nitrogen. Of all the substances necessary for optimal growth of young plants, pepper is especially sensitive to nitrogen. Pepper absorbs this substance from the ground, therefore, when nitrogen runs out in it, the plants begin to ache.
The simplest and most effective thing to do in case of yellowing of leaves due to a lack of nitrogen is to apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Most often, urea and ammonium nitrate are used for these purposes.
After all, an excess of this substance can also be detrimental to young seedlings. Therefore, you should not often use such fertilizers, much less exceed the recommended dosages.
A solution for feeding young seedlings with urea or ammonium nitrate is quite simple to prepare. For this, a tablespoon of fertilizer is diluted in 10 liters of settled water. The solution prepared according to this recipe turns out to be very weak, so it is suitable not only for watering plants, but also for spraying them.
In addition to urea and ammonium nitrate, Azogran can also be used. It should be used only according to the instructions: 1 granule per plant.
Violation of conditions of care
Leaf yellowing as a reaction to poor care conditions is not uncommon. Young pepper seedlings are quite capricious, so they can rebel even after a slight deviation from the usual care.
Most often, pepper leaves can turn yellow from a sharp drop in temperature. This can be a draft or targeted hardening of seedlings. The lower limit of the permissible temperature for seedlings of this capricious culture will be +12 degrees. If the temperature drops below, then at first the leaves will begin to turn yellow, and then the plant itself will wither.
After that, hardening can be resumed, but the night temperature will have to be kept within the range from +15 to +18 degrees.
In addition, yellowness on the leaves of pepper seedlings may be associated with a violation of the watering process. Moreover, this can be either a lack or an excess of moisture. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to water the seedlings only as needed, when the top layer of the soil dries up. For emerging seedlings and young seedlings, watering once every 5 days will be enough. More mature seedlings require a little more water, so watering should be done every 3 days.
Response to a transplant to a permanent seat
The end result of growing pepper seedlings is planting mature plants in a permanent place, be it a greenhouse or open ground. But even when all the difficulties with young seedlings have already been passed, you can face yellowing of the leaves.
In most cases, this happens when the gardener plants overgrown seedlings in a permanent place. Its roots have already braided the entire planting capacity and they have nowhere to grow. And here, in the open ground or in a greenhouse, new lands open up in front of the roots of plants where you can grow. And they actively begin to creep away, taking away all the forces from the leaves. And the leaves of plants, deprived of the necessary nutrients, begin to fade and turn yellow.
In this case, the plants can be helped by fertilizing with mineral or organic fertilizers. But best of all, plant the seedlings in a permanent place a little earlier, while their root system has not yet occupied the entire planting capacity.
Pest infestation
Pepper seedlings are the best treat for pests like aphids and spider mites. At first, it is rather difficult to guess about the presence of these uninvited guests. While their colonies are very small, they are difficult to see with the naked eye. But with the growth of their population on pepper seedlings, the following characteristic signs can be noticed:
- the presence of a cobweb between adjacent leaves, as well as on the stem of the plant;
- yellowing of the sheet or part thereof, as well as twisting of the sheet plate.
In the presence of these signs, it is impossible to delay the processing of seedlings. After all, these pests are quite gluttonous and can easily destroy young plants. In order to get rid of these insects, there are several time-tested natural recipes:
- Onion tincture... In order to prepare such a tincture, you need to take a liter of water and a glass of onion husks. They must be mixed together and left to infuse for a day. It is necessary to process young seedlings with onion peel tincture every 5 days until the pests recede.
- Garlic tincture with dandelion... For this tincture, you need to mix 1 cup each of garlic, dandelion, and then pour 10 liters of water over them.This solution should be infused for 3 hours, after which they should spray all the seedlings.
But natural remedies are only good when the aphids and spider mites have not yet multiplied much. If their colonies have reached an impressive scale, then it is worth seeking help from chemicals with an insecticidal effect. Many gardeners speak well of Aktar and Bi-58.
You also need to take care of personal protective equipment in advance, such as gloves and a respirator.
The best way to prevent these pests is to inspect the seedlings. After all, when insects are not enough, getting rid of them is much easier.
The considered causes of yellowing of the leaves of pepper seedlings in most cases appear as a result of improper care of these sensitive seedlings. In order to avoid the most common mistakes, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the video about the features of its cultivation before planting this crop:
