Content
The leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow and fall off for many reasons. Sometimes this process is natural, but more often it is indicative of mistakes made during cultivation.
The list of reasons why the leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow
Pepper seedlings cannot be called unpretentious, they are quite sensitive to any violations made in care. Most often, due to errors in cultivation, the leaves of the culture begin to turn yellow.
Incorrect soil composition
Loose, light and permeable soil with neutral acidity is optimal for the culture. Pepper grows well in soils that are rich in humus and diluted with sand, perlite and vermiculite. When self-preparing the soil, it is recommended to mix humus with turf soil, peat, deciduous sawdust and sand.
But dense and heavy soil with high acidity is not suitable. The leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow, the plant develops poorly and slowly.
Reaction to a pick
Young pepper seedlings have a very sensitive root system. The culture does not tolerate a pick, any damage to the underground part leads to the fact that the seedlings weaken.
If the roots were slightly affected during transplantation, then the plant will be able to cope with the damage, only the cotyledon leaves of the pepper seedlings will turn yellow.
After picking, it is recommended to wait 2-3 days and see if the plant will revive on its own.
But if the leaves continue to turn yellow, then you will need to use growth stimulants - Kornevin, Zircon and others. The preparations stimulate seedlings to regenerate, grow new roots and actively absorb nutrients from the soil.
Irregularities in watering schedule
Seedlings react negatively to both lack and excess of moisture. In both cases, the bell pepper seedlings on the windowsill turn yellow. The soil in the boxes should remain slightly moistened, but drying out and waterlogging should not be allowed.
Pepper water needs settled and soft, room temperature - about 25 ° C. At the bottom of the box, it is imperative to make drainage holes to drain excess moisture. If the window sill is cold, then a wooden board or other material should be placed under the containers to protect the root system from freezing.
Lack or excess of nutrients
Already in the first stages of growth, the culture needs periodic feeding. If the pepper seedlings at home turn yellow, this may indicate a lack of nitrogen. The element is responsible just for the development of green mass. If you urgently need to feed the yellowing pepper seedlings, you can spray the seedlings with a weak solution of ammonia.
But at the same time, the plant also reacts poorly to an excess of nutrients. To understand that there is too much fertilizer in the soil, it is possible by the whitish bloom around the drainage holes, this is how the sediment of mineral salts appears. In this situation, feeding should be completely stopped and for some time the pepper should be supplied only with moisture.
Lack or excess of lighting
At home, pepper seedlings can be difficult to provide high-quality lighting. Most often in the spring, the culture suffers from a lack of sunlight.For full development, seedlings need to receive light for at least 12 hours a day, and daylight hours during their active growth are much shorter. That is why it is customary to illuminate containers with special lamps, this protects the seedlings from yellowing and stretching.
In some cases, the leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow from excessive lighting. In an apartment, even the wind does not take away the excess heat of the sun, which causes the plant to burn.
If the box is on an east or south windowsill, the leaves are especially often overheated in the sun.
Diseases and pests
Outdoor crops are more likely to suffer from fungi and insects. But sometimes pests and diseases affect house plants. This usually occurs due to waterlogging of the soil or initially infested soil.
Bell pepper seedling leaves turn yellow due to the following parasites:
- spider mite, you can recognize the pest by the appearance of a light mesh on the underside of the leaves and white-gray dots on the surface of the plates;
With a spider mite, frequent bumps may appear on the underside of the plates
- aphid, a small pest is able to destroy any seedlings at the root, it can be recognized by yellowing and twisting of the leaves, the insect colonies themselves are clearly visible on the seedlings.
Aphids feed on seedling juices, so they can very quickly destroy pepper.
If the pepper is weakly infested with pests, then you can use a regular soap solution or an infusion of tobacco dust to fight. In case of serious damage, insecticides are used, for example, Actellik or Fitoverm.
Of the diseases, pepper seedlings are most often affected by:
- Downy mildew, dots appear on the leaves, which later merge into light spots, and as a result, the entire plate first turns white, then turns yellow, and then acquires a brown tint.
Downy mildew appears on seedlings under "greenhouse" conditions - waterlogging and high temperatures
- Fusarium, with this disease in pepper, first the tips of the lower leaves turn yellow, and then the ailment rises higher along the stem.
With fusarium wilting, the leaves not only turn yellow, but also wither
Powdery mildew fungus responds well to Fundazole treatment. But with fusarium, diseased seedlings are simply destroyed. For the rest, the soil is changed and preventive treatment with fungicides is carried out.
Why do the lower leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow
Sometimes the lower leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow and fall off, while the upper ones remain green and healthy. If this occurs at a stage of active growth, then, most likely, we are talking about a natural process. The cotyledon leaves are dying, they have already fulfilled their role for the plant and are no longer needed.
But in some cases, yellowing of the lower leaves can still indicate bacterial processes or a lack of nitrogen. In these cases, the yellowness begins to spread up the stem over time.
What to do if pepper seedlings turn yellow
If pepper seedlings turn yellow and shed their leaves, the first step is to determine the most likely cause. To do this, you should:
- analyze the level of lighting in the room;
- assess the degree of soil moisture;
- carefully examine the seedlings for pests and signs of fungal diseases.
When yellowness appears, watering should be adjusted, since most often peppers suffer precisely from a lack or excess of moisture. If pests and fungi are found in the soil and on the leaves, it is urgent to spray the plantings with homemade or chemical agents.
It is impossible to postpone antifungal treatment, the entire box with seedlings may die.
Prevention measures
Yellow spots on the leaves of pepper seedlings are easier to prevent than to fight. Healthy development of culture is ensured by competent prevention:
- To protect against infections and pests, not only the soil, but also the pepper seeds are disinfected before planting. You can use a pink solution of potassium permanganate or fungicidal preparations. It is best to buy material for seedlings, the packaging of which indicates that disinfection has already been carried out by the manufacturer.
- Seedling boxes are thoroughly washed with soda and soap before laying the soil.
- After the appearance of the first shoots, additional lighting is provided so that the daylight hours are at least 12 hours. The box is located in a place where the culture will not be in dense shade, but will not suffer from the bright sun.
- A pick for peppers is carried out only when necessary. It is better to plant the seeds in a separate container from the very beginning. When carrying out transshipment, the roots of seedlings are handled very carefully and they try to keep old clods of earth on them.
- Seedlings are watered as needed. It is not necessary to set a clear schedule, you need to monitor the top layer of the soil, it must remain moist.
Conclusion
The leaves of pepper seedlings turn yellow and fall off due to violations during care. Most often, errors are easy to correct. It is only required to adjust the mode of watering and feeding, as well as provide the seedlings with a sufficient amount of light.
