Many vegetable growers grow peppers, since this vegetable is very often used for preparing various dishes and salads. Various problems may arise during the cultivation of this plant. Quite often its leaves begin to change color and turn purple. To get rid of this problem, you need to understand why they change their color.
Causes
Many gardeners are seriously surprised when they see seedlings that have a lilac hue. Regular varieties of peppers cannot have this color. There is more than one reason why leaves may turn purple or purple.
Temperature changes
One of the main reasons for this problem is sudden temperature changes. Due to the sudden cold snap, the leaves begin to curl into a tube and darken. Over time they will take on a lilac color and turn purple.
Most often, leaves with this shade appear when pepper is planted early in open ground. At growing peppers in a greenhouse the leaves darken much less often. However, this can also happen in a greenhouse if it is not insulated enough. To preserve the bushes, it is necessary to immediately restore the optimal temperature.
Anthocyanosis
Anthocyanosis appears if the pepper lacks phosphorus. Because of this, young seedlings begin to gradually degrade and die. Phosphorus is an essential substance that is necessary for the normal growth and development of bushes. It is not only the main energy source of the plant, but also controls all its metabolic processes. Phosphorus is very important for peppers as it stimulates fruit set, flowering and the root zone. In addition, it is responsible for the accumulation of sugar in ripened fruits.
The lower leaves of the bush can signal a lack of nutrients, since they are the first to begin to change their color. The stem of the bush can also change color.
Other signs include curling of the leaves towards the stem or upward. If you do not get rid of anthocyanosis in a timely manner, the stem will become more hairy and brittle. The root system may also be damaged. Over time, it becomes weaker and absorbs nutrients from the soil less well.
Maintaining temperature in the greenhouse
Many people don't know what to do if their pepper leaves are purple. To prevent color changes in peppers, it is necessary to constantly monitor the temperature.
Temperature norm
The optimal daytime temperature should be about 20-25 degrees. In the evening, this indicator may be lower by 3-5 degrees. Many novice vegetable growers try to increase the temperature inside the greenhouse to improve the growth of the bushes. However, this can only harm the plant and lead to its death.
You should also monitor the soil temperature. It is necessary that it does not fall below 14 degrees and not exceed 25 degrees. With a serious decrease in these indicators, phosphorus starvation of plants may begin.
Methods of temperature regulation
Quite often, purple leaf veins appear due to low temperatures. There are several ways to quickly raise it a few degrees:
- Application of additional layers of film at night. They are placed at a distance of about 5 cm from the main layer. To secure them, it is better to use fasteners for plastic films. With the help of such additional protection, an air cushion is formed that will protect the greenhouse from the cold outside air.
- Limit the amount of air above the bell pepper bushes using an additional small greenhouse. Its frame can be made from small wooden rods or wire with a diameter of 3-4 mm. As a coating, you can use a solid film with a thickness of at least 0.5 mm. To avoid creating too high a temperature under the additional greenhouse, it should be ventilated periodically.
- To increase the soil temperature by several degrees, you need to mulch it. This can be done using spunbond or film. This way the temperature will increase by 1-2 degrees and the pepper will not turn blue.
Raising the temperature in the greenhouse must be done very carefully. Especially on hot days, as this can damage the pepper bushes and lead to burns.
Pepper feeding
Quite often, the leaves turn blue due to a lack of phosphorus and other nutrients, so it is necessary to feed the pepper properly. Before you feed the plant, you need to familiarize yourself with how to do it correctly.
First feeding
You need to start adding fertilizers to the soil before planting the seedlings. To do this, add 200 grams of ash, a bucket of compost, a teaspoon of potassium sulfate and a tablespoon of superphosphate per square meter of land.
The next feeding is carried out only 20 days after planting the seedlings in the ground. From now on, it is recommended to use fertilizers with increased amounts of phosphorus to prevent purple spots on the leaves in the future. A solution prepared from 15 g of carbonite, 10 liters of water and 3 g of superphosphate is poured into the pre-moistened soil under each pepper bush.
If young leaves not only change their color, but also begin to fall off, then you should use a solution of boric acid.
Feeding during development and flowering
During growth, fertilizers should be applied to the soil monthly, 2-3 times. Growing pepper bushes need calcium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Before budding, you need to add a solution prepared from 10 g of these mineral fertilizers and 5-8 liters of water to the soil. For each pepper bush, no more than 100 g of the mixture is consumed.
For severe phosphorus deficiency, a strong superphosphate solution is used. To prepare it, a glass of superphosphate is filled with hot water. The mixture should be infused for about 12 hours, after which it should be poured into a bucket of water. One bush is treated with a liter of the prepared solution.
You can also carry out foliar feeding. To do this, the foliage is treated with a 0.5% phosphorus solution.
Conclusion
Quite often, pepper leaves begin to change color and turn purple. If the leaves turn purple, then it is necessary to monitor the temperature of the environment in which the greenhouse pepper grows and regularly fertilize the soil. You can also talk to people who have been growing peppers for a long time and know how to get rid of this problem.
