Reasons why pepper leaves turn yellow, fall and dry out, what to do

When pepper leaves turn yellow, you need to know why this happens. Only in this case can the situation be corrected and the harvest saved. There can be many reasons.

The most common are improper care, disease or pest infestation.

Reasons for color change

There are several reasons for the yellowing of leaves of peppers planted in a garden plot.

1. Incorrect watering. Bell peppers have a very delicate and vulnerable root system, so the plant reacts strongly to the lack of moisture or, conversely, to excessive watering. Wet soil leads to rotting, first of the roots, then of the top.Lack of moisture causes the leaves to dry out.
2. Watering with unsettled, cold water stops the development of the plant. If the water for irrigation is regularly cold, real leaf fall is observed.
3. Sudden temperature fluctuations. Leaves turn yellow, both from cold and from direct sunlight. This is especially true for young seedlings. Therefore, you need to take care of shading on a hot day and covering during frosts.
4. For pepper you need to choose the right place in the open ground. You cannot plant where tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants used to grow. The residual roots of these plants begin to secrete substances that harm the development of the pepper. Nightshade vegetables should be planted in their place no sooner than after three years. Otherwise, the pepper sheds its leaves and resistance to disease decreases.
5. Nutrient deficiency. First of all, the condition is affected by a lack of nitrogen. First, the upper leaves lighten, and then begin to turn yellow from the middle. The fruits have thin walls and curl. If the lower leaves turn yellow, there may be a lack of potassium. At the same time, the tips of the leaves dry out, the trunk changes color, becomes hard, and spots appear on the fruits. With a zinc deficiency, yellow-green spots can be found on greens. You can correct the situation or prevent problems with timely feeding.
6. Pepper leaves drop and change color due to insects. All vegetable growers encounter pests. Most often, peppers are attacked by spider mites. It feeds on the sap of the leaves, which causes yellowing and drying out. Soon, if no action is taken, the edges of the leaves will begin to dry out, and then not only they, but also the fruits may fall off altogether.Any insecticide, for example Fitoverm, Aktara, or a self-made solution based on wood ash, bird droppings, green grass and other components helps against pests.
7. It happens that the leaves of peppers turn yellow due to diseases, and you need to know what to do in this case. If a plant is infected with a virus, the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry, and the fruits become distorted. To save the entire garden bed, it is necessary to urgently remove the infected plant and treat the soil with a disinfectant solution, for example with potassium permanganate.
8. Lack of sunlight leads to yellowed foliage. Often the problem appears when the bushes are planted in a shaded area.

It is important to treat the plant against pests and diseases for preventive purposes, apply fertilizers at least three times during the entire growing season, prevent weeds from growing in the garden, and recognize in time why the pepper leaves have turned yellow, so as not to ruin the entire harvest.

Sometimes a yellow leaf at the bottom of the stem appears as a result of the vegetable maturing and growing. At the same time, all other parts of the bush look good.

Problem with young seedlings in a greenhouse

It is recommended to grow pepper seedlings in a greenhouse. First, the soil must be dug up, weeds must be removed, treated against pests, and organic or mineral fertilizing must be applied.

Many vegetable growers are concerned about the problem of why the foliage of sweet peppers turns yellow even in favorable greenhouse conditions? To understand what is happening to a plant, you need to monitor its growth and development at each stage.

Pepper seedlings cannot be protected from various misfortunes, even in such a protected place as a greenhouse. There are several reasons why the leaves of seedlings turn yellow and ultimately fall off completely.

• The cause of leaves falling off in a greenhouse plant can be irregular watering. It is not recommended to allow the soil to dry out. During drought, seedlings wither and a yellowish tint appears on the greenery. It is recommended to water young seedlings once every five days with settled water.
• Moistening the soil too often is also harmful. When there is an excess of moisture, the lower leaves of the seedlings fall off.
• Lack of nitrogen, potassium or phosphorus in the soil.
• The air temperature in the greenhouse should not fall below 14 degrees. Otherwise, the soil freezes and the lower leaves of the pepper seedlings turn yellow. If the temperature does not return to normal, the entire plant dies.
• Peppers react to lower air humidity levels. A humidity level of 70% is considered normal.
• Insufficient light intake causes the leaves to dry out and fall off. A month after planting the seeds, the seedlings need to be provided with additional lighting.
• Why seedlings have leaves in poor condition also depends on the distance at which the seeds are sown. If the seedlings are nearby, then the roots and leaves begin to interfere with each other and intertwine. As a result, the stems become elongated and the foliage turns yellow.
• The plant may shed its leaves due to the active activity of insect pests. If the cause is pests, they can be easily noticed. The most common are aphids, thrips, and spider mites.
• When pepper leaves turn yellow and even fall off, the cause is often a fungal, viral or bacterial disease.

Proper care of seedlings begins with choosing seeds for planting. You need to choose only large and dense grains. Then they must be kept for some time in a solution of potassium permanganate so that no bacteria remain on the seed shell.

The first fertilizer for seedlings should be done when two leaves appear. Then you need to wait for 6 leaves to unfold. An infusion of manure or bird droppings is suitable as an organic fertilizer. Do not add fresh manure to the soil, as this can lead to burns of the plant’s root system. Potassium phosphate elements are required from mineral fertilizers.

Growing seedlings at home

When seedlings are grown at home, on the windowsill, then here too you cannot protect yourself from problems. If pepper seedlings have turned yellow, you need to deal with the cause in time in order to get a rich harvest in the future.

Why does the color and condition of seedlings change? If the leaves of all the pepper seedlings have turned yellow, you need to figure out the root cause to help restore the plant.

1. The seedlings turn yellow due to a weak root system. In young seedlings, the weakest part is the roots; it is their damage or strong growth that causes yellowness. The roots begin to tangle and intertwine, nutrients are poorly distributed, and the roots die. The roots can also be damaged during deep loosening. It is recommended to carefully dig the plant out of the container and check the roots. If there are few root branches and they are darkened, the plant dies. If the roots are intertwined, but the white ones need to be carefully straightened.
2. When everything is fine with the root system, the cause may be due to nitrogen deficiency. It is recommended to apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers; you can use urea or ammonium nitrate. But don't overdo it. Since an excess of nitrogen also affects the condition of the plant.Fertilizers should be applied at intervals of two weeks.
3. Sometimes the answer to the question of why leaves fall and turn yellow is associated with a decrease in the air temperature in the room. Young seedlings do not tolerate temperatures below 14 degrees. A box with seedlings should not be placed in a draft.
4. The cause of leaf falling may be due to improper dosage of water. Newly planted seedlings are watered once every 5 days; as soon as the sprouts gain strength, watering is increased to once every three days. Do not neglect these rules, since excess or lack of moisture can cause pepper leaves to begin to turn yellow and fall off.
5. Insufficient light can cause leaves to turn pale and stems to stretch. Therefore, it is best to place the seedlings on the windowsill of a south window. On short or cloudy days, additional lighting should be provided.

Seedlings need to be transplanted to a permanent place in time. If it outgrows, the roots will be large and in the new free space they will begin to diverge even more to the sides. All nutrients and forces will go towards their development, and not to the upper part. As a result, the pepper does not grow and the leaves dry out.