Hi Guys,

My chilli plants are well established now and are producing fruit but I am finding that a lot of the new buds that are forming at the top end of the plant are going yellow and dying off either before or just after flowering.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong. A friend of mine is growing chillies and he is having the same issues.

Thanks,

Stevie

In article ,
Stevie wrote:

Hi Guys,

My chilli plants are well established now and are producing fruit but I
am finding that a lot of the new buds that are forming at the top end of
the plant are going yellow and dying off either before or just after
flowering.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong. A friend of mine is growing chillies
and he is having the same issues.

Thanks,

Stevie

Too much, too little, uneven watering,
temperature is too cool,
too much fertilizer,
lack of pollination?

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Stevie wrote:
Hi Guys,

My chilli plants are well established now and are producing fruit but
I am finding that a lot of the new buds that are forming at the top
end of the plant are going yellow and dying off either before or just
after flowering.

Any ideas what I am doing wrong. A friend of mine is growing chillies
and he is having the same issues.

Thanks,

Stevie

You don't give us much to go on. With only the presenting problem stated
the best you can get is an attempt to list of all the possible causes which
Billy has provided. If however you described the growing conditions,
weather etc and what are doing we might be able to be more specific. A
picture would also assist. Considering this, is there anything in common
between you and your friend's situation?

D

Hi David,

The temperature is certainly a lot cooler than it was a few weeks ago as we have had nothing but rain for the last 3 weeks and outside temps of around 14 degrees with the occassional 20 degree day here and there. It is always warmer than that in the conservatory but not by a huge margin.

I am watering them when the soil in the pots is dry to touch on top. I am watering them from the bottom of the pot though as I was under the impression that this is correct? They are being watered pretty much every day.

I feed them once a week using tomato feed to the dosage advised on the bottle.

The plant has been fine up until around 2 weeks ago when the yellowing started. I have around 10 plants of varying types but there seems to be one that is being affected the most.

Thanks,

Stevie

Here are some pics of the plant that I am having problems with.

The Plant:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/IMAG0287.jpg

The Chillies (do they seem a little bumpy?):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/IMAG0288.jpg

The Yellow Buds:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/IMAG0289.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/IMAG0290.jpg

Thanks again!

Stevie

Stevie wrote:
Hi David,

The temperature is certainly a lot cooler than it was a few weeks ago
as we have had nothing but rain for the last 3 weeks and outside
temps of around 14 degrees with the occassional 20 degree day here
and there. It is always warmer than that in the conservatory but not
by a huge margin.

I am watering them when the soil in the pots is dry to touch on top. I
am watering them from the bottom of the pot though as I was under the
impression that this is correct? They are being watered pretty much
every day.

I feed them once a week using tomato feed to the dosage advised on the
bottle.

The plant has been fine up until around 2 weeks ago when the yellowing
started. I have around 10 plants of varying types but there seems to
be one that is being affected the most.

Thanks,

Stevie

There will be no insect pollinators in your conservatory but it isn't clear
if this is important, however it may be a problem with other fruiting plants
that require pollinators.

MacGregor who is usually the expert I go to on pollination is uncertain:

quote
The pollination requirements for maximum production of the different
cultivars of pepper
is not clear. Jones and Rosa (1928*) stated that "Self-pollination takes
place, in general,
but there appears to be a considerable percentage of cross-pollination also,
for many
hybrids have been noticed as a result of growing different varieties near
each other."
Hawthorn and Pollard (1954*) implied the same thing. Cobley (1956*)
concluded that
both self and cross-pollination occurred for which he gave credit to ants.
Dempsey (1961)
found no difference in set of open flowers and those caged in special cone
cages. Cochran
(1936) stated that flowers emasculated and bagged set fruit as well as
open-pollinated
flowers, which without qualifications is difficult to accept. Later,
however, he (1938)
conceded that cross-pollination takes place more frequently than is
generally supposed.
Martin and Crawford (1951), Peterson (1958), and Shifriss and Frankel (1969)
reported
male sterility in peppers, which is accentuated by higher temperatures
(Bashir 1953).
Hirose (1959, 1962) reported that high temperatures 13 to 17 days before
anthesis causes
pollen abortion and the deterioration of pollination efficiency. Odland and
Porter (1941)
found that none of the varieties tested were entirely self- fertilized and
concluded that
there is more cross-pollination than is generally realized.
Erwin (1932) measured the effect of pollination on set of fruit. He found
that only 46
percent of self-pollinated flowers set compared to 71 percent that were left
to open
pollination by bees. Nagarathnam and Rajamani (1963) obtained only 6 to 11
percent set
of the flowers present. Angeli (1957) reported that hybrid pepper ripens
earlier, produces
more, and is more disease resistant than the parents. He also stated that
production of seed
by open pollination was unsatisfactory because of the lack of insect
pollinators.
Cochran (1932) reported that high nitrogen and low soil moisture at
flowering time
increase set, but high nitrogen and high moisture increase production.
The period of receptivity of the stigma has not been too well determined,
but apparently it
functions only the first day the flower opens.
Smith (1932) noted that few tomato flowers with elongated styles develop
normally and
set fruit. As previously mentioned, the pepper style varies in length also.
Quite
conceivably, in the absence of pollinating insects, the long style would
prevent pollen
from the anthers reaching the stigma, and fruit setting would be prevented
or reduced.
Markus (1965) noted that crossing occurred primarily between 7 and 11 a.m.
The evidence indicates that pepper flowers do not always release their
pollen, or if it is
released, it may not come in contact with the stigma. Under such conditions,
the transfer
of pollen between flowers by an outside agency is essential.
Pollinators:
file:///E|/Jason/book/chap6/pepper.html (3 of 6) [1/21/2009 3:46:48 PM]
Chapter 6: Common Vegetables for Seed and Fruit
Boswell (1937) stated that peppers are cross-fertilized to a considerable
extent but did not
state what agencies were responsible. Although ants are frequently mentioned
in relation
to pollination of peppers, their type of activity, the lack of a dense coat
of hairs on their
body, and their limited number in relation to the blossoms present in a
commercial
planting, would indicate that they have received more credit as pollinators
of pepper than
they deserve. Honey bees and other bees visit the flowers of pepper on warm
bright days
(Hawthorn and Pollard 1954*) or during dry periods (Erwin 1931, 1932; Markus
1964;
Odland and Porter 1941; Pammel and King p. 605, 1930*).
Other members of the family Solanaceae are noted for their low
attractiveness to bees, for
example, potatoes, tobacco, eggplants, and petunias, although when other
sources of
nectar or pollen are scarce these plants may be visited. This would appear
to apply to
peppers also. Wind, rain, and other insects appear to be of little or no
value in the
pollination of peppers.
Pollination Recommendations and Practices:
None.
unquote

Make of that what you will, it seems contradictory to me but it leaves open
the possibility that you are getting incomplete pollination.

If your watering via the bottom results in the soil getting damp up to the
top and they are not waterlogged it will be fine. Dig down from the top an
hour after watering and see where the soil is damp, if it isn't damp 3cm
from the top you had better change to top watering. Make sure the pots
drain well.

How many hours a day of sun do they get?

At this point i think that the problem is the temperature. I am assuming
you are using Celsius not Fahrenheit otherwise forget chillis! If you have
a max/min thermometer put it in the conservatory and note the temperatures
daily. I am guessing it gets too cold at night. Peppers like it warm.

David

You don't expect every flower on your apple tree to turn into an apple, and so it is with your chilli. Going yellow and falling off is what they do when they don't want to set. The fact that it has been cold recently won't have helped either, they don't set fruit when it is too cold. But I expect the thing they are really missing is sunshine. They need plenty of sunshine, and I think it is the lack of sunshine which means chillies are not doing well in Britain this year.

I would say you are overdoing the fertilising. I've read use half strength and once a fortnight. Many people don't even bother at all.

You may also be overdoing the watering. Dry to touch on top will still have a lot of water inside. I leave then until looking a bit wilted. They perk up fine. They even perk up from looking very wilted when I go on holiday.

I grow my chillies outdoors. They normally do fine lined up against a south-facing wall that bakes them in the day and keeps them warm at night - in a normal year, even in last year's not particularly wonderful summer. Last year I was picking my first chillies by the end of July and this year they haven't even flowered yet. The weather is one thing I can't fix.

That's a great help, thank you

When watering the plant I give them a good glug from the watering can but should I be giving them a soaking or just a light wetting?

To be fair, there are quite a few yellow buds but there are also a good few healthy looking ones too so maybe I am concered about nothing but it was worth asking.

I will check the temps during day and night but it is getting down to 10 degrees celcius outside so maybe 14 degrees inside at best?

Thanks,
Stevie

Give them a thorough soaking, but then let it get fairly dry before watering again.

We just haven't had the occasional warm nights you usually get in high summer this year. I think this is part of the reason they aren't setting fruit. I believe that greenhouse growers try to keep the overnight min above 16 when setting fruit.

I've been growing rocotos (Cap. pubescens) the last couple of years which are supposedly more cold tolerant than any others, but they don't like this weather.

I've just noticed that your chilli is in rather a small pot. You'd get more chillis off it if you pot it on to something rather larger, so it can grow a bigger root system. Also it would retain moisture for longer.

Sometimes, under or overwatering can cause this to happen. Another thing could be excessive heat (move to a more shaded area). We grow these by the thousands and i bet you it's one or the other Ive mentioned. Rarely they also developa blight. We use bean bug powder or sprays to remove this. If you notice the leaves getting tiny holes in them or a mildew then its probably due to a blight.

Hi There,

I don't think it is excessive heat, the outside temps in the North West of England have been abismal this year. Barely any sunshine either over the last few weeks which I think is possibly the issue. I am strict with my watering and fertiliser and the plants were happy up until recently.

I am going to try giving them a soaking and then letting them dry out and see if that helps. My larger plants are in 20cm pots but have stopped growing now so maybe increase the pot size but my concern is that once winter arrives it is much too cold in the conservatory so if they get too big I will have nowhere to put them.

Thanks again,
Stevie

Would the plant grow too or just the amount of chillies?

Out of interest, the pic of the chilli I posted up, does that look right to you as they are quite bumpy compared to some we got from the supermarket.

I tried one a week or so ago and it had no heat whatsoever and the skin was very thin and tough. Maybe just under ripe?

Stevie

In article ,
echinosum wrote:

echinosum;964669 Wrote:
Give them a thorough soaking, but then let it get fairly dry before
watering again.
I've just noticed that your chilli is in rather a small pot. You'd get
more chillis off it if you pot it on to something rather larger, so it
can grow a bigger root system. Also it would retain moisture for
longer.

I haven't seen the pot, but no matter what the size is (echinosum is
right in that you will get a larger yield from a larger pot) you may
also want to paint it black to increase its thermal absorption. Perhaps
a tomato arbor with plastic sheeting pulled over it until the weather
improves. Be sure to allow for ventilation, so that the plant doesn't
get too hot ( 90F/32C) The top half inch of the potting soil should be
dry before you water. If you should happen to have some hot weather,
definitely don't let it go dry.
Too much water, and fertilizer, and the plant will think it still has a
long time to go before it needs to make seeds, and won't set flowers.

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Green Party Nominee Jill Stein & Running Mate, Cheri Honkala
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/13/green_party_nominee_jill_stein_running


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