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
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:
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.
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
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.
In article ,
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.
That's great advice Billy, thank you.
It's been a really warm afternoon today and I gave them a good soaking
yesterday and the top half inch of soil is just slightly moist so I am
hoping it has been a good day for the plants today. We are apparently
getting some warmer weather soon so I am hoping they will thrive
especially as my Habanero and Serrano are budding now :)
My Jalapeno are doing well, really tall plant, not masses of fruit yet
but what I have is really plump and shiney!
Thanks again!
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.
Update:
I tested one of my regular chillies yesterday. Nice and hot! :)
I think they were just under ripe. It started gentle and built to a nice
burn on the tongue and throat. Can't wait for the hotter peppers to
grow!
It's a much warmer day today and the plants are basking in the
sunshine.
Thanks,
Stevie
I am having real problems with all of my chilli varieties now!
All plants are showing signs of yellowing on any new buds and some
plants are getting yellow lower leaves that are then dropping off.
My Serrano are just starting to produce fruit and my Habanero are
flowering but my older, larger plants are suffering. The fruit that they
have seems healthy and many are starting to go red but no new fruit at
all sadly.
Weather is poor with very little sunshine and night time temps are
getting to around 10 degrees celcius,
I am thinking it is just too cold at the moment?
Stevie
In article ,
Growing in a northern climate such as the UK can present a challenge.
Cayenne peppers will flower and fruit much earlier than varieties such
as habanero, scotch bonnet or naga. These slower varieties require much
more heat and light. and, in northern latitudes, are best kept in a
conservatory or greenhouse to ensure they fruit as soon as possible.
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