Chilli Plants - New buds going yellow and dying!

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

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

Stevie wrote:
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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

Stevie wrote:
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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

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
echinosum;964558 Wrote: > 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.
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> strength and once a fortnight. Many people don't even bother at all.
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> 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.
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> 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.

Stevie;964607 Wrote: > 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?
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> degrees celcius outside so maybe 14 degrees inside at best? 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.

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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
Stevie;964883 Wrote: > That's great advice Billy, thank you.
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> 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 :)
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> but what I have is really plump and shiney!
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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

Stevie wrote: ...
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yes, chili need sun and warmth.
songbird

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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.