Bell Pepper Plant Problems

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Overview

Bell pepper plants can be fun to grow indoors and out. Like all plants, though, bell pepper plants have common problems that can affect yield, flowering and growth in general. Here are a few of the problems and how to fix them.

Blooms Drop

Pepper plants will bloom but drop their flowers if the daytime temperature exceeds 90 degrees and the nighttime temperature exceeds 75 degrees. They will also drop in the spring if it gets too cool for a long time.

Leaf Spots

If leaves spot or have lesions and drop off, they could have one of three diseases, Alternaria leaf spot, Cercospora leaf spot and bacterial leaf spot. Use a copper fungicide mixed with chlorothalonil at the first sign of trouble.

Spots on Fruit

Tannish spots on the fruit are sunscald from exposure to direct sunlight when young. Remove the scalded fruit and move the plant to a shadier spot.

Wilt

Excessive water can cause plants to wilt and die. Be sure your plants are in a well-drained pot or bed.

Wiggly Trails

Wiggly trails on your peppers' leaves is caused by leaf miners. Treat them with diazinon or a recommended insecticide.

Yellow Leaves

If your leaves are yellow and have a mosaic pattern on them it is likely tobacco mosaic virus. Do not smoke around the plants or handle plants after smoking.

References

Planting, growing and harvesting peppers
Fertilizing and storing peppers

About this Author

Julie Segraves is a freelance writer and photographer. She has written for several community newspapers in Chicago and authors her own blog. Segraves graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor's in sociology and a minor in criminal justice. She currently works in the IT field as a mainframe operations analyst and disaster recovery specialist.

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