Why do bell pepper leaves turn yellow? Bell pepper is not hot nor spicy. Many gardeners grow this plant due to its different characteristics compared to other peppers.
Growing plants is challenging. It is not easy to grow a plant because many possible things might happen like pests and diseases that might attack the plant. You need to take care of bell pepper plants to make them grow well and prevent problems like yellow leaves on bell peppers.
Why Do Bell Pepper Leaves Turn Yellow?
Some of the reasons why the bell pepper plant has yellow leaves are; lacking sunlight, watering problems, lack of nutrients like iron, pests, diseases, transplant shock, and having old leaves.
You need to figure out the main cause of the problem and you need to take action to solve the problem. When the problem is fixed, the plant will grow better and will give excellent fruits very soon. You can get a lot of fruits from the plant once they mature.
Bell Pepper Is Lack In Sunlight
Some gardeners grow bell pepper in a container and bring them inside. When a bell pepper plant is lacking in sunlight, yellow leaves might appear. The plant should be brought to a place where sunlight is abundant so that having yellow leaves on the plant will be prevented.
Bell peppers need sunlight for at least 6 hours per day. The more sunlight the better for them to thrive excellently. They need sunlight in order for them to make their food. If you want your bell pepper to grow healthy and produce a lot of fruits, you need to grow them in an open area away from tall trees.
Aside from yellow leaves, brown leaves on bell pepper will also be prevented. Sunlight is very essential for the bell peppers’ growth.
Lacking Water Cause Yellow Leaves On Bell Pepper
Bell pepper needs water around 1 inch per week. The volume of water each plant needs will also depend on the weather and the moisture of the soil. If the soil is still moist you don’t need to water, but if the soil is completely dry you need to water the plants.
You can check the soil moisture by pressing your index finger 2 inches deep and if you feel that the soil is dry you need to water them. Aside from using an index finger, you can also use some tools like a screwdriver. Using the screwdriver, push it into the soil, and if you feel that the tool is hard to push you need to water your bell pepper plant.
Lacking water cause yellow leaves because the plant doesn’t get their needs which affects the plants’ growth. Caring for bell pepper is essential if you want a good harvest to come.
Overwatering Cause Stress On Bell Pepper Plant
You need to be careful in watering your bell pepper plant to prevent overwatering. Too much water cause stress on bell pepper which leads to yellow leaves appearing.
If you overwater the plant, there are some leaves on the bell pepper curl. You need to give just the right amount of water to each plant. The bigger plants need more water and the smaller ones need less. There are also other factors to consider in watering your bell pepper plants.
Losing leaves on bell pepper may also happen if the problem becomes worse. The best thing to do if you overwater your plant is to stop watering and wait for the plant to recover. The plant may recover after a few days or even up to a week.
Nutrient Deficiencies In Bell Pepper Plant
Lacking nutrients can cause yellow leaves on bell pepper. The plants need nutrients to grow excellent. Those nutrients will improve their stems, roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits.
If you make a bell pepper garden but the soil in your location is lacking in nutrients, you need to improve the soil by adding fertilizer. You can use chemical or organic fertilizer and both of them will be fine to use.
The bell pepper plant needs iron for them to increase the production of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the element in the leaves which makes them green. Aside from iron, bell pepper plants also need nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. If you are unsure about the nutrients of the soil in your garden, you can use soil kits to test your soil.
Transplant shock
Most of the bell pepper and other pepper varieties are being transferred when they are young. It is uncommon to transplant mature plants to a new location.
Transplanting old bell peppers is a little bit risky because transplant shock may happen. You need to be careful in handling and moving those plants to prevent problems from happening. That is why the best time to transplant bell pepper is when they are still young when they are still seedlings.
Bell pepper can have a lot of seeds and you can use those seeds to grow a plant. It will take a few months before they produce fruits but it’s gonna be worth it.
Damage Roots
Floods and overwatering can cause damage to the bell pepper roots. You need to make waterways to prevent flooding if you experience heavy rains in your location.
Also, be smart in watering your plants to avoid any problems that may affect their growth. When the bell pepper plant grows consistently, the plant will give you consistent great fruits.
Pests And Diseases Attack Bell Pepper
The lifespan of bell pepper will be in a good shape especially when there are no pests and diseases that attack the plant. For the plant to be pests and diseases free, you need to protect them against them.
You can use pesticides and fungicides to control those things. If you are practicing organic gardening, you should use neem oil, horticultural oil, or other safe-to-use treatment in making your plants healthy.
Some of the pests that may attack bell peppers are; mites, flea beetles, white flies, aphids, and psyllids. Good control of pests in bell peppers is needed to get rid of them. Also, some of the diseases that may attack the plant are; bacterial leaf spot, wilt, and phytophthora blight.
Old Bell Pepper Leaves
Young leaves will become old. Old leaves are yellow which is normal for bell pepper and other plants. Leaves will turn yellow which is normal for most plants.
You don’t need to worry when you see one or two yellow leaves on a bell pepper. But you need to worry if all leaves on the bell pepper plant change from green to yellow. You need to assess your plant to know the main problem of the leaves.
It is great to know why do bell pepper leaves turn yellow. Finding the main cause of leaves problem is needed to maintain the healthy growth of the plant. Abundant harvest usually happens if the plants are growing healthy.
