What if the pepper leaves are purple?

The change in the color of pepper leaves to purple occurs for many reasons - from improper care to an initially poorly chosen place. Fortunately, in most cases this situation can be corrected.

Quite often, the cause of the appearance of purple leaves in sweet peppers is unfavorable conditions in which culture develops. For example, temperature jumps negatively affect the state of culture. A sudden and rather strong cold snap quickly provokes a blue discoloration of the leaf blades. In the future, they curl, dry out and die off. And also the appearance of a lilac shade is possible in the case of planting seedlings on an unheated soil. A plant with an underdeveloped root system, which has already undergone a stressful procedure, freezes and becomes sick, as a result of which its leaves change color.

To prevent such cases, it is better to grow peppers in a greenhouse, where it is much easier to maintain the required microclimate. To maintain the temperature regime in the building, it will be necessary to place thermometers, the readings of which will allow the situation to be corrected in a timely manner. In order not to provoke sharp jumps in the level of humidity and temperature, ventilation will be required regularly in the greenhouse. It is more correct to open the doors in the early morning or late evening. The optimum temperature for peppers grown indoors is +20 to +25 degrees. At night, the indicator may drop slightly, but not more than 3-5 degrees.

It should be mentioned that some gardeners artificially increase the temperature in an effort to stimulate plant growth, but this is strongly discouraged, as, on the contrary, it will harm the pepper. In addition to the air temperature, the temperature of the earth has to be monitored as well. Its indicators should not go beyond the boundaries of 14-25 degrees Celsius, since a decrease will provoke phosphorus starvation, and therefore, blue discoloration of the leaf blades. The regulation of the temperature regime inside the greenhouse is carried out in several ways.

So, at night, pepper bushes can be covered with a double layer of film. It is important that about 5 centimeters remain between the additional and the main canvas - this will create an air cushion that protects the landings from cold air. It is possible to install a larger-scale additional shelter in the form of a greenhouse both outdoors and indoors. For this, arcs of wood or plastic are first mounted above the plants, on which a film with a thickness of about 0.5 millimeters is then fixed. From time to time, the canvas will have to be removed so that the pepper is ventilated and so that it does not get too hot in the shelter.

Finally, you can warm up the soil with a mulch layer made of film or agrofibre. Such a shelter allows you to increase the temperature of the soil by 1-2 degrees. In general, with the coming cold snap, it will always be useful to organize additional protection for the pepper from spunbond or polyethylene. In this case, the roots of the bushes are mulched with sawdust.

A strange shade of bell pepper leaves can also occur in case of violation of the rules of crop rotation. For example, if the predecessors living in the garden actively consumed the same trace elements, and also suffered from diseases and pests characteristic of nightshades, then pepper bushes will definitely have problems.And also we must not forget that planting a crop in the same place for several years in a row leads to depletion of the soil. It is better to sow in those places where legumes, melons, greens or cereals previously lived.

Quite often, bell pepper leaves turn purple when watering is not done correctly. The culture does not react well to drought: its development first slows down, and then the bushes begin to wither. Dehydration prevents the plant from absorbing essential elements, causing it to turn blue. In the future, the leaves take on a purple color, and veins clearly appear on them. It is important, both outdoors and in the greenhouse, to carry out sufficient irrigation on a regular basis, accompanied by loosening. The latter should be done in order to slow down the evaporation of moisture and prevent the soil from drying out, as well as to facilitate the penetration of air to the root system. The amount of water should be sufficient, but not excessive, otherwise water stagnation near the roots will provoke rotting.

In addition, the purple color of the leaf blades on the pepper is an indication that the culture lacks nutrients, mainly phosphorus. This element is very quickly absorbed by plants, especially if the bed is used on a permanent basis. As soon as his concentration falls, the landing begins to suffer. The fact that phosphorus starvation was found in the pepper can be guessed not only by the foliage, but also by the fact that all parts of the plant slow down in development. The fruits grow small and ugly, they contain few seeds, and the shoots are clearly deformed. In addition, in such a bush, immunity suffers greatly, and it begins to cling to various kinds of diseases.

There are two ways to feed a culture with an important trace element. For foliar top dressing, it will be enough to pour 0.5% phosphorus into the sprinkler and use it to spray the leaves. In the case of root, first a mixture of boiling water and a glass of superphosphate is prepared. After the solution has been infused for 11 hours, it is used to irrigate the soil so that each bush receives a liter of the nutrient. The moisture should be directed strictly under the root, without touching the bottom row of leaves. In addition, it is proposed to use bone meal, ammophos, ammonium hydrogen phosphate and even wood ash, which also contain phosphorus.

It should be mentioned that the composition and structure of the soil, in general, are extremely important for the cultivation of pepper. The soil must have the ability to pass water and air, be loose and porous, contain few salts, but a lot of nutrients, and also have such a characteristic as heat supply.

If the lack of phosphorus in the plant was not eliminated in a timely manner, then it develops a disease called anthocyanosis. First of all, the leaf blades become bluish, and then the stems also acquire an unusual shade. At the next stage, you may find that the leaves have become curled upward or towards the stem. Hair appears on the stem, and it weakens. The roots become thinner, lose the ability to absorb nutrients. As a result, the entire pepper bush withers, and then dies.

I must say that it makes sense to treat anthocyanosis only in the initial stages... So, the change in hue begins with the appearance of spots or veins of blue at the lower levels. At this point, the plant should be urgently processed - for example, just spray with 0.5% phosphorus. In principle, the treatment of bushes with Bordeaux liquid can also help, 100 grams of which are diluted with 10 liters of water. The procedure should be carried out in the evening after watering the beds.

In order to never face a shortage of phosphorus-containing fertilizers, the soil must be regularly fed with organic matter, and also left to rest under steam once every 1-2 years.... Planting pepper seedlings should be accompanied by the introduction of superphosphate into the wells in the same way as other fertilizers. It is important to follow the rules of crop rotation, and not to plant a crop where other nightshades used to live. The plant should get to open beds only after the optimum temperatures have been established and the soil has warmed up. If possible, preference should still be given to the greenhouse.

When the temperature drops, plants should be provided with additional protection in the form of plastic wrap and sawdust mulch. The pepper should receive a sufficient amount of water, especially immediately after transplanting. Almost once a week, specimens growing in open beds can be fertilized with organic matter.