Purple pepper leaves: what to do, why, how to feed

Many vegetable growers are engaged in the cultivation of pepper, as this vegetable is very often used to prepare various dishes and salads. During the cultivation of this plant, various problems may arise. Quite often, its leaves begin to change their color and turn purple. To get rid of this problem, you need to figure out why they change their color.

Reasons

Many gardeners are seriously surprised when they see seedlings that have a lilac hue. Ordinary varieties of peppers cannot have this color. There is more than one reason why leaves can turn lilac or purple.

Temperature fluctuations

One of the main causes of this problem is sudden temperature changes. Due to a sudden cold snap, the leaves begin to curl up into a tube and darken. Over time, they take on a lilac color and turn purple.

Most often, leaves with this shade appear when pepper is planted early in the open field. When growing peppers in a greenhouse, the leaves darken much less frequently. However, this can also happen in a greenhouse if it is not sufficiently insulated. To save the bushes, you must immediately restore the optimum temperature.

Anthocyanosis

Anthocyanosis appears if the pepper lacks phosphorus. Because of this, young seedlings begin to gradually degrade and die. Phosphorus is an indispensable substance that is necessary for the normal growth and development of bushes. It is not only the main energy source of the plant, but also controls all its metabolic processes.Phosphorus is very important for pepper, as it stimulates fruit set, flowering and its root zone. In addition, he is responsible for the accumulation of sugar in ripe fruits.

The lower leaves of the bush can signal a lack of nutrients, since they are the first to begin to change their color. The stem of the bush can also change color.

Other signs include twisting the leaves towards the stem or up. If you do not get rid of anthocyanosis in a timely manner, the stem will become more hairy and brittle. The root system may also be affected. Over time, it becomes weaker and absorbs nutrients from the soil worse.

Temperature maintenance in the greenhouse

Many people don't know what to do if the pepper has purple leaves. To prevent color change in peppers, you must constantly monitor the temperature.

Temperature norm

Optimum daily temperature should be around 20-25 degrees. In the evening, this figure may be less by 3-5 degrees. Many beginner growers try to increase the temperature inside the greenhouse in order to improve the growth of the bushes. However, this can only harm the plant and lead to its death.

You should also monitor the temperature of the soil. It is necessary that it does not fall below 14 degrees and not be more than 25 degrees. With a serious decrease in these indicators, phosphorus starvation of plants may begin.

Methods of temperature regulation

Quite often, purple leaf veins appear due to low temperatures. There are several ways to quickly raise it a few degrees:

Application at night of additional layers of film.They are placed at a distance of about 5 cm from the main layer. For their fastening it is better to use fasteners for polyethylene films. With this additional protection, an air cushion is formed that will protect the greenhouse from outside cold air.
Limit the amount of air above the bell pepper bushes with an additional small greenhouse. Its frame can be made from small wooden rods or wire with a diameter of 3-4 mm. As a coating, you can use a solid film with a thickness of at least 0.5 mm. So that under the additional greenhouse the temperature is not too high, it should be ventilated periodically.
To increase the temperature of the soil by a few degrees, it is necessary to start mulching it. This can be done using spunbond or film. Thus, the temperature will increase by 1-2 degrees and the pepper will not turn blue.

Raise the temperature in the greenhouse very carefully. Especially on hot days, as this can harm the pepper bushes and cause burns.

Feeding peppers

Quite often the leaves turn blue due to a lack of phosphorus and other nutrients, so it is necessary to properly feed the pepper. Before you feed the plant, you need to familiarize yourself with how to do it correctly.

First feeding

You need to start fertilizing the soil even before planting seedlings. To do this, 200 grams of ash, a bucket of compost, a teaspoon of potassium sulfate and a tablespoon of superphosphate are added per square meter of the plot.

The next top dressing is carried out only 20 days after planting the seedlings in the ground. From now on, it is recommended to use fertilizers with an increased amount of phosphorus so that purple spots do not appear on the leaves in the future. A solution prepared from 15 g of carbonite, 10 liters of water and 3 g of superphosphate is poured into the pre-moistened soil under each pepper bush.

If the young leaves not only changed their color, but also began to fall off, then you should use a solution of boric acid.

Feeding during development and flowering

During growth, fertilizer should be applied to the soil monthly, 2-3 times. Growing pepper bushes need calcium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Before budding, a solution prepared from 10 g of these mineral fertilizers and 5-8 liters of water must be added to the soil. For each bush of pepper, no more than 100 g of the mixture is consumed.

For severe phosphorus deficiency, a strong superphosphate solution is used. To prepare it, a glass of superphosphate is poured with hot water. The mixture should be infused for about 12 hours, after which it should be poured into a bucket of water. One bush is processed with a liter of prepared solution.

You can also carry out foliar feeding. To do this, the foliage is treated with a 0.5% phosphorus solution.

Conclusion

Quite often pepper leaves begin to change color and turn purple. If the leaves turn purple, then it is necessary to monitor the temperature of the environment in which the greenhouse pepper grows and fertilize the soil regularly. You can also talk to people who have been growing peppers for a long time and know how to get rid of this problem.