Aji Limon keeps on dropping fruits shortly after they begin forming.

T

Takanotsume

This baccatum plant is putting out a lot buds and flowers but only one fruit has actually managed to set and put on some decent growth so far (Though it's not nearly as fast as that of even the dumpiest looking of my shishito peppers).
 
All of the others end up dropping off the plant shortly after the petals on the flowers have dried up and fallen off. I've been making sure to gently brush/shake each flower to help ensure pollination, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference.
 
IMG_20190618_135002.jpg

 
IMG_20190618_135204.jpg

 
I've noticed that some of the new leaves on the highest part of the plant have been coming out curled, wrinkled, and/or with patches of brown on them, which from what I've read seems to suggest a potential calcium deficiency as I've been religiously monitoring the plant to ensure no pest infestations occur and doing some preventative neem oil spray every week in the early morning/evening partly due to broad mite paranoia.
 
I've been watering them about once a week after the soil dries out almost entirely and they're under a 50% shade cloth as the temps in full sun have been exceeding 90 degrees. Even the nights are remaining pretty toasty in the high 70 to low 80s range. As far as fertilizer goes, I've been giving it a 10-15-10 synthetic liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength every other watering, as well as a kelp/epsom salt foliar spray every few weeks.
 
Overall, the plant looks pretty decent, but I'm puzzled as to why it's not able to yield any fruit.
 
After double-checking the night temperatures, they're mostly staying in the mid 70s with 78 degrees being the highest they've gotten over the past few weeks (Though that doesn't bode well considering that it's only early summer right now).
 
The few annuums I have growing are putting out fruit well, too, so I'm not entirely sure it's the temperatures that are the problem.
 
I'm wondering if keeping the soil consistently moist but not soaking might encourage it to start putting out more peppers because the first successful one formed shortly after I had watered it for the first time after transplanting and the plant was actually in worse shape back then, being a pale green and somewhat rootbound from its previous container.
 
I've also noticed that the growth of said pepper has seemingly stopped after the soil got drier.
 
This sounds very much like flower drop.
 
 
Flower drop probable causes:
 
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F or too high >85F
3. Too much nitrogen fertilizer
4. Too much water
5. Low light levels (reduces fertility).
6. Very low humidity (reduces fertility)
7. Poor air circulation (air circulation contributes to pollination).
8. Lack of pollinating insects.
9. Size of pot
10. Too much mineral in feedwater.
11. Too much grower attention/anxiety.
 
 
Why does it seem that the plant in the picture has bolted?  Was there a point that you noticed some branches getting long and leggy?  If so, what happened just before and after?
.
I definitely think that you're loving a little too much on the plants, and stressing out over small stuff.  Perhaps you should not look at your plants for 2-3 days at a time?  It might help when you come back and see what you notice when you're not scrutinizing the plant on a daily basis, and certainly when you're not tinkering with it.  The statements that you have made about watering suggest that you haven't gotten that figured out just yet. 
 
Is there actually pollen in the flowers?  Just because there's flowers, doesn't mean there is pollen.  A trick that I do with a plant that isn't producing pollen is I take a flower from a plant that is producing pollen and pollinate the pollenless flowers with that.  You'll still have flower drop but you'll get a few more peppers than you would otherwise.
 
With that said, I'm going to guess you're over fertilizing this plant.  Leaves are dark green, new growth is a bit wrinkly looking, stems are really long and a bit thin, plus flower drop.  You're using a potting soil that already has nutes right?  It depends on the brand, but typically those types of potting soil will give all the fertilizer the plant needs for at least a few months.  Even without that, you may be fertilizing too frequently.  I would stop fertilizing this plant until it tells you it needs some fertilizer (new growth comes out light green).  You said the first pepper appeared when the leaves were light green (low soil nitrogen), but then you potted it up and no more peppers, that screams too much fert to me.  Also, I don't see any kind of support?  Aji Lemon pods, while not big, are not small either, those skinny branches are going to break right off once they get 4-5 peppers on them.  You're going to need a tomato cage or something like that around it, a stake won't be enough.
 
Doelman said:
Is there actually pollen in the flowers?  Just because there's flowers, doesn't mean there is pollen.  A trick that I do with a plant that isn't producing pollen is I take a flower from a plant that is producing pollen and pollinate the pollenless flowers with that.  You'll still have flower drop but you'll get a few more peppers than you would otherwise.
 
With that said, I'm going to guess you're over fertilizing this plant.  Leaves are dark green, new growth is a bit wrinkly looking, stems are really long and a bit thin, plus flower drop.  You're using a potting soil that already has nutes right?  It depends on the brand, but typically those types of potting soil will give all the fertilizer the plant needs for at least a few months.  Even without that, you may be fertilizing too frequently.  I would stop fertilizing this plant until it tells you it needs some fertilizer (new growth comes out light green).  You said the first pepper appeared when the leaves were light green (low soil nitrogen), but then you potted it up and no more peppers, that screams too much fert to me.  Also, I don't see any kind of support?  Aji Lemon pods, while not big, are not small either, those skinny branches are going to break right off once they get 4-5 peppers on them.  You're going to need a tomato cage or something like that around it, a stake won't be enough.
Click to expand...
 
There was pollen in most of the flowers, but not all.
 
The first pepper showed up after I had repotted (The first few buds dropped off without even getting a chance to bloom before I could transplant it)..
 
But yeah, I think I will just leave it alone for now and give it a cage if the branches start looking strained by any fruit it might decide to put out.
 
solid7 said:
Why does it seem that the plant in the picture has bolted?  Was there a point that you noticed some branches getting long and leggy?  If so, what happened just before and after?
.
I definitely think that you're loving a little too much on the plants, and stressing out over small stuff.  Perhaps you should not look at your plants for 2-3 days at a time?  It might help when you come back and see what you notice when you're not scrutinizing the plant on a daily basis, and certainly when you're not tinkering with it.  The statements that you have made about watering suggest that you haven't gotten that figured out just yet. 
Click to expand...
 
Is "Wait until it starts drooping/wilting" the optimal timing for watering? I've been hearing mixed reports on how watering should be handled, especially on plants that are putting out blooms/fruit, with some saying more water = more fruit, but less spice, while less water = less fruit, but more spice. I've always been waiting the the top few inches of soil are dry regardless, but it's sounding like that's less then ideal.
 
The leggy growth started while it was still in its original 1.5 gallon plastic pot and has pretty much been going on since the plant first started branching.
 
But yeah, as a first time grower I think I am just naturally a bit too paranoid about the plants...though after seeing how quickly the broad mites were able to cripple most of my shishito plants I feel like I need to be checking daily. There are pests everywhere (I assume they're multiplying in the unkempt yards of my neighbors) and missing even a day of inspection oft leads to me finding the leaves covered in aphids or whitefly eggs.
 
Takanotsume said:
Is "Wait until it starts drooping/wilting" the optimal timing for watering? I've been hearing mixed reports on how watering should be handled, especially on plants that are putting out blooms/fruit, with some saying more water = more fruit, but less spice, while less water = less fruit, but more spice. I've always been waiting the the top few inches of soil are dry regardless, but it's sounding like that's less then ideal.
 
The leggy growth started while it was still in its original 1.5 gallon plastic pot and has pretty much been going on since the plant first started branching.
 
But yeah, as a first time grower I think I am just naturally a bit too paranoid about the plants...though after seeing how quickly the broad mites were able to cripple most of my shishito plants I feel like I need to be checking daily. There are pests everywhere (I assume they're multiplying in the unkempt yards of my neighbors) and missing even a day of inspection oft leads to me finding the leaves covered in aphids or whitefly eggs.
Click to expand...
 
That water to spice thing is kinds silly advice.  All of the tests are done on a commercial level, and most of the testing seems to indicate that drought affects the lower Scoville peppers disproportionately to the higher Scoville.  For a hobby gardener who is struggling to produce base yields, it shouldn't even be something that's considered.  Right now, the health and optimal growth of your plant should be your main focus.  Once the plant is ready to hold fruit, things get much easier.
.
Which brings us to the next point.  There are many things out of your control.  If that plant wants to drop its fruit, they're gonna fall.  There are no tricks or gimmicks to making plants do what they don't want to do.  And even if there are, you would need so much more information than what's available to you, than just this macro-perspective.  What I'm trying to say is, you just need to suck it up for now, and keep the plant growing.  It will come good in the end, if you just make sure that it's happy and healthy.  
.
Broad mites are nasty, but just keep up your preventative Neem dosing.  Get some down in the pot, too. (especially at the roots around the main stem)  And for heaven's sake...  Stop reading so much.  Where you need to be right now, is in the "beginner's zone".  The only thing that matters, is bare bones basics.  Environment, planting media, water, temp, simple nutrients.  Get those things mastered, and you'll have about 95% of all the info you need to be an expert grower.  Don't follow tangents right now!
 
Siv said:
I found this under my Aji Limo yesterday. Solidarity brother!
 
 
Click to expand...
 
 
that's my fear after each storm. trying grow lots of pods to try and don't want to lose any like that.
 
For peppers, it's better to under water as opposed to over water.  Once a week doesn't sound like over watering to me, unless it's getting a lot of rain?  If you're worried you're over watering, you can let it start to wilt a little before watering, it won't hurt anything at all, once you learn the timing you need for watering you won't have to use the wilting as an indicator.  The plant can look pretty much dead, with all the leaves completely wilted, then look perfectly healthy a couple hours later after watering, it's pretty cool to watch.
 
I just checked your weather forecast and it looks like mid 80s every day for two weeks straight (lucky dog...).  I would probably ditch the shade cloth.  It's possible it's so leggy because it's trying to get enough sunlight.  I can only speak for myself, but I don't even consider a shade cloth until our highs get to the mid 90s. 
 
Doelman said:
I would probably ditch the shade cloth.  It's possible it's so leggy because it's trying to get enough sunlight.  I can only speak for myself, but I don't even consider a shade cloth until our highs get to the mid 90s. 
Click to expand...
 
Yep.  Exactly right.  In Hawaii, I don't know if I'd ever use shade cloth.  That's pretty much my dream growing environment.
.
I must have missed where he said he had shade cloth, but if it's there, for sure ditch it.  I was looking for something like that as a reason for the legginess.
.
OP, I'm curious about something...  You have some of the most fertile soil on planet Earth.  Why are you growing in containers?  Is ground growing just not an option for you?
 
This particular area has extremely poor soil quality due to it mostly being marshland that was filled in using clay then landscaped.
 
As far as the shadecloth goes, I guess I'll try to harden the plants off so they can be exposed to full sun again. The other Aji Limon plant has been looking better despite the reduced light, though I mostly attribute that to it having been in better quality soil for its entire life.
 
IMG_20190619_142539.jpg

 
It likely would've been putting out blooms by now but it ended up getting accidentally topped off in an unfortunate hose accident on the part of someone else. Can't complain about all the new growth, though.
 
So I just learned that the weird browning along the leaf veins my plants have been experiencing (And posted about in a different thread) is actually caused by those accursed thrips.
 
They're known to cause both browning and deformation of new growth and can potentially make leaves/buds drop as well, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were partly responsible for this.
 
My plants are definitely getting a very thorough neem spraying to make sure every last one of those pests is dead. I've been easily seeing the black thrips on the plants, but the chili thrips are a pale green and quite difficult to see when they're pressed against the leaf veins and not moving, so I have a feeling there may be more of them on the plant then I'm actually aware of and that I've been focusing too much on the whiteflies and leaf miners.
 
The Neem will take care of all those things, so I'm not sure how you could be overly focused on the other pests.
.
Like I told you in another post, when you have nasties like broad mites around, you should be doing weekly preventative, at least for a month after an outbreak.  Also, you need a comprehensive strategy.  Like keeping your plants away from the edges of jungle-like habitat, keeping your weeds pulled, spraying a perimeter, and a bunch of other things that I'm sure are unique to your area.
.
If you have a local ag extension office, ask them about comprehensive pest management for your area.  Try to not to use all of the harsh shit that they typically prescribe, but still make an effort to do something.  It's very easy to create localized areas of non-infestation.
 
I've never dealt with thrips, but I'm really not seeing any worrying signs of insect damage from the pictures you posted.  You're always going to lose buds, you're always going to lose a few leaves, you're always going to have new growth that doesn't look quite right. I would continue to do whatever you're doing on the insecticide front, neem once a week should be more than adequate.
 
The second picture you posted also looks a bit leggy so I would say definitely go without the shade cloth.  If you've had it under that 50% for weeks now you're probably safe on hardening off.  I'm going to reemphasize getting some support on your plants, if you get a day with some strong gusts you're risking damage with how tall they are.  Aji are lanky plants to start with and often need more support than others, here are my Aji limons at 3 months old right before I put in a second layer of support.
 
IMG_08851.JPG
 
Doelman said:
attachicon.gif
IMG_08851.JPG
Click to expand...
 
I'm curious as to what kind of medium/ferts those plants are using to look so robust.
 

solid7 said:
The Neem will take care of all those things, so I'm not sure how you could be overly focused on the other pests.
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure if my neem spray is too weak or something, but the whiteflies start lingering on the leaves again just a day after I spray the plants so I often resort to squishing them by hand at night as there's generally just a few present at a time.
 
I'm using 1.5 teaspoons 100% cold-pressed neem + 0.5 teaspoons Dr. Bronner's pepper mint in one quart of water.
 
Kills the bugs fine but doesn't seem to repel much of anything.
 
Takanotsume said:
 
I'm curious as to what kind of medium/ferts those plants are using to look so robust.
 

 
I'm not sure if my neem spray is too weak or something, but the whiteflies start lingering on the leaves again just a day after I spray the plants so I often resort to squishing them by hand at night as there's generally just a few present at a time.
 
I'm using 1.5 teaspoons 100% cold-pressed neem + 0.5 teaspoons Dr. Bronner's pepper mint in one quart of water.
 
Kills the bugs fine but doesn't seem to repel much of anything.
Click to expand...
 
First off, don't go lusting after other people's plants.  A big part of growing anywhere, is understanding that environmental conditions dictate so much more than we tend to give credit for.  We are trying to put you on a path.  Don't get twitchy, and get antsy to do something different at a moment's notice.
.
Secondly...  whitefly are one of the top ten worst garden pests.  They are persistent.  And they have a long lifecycle.  Keep up the Neem until they are frustrated, and seek easier targets.  Also be aware that there are hundreds of different species of whitefly.  Do you know which ones are endemic to your area?
.
Just seeing whitefly is one thing.  Are you seeing the white clumps of crud that they leave behind?  If you smoosh it with your fingers, do you see the larvae? (they look like little black seeds)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top