So the last 2 or 3 weeks here in Phoenix have been in the low to high 90's during the day. I'm wondering if this may be the main cause of my pepper plants' flowers drying up and shriveling on the plant or not even flowering at all. Just to be clear, the buds don't fall off fresh and pretty like when they're not pollinated--they're crispy and dehydrated. I've also noticed that many plants that were producing lots of flowers have now ceased flower production altogether. Nothing has really changed as far as watering (frequency has gone up slightly as the temps but I only water when the upper soil is dry and the pot is light in weight), ferts (super bloom or fish emulsion 1/4 strength every other watering or so), sunlight (4-6 hours of direct). We've had some bouts of high wind that seemed to really dry out some leaves of some plants (made them crispy green, not crispy yellow like diseased or malnourished) but I'm not sure that should still be affecting things. Other notes: I'm using mostly smart pots (fabric) and have one air pot and a few regular plastic pots--all seem to be affected equally. Also, what fruits that have been set already (before the last few weeks) seem to be growing and ripening just fine. Any thoughts on the possible cause and anything I can do? I just don't want to be missing anything I can control.
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Temps too high for flowering?
- Thread starter Double Burn
- Start date
Hi,
Can you post a pic ?
I don't know, but it could also be a changing cycle (going from flowering to vegetative) if your plants came from indoor to outdoor. I experienced that in my 1st growing season : my Bhut were flowering inside great under a 6500K CFL, then when I put them outside at the beginning of June they stopped flowering and went back to vegetative stage. I think it's because in May where I live the color temp is over 10K. But at the end of August they produced a lot of flowers and pods.
Just my only experience (doesn't worth much I admit)
Can you post a pic ?
I don't know, but it could also be a changing cycle (going from flowering to vegetative) if your plants came from indoor to outdoor. I experienced that in my 1st growing season : my Bhut were flowering inside great under a 6500K CFL, then when I put them outside at the beginning of June they stopped flowering and went back to vegetative stage. I think it's because in May where I live the color temp is over 10K. But at the end of August they produced a lot of flowers and pods.
Just my only experience (doesn't worth much I admit)
Flower drop probable causes:
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F
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.
1. Day temp too high >95F
2. Night temp too low <65F
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.
My production goes down when the mercury hits 95+ here in the swamp, what saves us is it rains nearly every day just as we hit 95+. People from the North freak out when they experience Inland Florida's sweltering Summer heat and humidity for the first time.
Willard you still need to add this one to your list:
Night time temp too high > 80F.
Daytime temp. is secondary to nightime temp. according to Dave Dewitt.
http://books.google....erature&f=false
here in the summer the temps seldom go to 95 in the day but always stay over 80 at night due to the humidity, this is why the drier climates (or higher altitudes) are better for pepper production. Lower night time temps are key. Less humidity means wider temp differentials.
Night time temp too high > 80F.
Daytime temp. is secondary to nightime temp. according to Dave Dewitt.
http://books.google....erature&f=false
here in the summer the temps seldom go to 95 in the day but always stay over 80 at night due to the humidity, this is why the drier climates (or higher altitudes) are better for pepper production. Lower night time temps are key. Less humidity means wider temp differentials.
My plants have been outdoors for a couple months now, so I doubt this is the cause. Now I've read that peppers don't have veg and flowering stages like cannabis--they veg and flower at the same time. Or at least they can. Can anybody else confirm/deny this?
Except that the flowers are drying up and getting crispy on the plant, then falling off. I've had "flower drop" already. This is different. Thanks for the cut and paste tho.
I'm wondering if this might be an issue too. So say I put up a shade cloth, will that allow the plants to resume flowering? I doubt it will since temps will still be too high, I think. So as long as the plants are healthy, it seems that it might be wisest to allow the direct sunlight so I max out growth since I won't get any flowering either way . . .
I think this is also likely to be a culprit. The last few weeks have had temps in the high 80's at night. I wonder if my landlord would mind me installing a misting system on my balcony lol?
Yes, pepper plants veg And flower simultaneously. Healthy plants that is. I experienced tons o flower drop and a decrease in production when temps hit above 90-95+ last season. Pepper plants are full sun plants, no need to cut off their sun tanning. As long as you're not over feeding with Nitrogen, I'd just wait it out until the temps drop back down. The plant's most likely decided it's not a good time to set fruit. Another thing to think of, is (if they're in pots) keeping the pots cool in such high temp weather. You want to keep that root zone temp down.
-> Thanks for the info ! I didn't know that. Does it means that if you set up a 24/24h light with a bulb over 6500K they will go flowering anyway ?
Technically yes. The word around here though ( for the most part) and what I've read suggest that the little bit more growth gained from going beyond 18/6 isn't worth the extra cost. Others seem to think that the plants need a resting period of darkness. PIC-1, when growing indoors before plant out, has the lights on cycles; like a row of 3 sets of 4 bulb ballasts, two one one off, then 1 on two off. Something like that, so as to give them rest but never complete darkness. Check out his glog. As for what I think, it's up in the air. I just go with 18/6 for now.
Color temp is a whole other conversation.
Pepper plants are not photo period sensitive but they do use different spectrums of light for different things and kelvin doesn't necessarily tell you how much you're actually getting from that part of the spectrum, it's telling you what the eyes sees. I'm still learning about all this as well. Takes time and experimentation.
Color temp is a whole other conversation.
Pepper plants are not photo period sensitive but they do use different spectrums of light for different things and kelvin doesn't necessarily tell you how much you're actually getting from that part of the spectrum, it's telling you what the eyes sees. I'm still learning about all this as well. Takes time and experimentation.
DB-
What kind of pepper plants are they? Some varieties fare better in extreme heat than others - Serranos for instance.
I have noticed that my Datils do better in muted sunlight than full sun.
I move my pots around to customize lighting conditions when I suspect plants are suffering from high heat.
Bob
What kind of pepper plants are they? Some varieties fare better in extreme heat than others - Serranos for instance.
I have noticed that my Datils do better in muted sunlight than full sun.
I move my pots around to customize lighting conditions when I suspect plants are suffering from high heat.
Bob
Thanks. I also go for 18 but I always wondered if 24 worth it or not. I can't find "PIC-1"'s glog. Neither PIC-1 member
Concerning Kelvin, I thought that "cool colour" (around 5000K) had wavelength around 440nm (blue) and that "warm colour" (around 3500K) had wavelength around 650nm (red). And I thought that PAR was between 400 & 700nm so in the range of visible light. And I thought that the wavelength were depending on the "body" temperature (short waves for high temp, and long waves for low temp). So you mean that peppers use spectrum out of PAR ? (like infrared, ultraviolet). If you have any info about it, I would be very interested because I've never found anything about light & peppers (almost all the topic are about weed ...
).Sorry to hijack your thread Double Burn .... :s
My plants have been outdoors for a couple months now, so I doubt this is the cause. Now I've read that peppers don't have veg and flowering stages like cannabis--they veg and flower at the same time. Or at least they can. Can anybody else confirm/deny this?
I'm wondering if this might be an issue too. So say I put up a shade cloth, will that allow the plants to resume flowering? I doubt it will since temps will still be too high, I think. So as long as the plants are healthy, it seems that it might be wisest to allow the direct sunlight so I max out growth since I won't get any flowering either way . . .
I think you confuse air temp and (leaf) surface temp... Ever taken an IR thermometer to leaves in full sun vs behind shade cloth? There's probably a 20-30 degree delta to be found...
If you are fairly certain that temps are your problem, I would try to manage this variable first - I doubt you will run into problems with to little sun @ this stage...
Best of luck, Al
I had never even considered this until now! Al, do you know what a typical ambient+ reading would be on a leaf/leaves with the understanding that unusual (purple/black) plants will be different?
Seems as if this would've occurred to me as we did ambient+ measurements all the time on asphalt to do predictive tire temperatures at the track. Our asphalt was always about ambient+25-30F.
Anyway...
ok, did a little IR-measuring 4 you ....
ambiental temps: 70ºF
(slightly diffuse) sunny
plant A:
sunny leaf: 90º
shady leaf: 72º
Plant B:
sunny leaf: 101º
shady leaf: 75º
so there seems to be a temp delta of 25-30ºf between sunny vs. shady ...
you also might want to keep your roots cool (white pot, or better even, shadow the pot (soil))
IIWY: I'd go with 40% white shadow cloth all season ... you are def. not going to be short on light...
cheers
al
Thanks, Al. I'll try and shoot some pyrometer shots later this summer here, too and see if that is linear or if it tails off with higher ambients.
I'm also very curious whether surface temps are more indicative of pollen viability/fruiting. It may be more predictive than CW about ambient. Might be plant specific, species specific...or maybe not.
Also an interesting thought about covering the pots (most of mine are black) first. My setup isn't conducive to shade cloth (raised deck, no place to anchor without alteration/getting even more in the way of family space for now), so that may be my better bet.
Thanks for shooting those!
I'm also very curious whether surface temps are more indicative of pollen viability/fruiting. It may be more predictive than CW about ambient. Might be plant specific, species specific...or maybe not.
Also an interesting thought about covering the pots (most of mine are black) first. My setup isn't conducive to shade cloth (raised deck, no place to anchor without alteration/getting even more in the way of family space for now), so that may be my better bet.
Thanks for shooting those!