Too many buds to produce fruit?

H

Holmbow

Hello,
 
My chilli plant has started to produce buds a month ago. A lot of them have turned into flowers, but 2-4 days of being a flower, the plant drops them.
 
I've been searching and searching for answers, but then it struck me - maybe my plant is overproducing. So I pruned my plant a little and removed 95% of all the buds. Counted together, a total of 100 buds have now left the plant.
 
The plant is a African Naga which, I believe, needs a lot of energy to produce the strength in the fruit - and if a rather small plant (12x12 inch) has that many buds, I believe it would be overloaded.
 
Is it for certain too many buds, og have I just now ruined the chance of 100 bright red chillies?
 
28643118_10216303212239393_1249438801_o.jpg
 
It has to be said that I know for a fact, that I have been overwatering the plant. I am trying to give it a few weeks of very little water. Maybe that will help aswell.
 
just let the plant be. It'll set fruit when its ready. I assume you are growing indoors? what size pot is it in? what are you fertilizing with? what kind of lighting are you using?
 
if indoors you likely have no pollinators...maybe diddle your flowers yourself, give the plant a gentle shake when you walk by it.
it'll be ok.
 
 
I am growing indoors in my South facing window, with an extra CFL bulb as light support. It is in a 1 litre pot, and I use a all purpose 7-1-5 liquid fertilizer.

I've tried pollinating with an old toothbrush and a gentle shake now and then. But maybe both you and #2 are right - I might just let it be for now, and see if it will produce fruit later on.
 
Holmbow said:
I am growing indoors in my South facing window, with an extra CFL bulb as light support. It is in a 1 litre pot, and I use a all purpose 7-1-5 liquid fertilizer.

I've tried pollinating with an old toothbrush and a gentle shake now and then. But maybe both you and #2 are right - I might just let it be for now, and see if it will produce fruit later on.
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Yeah you have a lot or growing season yet. Since you pruned it maybe repot into a larger container and give the plant something else to do for awhile.  
 
Holmbow said:
I am growing indoors in my South facing window, with an extra CFL bulb as light support. It is in a 1 litre pot, and I use a all purpose 7-1-5 liquid fertilizer.

I've tried pollinating with an old toothbrush and a gentle shake now and then. But maybe both you and #2 are right - I might just let it be for now, and see if it will produce fruit later on.
Click to expand...
 
The pot is too small, make it more like 5-7 litres and i am pretty sure you will get way more pods. Also your fertilizer could need a little bit more phosphorus and give the plant mild dose of epsom salt too.
 
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.
 
 
Walchit said:
I would say that pile of buds on your table relates to number 11? Lol
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Indeed - and number 11 can also be a reason for a lot of the other parameters.

I've ordered a few 12 litre pots and will replant it as soon as it arrives. After repotting I'll simply eliminate number 11 of the list, and the let plant be, with only small amount of care to see where that takes me :-)
 
The new home for my African Naga has arrived. The pot it was in before is the one with the basel in his to the right. Now I'm also able to put it out in my balcony when the summer arrives :-)
20180315_154155.jpg
 
Chilidude said:
Did you make huge holes in the bottom of the bucket?
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Yep, made 7 large holes, took the bucket and put it into another with some gravel at the bottom allowing some air underneath between the two :-)
 
I'm relatively new to Chili growing and are just going through mass flower drop on my scotch bonnets. I definitely don't suffer from number 11 as I only water when they wilt :-)

After extensive reading I think my issue is just too many flowers and the plant is self culling. Compared to your issue though, all my drops are bloomed flowers.
I think your issue is the over watering.
 

   
 
Clueless Wanderer said:
I'm relatively new to Chili growing and are just going through mass flower drop on my scotch bonnets. I definitely don't suffer from number 11 as I only water when they wilt :-)

After extensive reading I think my issue is just too many flowers and the plant is self culling. Compared to your issue though, all my drops are bloomed flowers.
I think your issue is the over watering.
 
   
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The picture taken is from after pruning and manually removing the buds - my plant only dropped bloomed flowers as well :-)
 
Just my 2 cents.  I do hydro, but this information should apply to soil as well.  I suffered severely from flower drop... and I mean like not one of the hundreds of flower I had on a Reaper would produce.  In the end what I found to work was cut WAY back on the nutes.  The way I figure it, if you give the plant everything it needs to GROW... then that is exactly what it will do... GROW !!
 
Cutting back on the nutes makes the plant switch into "I'm going to die soon so I should make fruit now" mode.  Nothing scientific, but it seemed to work.
 
Good luck !
 
Jeff
 
MNXR250R said:
Just my 2 cents.  I do hydro, but this information should apply to soil as well.  I suffered severely from flower drop... and I mean like not one of the hundreds of flower I had on a Reaper would produce.  In the end what I found to work was cut WAY back on the nutes.  The way I figure it, if you give the plant everything it needs to GROW... then that is exactly what it will do... GROW !!
 
Cutting back on the nutes makes the plant switch into "I'm going to die soon so I should make fruit now" mode.  Nothing scientific, but it seemed to work.
 
Good luck !
 
Jeff
Click to expand...
Okay, and my natural reaction would be to feed it more.

I have Jalapenos and scotch bonnets in the same brand of soil, individual pots, but never seen the SB's wilt or yellow a leaf but they have a constant overall light green to the leaf. The Jalapeno's would show deficiencies so I fed all of them.
 
There are kits at Home Depot and Lowes that allowxyku to check your npk. One thing I learned when my plants had massive flower drops was that my n peaked, but my pk was very low. I then changed the dynamics of my nutes to increase with mpk, and things have tapered off while growth and leaf balance, maximum has done well. New buds are forming slower and with more purpose. Something to think about is all my point is making.
 
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