Pepper seedling suddenly wilted
I've been growing pepper seedlings (about 20 of them) and most of them look fine and healthy, except this seedling as seen below which suddenly drooped, wilted, and started to dry out. At first i thought it was due to the heat (I live in a tropical country) and wilting leaves were a common sight on plants during sunny middays. So i left this particular seedling in its container for a few days hoping that it will grow back up, but it just worstened and its stems below started to thin out thus more severe drooping occurred, and had no choice but to give up on this paricular seedling.
P.S. My other seedlings' seed leaves are turning yellow and dropping off. Is this normal? My seedlings are currently on their 3rd set of true leaves.
Comments (11)
northeast_chileman
7 years agoAgree with Juanitos Peppers, looks like "Damping Off", see encircled area of your plant below....Note healthy to dying? Click here for help.> prevent damping off disease
Jastine thanked northeast_chilemanRelated Discussions
Yummy Bell Peppers Wilting
Comments (8)There is a stem caterpillar. It borrows a small hole and eats out the stem and then the plant beyond the area wilts just like that. The moth lays the egg and it hatches and goes inside the stem when the caterpillar is very tiny. After it grows it is ready to come out of the stem and it will borrow a large hole to get out. But usually it stays inside for some time. It has been my luck to lose branches and large parts of plants but not the entire plant. Looks like you are losing the entire plant. look down near the ground level and squeeze the stem lightly. If the stem is hollow it will flatten easy. If you cut down the branch and cut off the hole you can root the good upper part of the stem and maybe save the plant if you have a long grow season. unfortunately peppers do not root so easy like tomatoes. But if it is warm outdoors they root pretty well if kept in the shade for at least 10 days. If you cut out the hollow part of the stem you have a chance that you can get the plant to come back by standing in water overnight. The stem should take in water and the plant should recover. if you have a nice solid good cut on the branch and no hollow parts remaining. After you cut down the plant there is also an opportunity that the stump will throw off new branches. It will do it. Just not sure of the time you have for all this. The new branches might be slow coming out of the stump. Keep in the hot sun to speed up the new branches and keep watered. good luck. It might not be what I suggest. I would have to inspect the plant to find out. I am sure you can find out. squeeze the stem carefully and look carefully. keep the plant in the shade until you find the problem. Obviously it can not take the sun right now. I will bet you have a hollow stem from the caterpillar. It fits the description. Grows well and then suddenly collapses. sounds just right....See MoreWilting Pepper Plant
Comments (2)It may be bacterial wilt spread by insects, it starts slow. Wilting in the day and kind of springing back in the evening until it eventually wont spring back and turns woody. Ive had it happened to my bells and just happened 2 days ago on a cayenne pepper plant. Other plans should be fine. Good luck...See MorePlease help, wilted peppers!
Comments (10)First, take them off the heat mat. That's for starting seeds, once they are up, a bit cooler for the roots is better. Second, since I'm not there to pick them up and look at them, I might be wrong, but it looks like they dried out too much. Or, did you jostle them a lot while potting up the tomatoes and damage their roots? Either way, a bit of water will help what can be helped, though some might not make it from the looks of it. Third, get them into some bigger pots, they need much more space for their roots. That small amount of space may be why they have dried out so fast. Cheers!...See MoreSeedlings suddenly kind of limp...
Comments (17)I'll third the floppy growth. They will do fine. Just planted too shallow. Water your bed first when planting. And give it a good pat down, then form a few trenches and cover your seeds. An inch deep. Pat down again. When watering and a heavy rain will often lift them up and out if not careful. I just poked in another row of peas, two inches deep with my thumb, in wet soil...looked up the row after watering in, and a few had popped up and out of the soil. And yes, you need to work on your spacing. Some use a dibler board for sq ft gardening. Or use a dowel like a broom handle to map out your planting. Two-3 seeds per and thin once up. You've got clumping....See More
Jastine
7 years agoThank you for the replies . After a few days more seedlings started to topple over, and more signs of damping off was evident on the poor seedlings.
All the pepper seeds were started on a plastic container and were just transplanted to basic plastic cups (poked some holes at the bottom). I just started to grow these peppers as some form of a hobby, and was not really serious at first. But as soon as I saw them sprout it made me all giddy and seeing them grow made me even happier. With all that's happening, I've researched more about how to properly care for pepper plants. And the main cause of all this is the wrong soil that i used. I just used basic garden loamy soil from my backyard thus soil compaction IS an issue, and other possible problems that can arise from improper choice of soil. I've learned my lesson and will properly take care and do proper research for my future seedlings from now on.
My question now is is it still possible to save some of my healthy looking seedlings if I transplant them to the proper form of soil? Or do I just give up on them and start over with the right form of potting medium? As of now I diluted some of the chamomile tea I was having earlier and sprayed some on the soil (did a google search that it could save seedlings from the fungi w/c causes damping off) as some form of a temporary solution. I appreciate all the help that I received and would still get .
Jastine
7 years ago
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
7 years agohabjolokia z 6b/7
7 years ago
Juanitos Peppers