Jalapeno Blossom Drop

[gsaxon]

I have a n AG Harvest with 2 jalapeno plants. One of the jalapeno plant is tall and the second plant is shorter. There are about 20 jalapenos on the larger plant, but over the last 10-12 days, all of the blossoms are falling off. I have been hand pollinating both plants with an electric toothbrush, but it doesn't help. I can even see the pollen come out of the flowers when I am pollinating. The smaller plant has about 8 jalapenos on it and it also just started to drop the blossoms. I have been using the AG fertilizer the entire time and have been using 8 ml of fertilizer every two weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions for this problem?  Do I need to add more fertilizer or less fertilizer, or is there another problem? The room is a constant 72-75 degrees and I do have air circulation as well.

Thanks!

[Sher]

It sounds like you are doing everything right.

One of the things that causes peppers to drop blossoms is when they are supporting all the peppers they are capable of. They shed the extra blossoms.

That could be your problem.

If the plants are a lighter green than they should be, you can add an extra ml of nutrients and see if it perks them up.  As they mature, they sometimes need up to 10 ml, but be careful you don't over fertilize them.

[Shawn]

There could be a few reasons why there is some blossom drop (although mike may know more).

I have had this with many of my pepper plants.    If there are a lot of flowers/buds, some can be falling off because others are taking all the energy.  Are there temp fluctuations near the plant? Is the water too hot?  While peppers like warm water they do not want hot.  

Have you tried to remove the large lower darker leaves?  Taking these off will give more energy to the rest of the plant.

How much nutrients are you using?  You may need more (or less).

[gsaxon]

I am currently using 8 ml every 2 weeks. The plants look healthy, but there are a lot of jalapenos on the plants. Perhaps when I pick some of the peppers, the blossoms will not drop.

[mike]

I've never found an answer for blossom drop. Jalapenos are notorious for it though, but not on all plants.

[gsaxon]

Shawn,  
Have you ever had a plant drop a lot of blossoms and then have a second crop of jalapenos later? Or, do you think that after I harvest these peppers, I should start a new plant (eventhough the plant is very healthy)?

[Shawn]

I have had blossom fall off before and had a second and a third crop.  I think it also depends on the plant as well.  But I am by no means a expert.  I just share my experiences   As far as starting new, that is a personal preference.

[mike]

Don't start over. Blossom drop is common. It won't affect your overall yield. 

[gsaxon]

Thanks!  I will see how the plant produces after harvesting the current jalapenos.

[hakaku]

I've grown a number of pepper plants and agree with everyone else, it's pretty normal to have blossoms drop and I've even had some peppers that were just starting to form drop as well. Despite this, they all produced tons of peppers.

I wouldn't be worried unless you're seeing anything else going wrong with the plants (such as drooping branches or leaves that are spotting/burning/yellowing/turning black/molding or showing signs of edema/intumescence). These things can be signs of a variety of different problems such as temperature issues, water pH problems, nutrient imbalance (too much or too little), lack of air circulation, etc. Sometimes doing a complete flush of the water and adding fresh water+nutrients can really help.

[Sher]

May 20, 2020 10:45:25 GMT -5 hakaku said:

I've grown a number of pepper plants and agree with everyone else, it's pretty normal to have blossoms drop and I've even had some peppers that were just starting to form drop as well. Despite this, they all produced tons of peppers.

I wouldn't be worried unless you're seeing anything else going wrong with the plants (such as drooping branches or leaves that are spotting/burning/yellowing/turning black/molding or showing signs of edema/intumescence). These things can be signs of a variety of different problems such as temperature issues, water pH problems, nutrient imbalance (too much or too little), lack of air circulation, etc. Sometimes doing a complete flush of the water and adding fresh water+nutrients can really help.

Thank you, hakaku. That's comprehensive advice in a nutshell.

[mike]

A few years ago, I grew an ornamental hybrid called "Loco". They resembled grapes, except they were purple until they ripened to red. They made such a mess with dropped blooms. But they kicked out hundreds of peppers on two plants.I used half to make a Loco Sauce. These were hotter than cayenne but less than habanero. The sauce was delicious. They have a lot of seeds, though.

Don't worry about the blossom drop.

[Shawn]

OMG, I remember that mike.  It makes me remember my Mystery pepper that had tons of dropped blossoms and also produced a LOT of peppers.

[gsaxon]

Well, that is encouraging news. I will wait it out and see what the future holds!  I will keep everyone updated.