Wilting Chillies
Concerned about wilting chillies? Are you giving your chillies enough water? How often should you water your chillies? What causes chili plants to suddenly wilt? These are some of the questions I’ll attempt to answer in this post.
Occasionally, chillies wilt because they’re baking in the hot sun. If you’re watering your plants sufficiently, the cause is likely fungal wilt. Wilting Chillies can be caused by either fusarium or verticillium wilt, but the two cause such similar symptoms that distinguishing between them often requires a laboratory evaluation.
While you’re questioning what causes wilting chillies, take a careful look at the environment. Are your chillies getting enough water? Have there been many hot, dry winds lately? You may simply need to increase watering.
A chilli plant that is wilting from lack of water will recover quickly. I recommend mixing up some good liquid fertiliser and giving your wilting chilli plants a good drink. They should bounce back to life within a few hours.
If your chillies are wilting suddenly, developing large yellow areas and drooping (particularly if this starts on the bottom leaves and moves upward) despite sufficient watering, fungal wilt is probably to blame. Spotted wilt virus is a less common cause of wilted pepper plants, but if your plant’s leaves are dotted with brown or black spots or unusual yellow lines or circles and the symptoms move through the plant from the top down, it is very likely the cause.
Occasionally, bacterial pepper wilt may affect your plants. Pepper plants will wilt and die quickly and upon inspection, the inner stems may be dark, watery and hollow.
Sadly, both fungal wilts and plant viruses are incurable, but the methods of prevention are very different, making proper identification vital. Once you’ve removed the plant and destroyed it, you’ll need to take some precautions to ensure that the disease doesn’t spread or reappear next season.
Fungal wilts are soil-borne and can live in the soil for many years. Long crop rotations may be able to kill the fusarium and verticillium pathogens, but it will take time before planting in the old location is safe again. Choose a new garden location and keep it free of fungus by increasing drainage and only watering when the top two inches of soil feel dry to the touch.
Spotted wilt virus is spread by thrips, tiny insects that may set up shop in the weeds around your plants. Keep weeds trimmed and use reflective mulch whenever possible.
The first hour
As you can see in this photo the plant is very wilted. I mixed up 5 litres of liquid fertiliser and applied the full 5 litres to the wilting chilli.
3 hours later
As you can see the chilli plant is recovering nicely. The plant is still sitting in the sun, I live in Queensland so the sun can be very aggressive. I gave this chilli an additional 3 litres of water.
6 hours later
As you can see this chilli plant has almost fully recovered from dehydration. On a side note the liquid fertiliser helped in ripening most of the pods that where on this particular plant. I am going to repeat this test and see if I can repeat the results.
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Nice article. Thanks.
Thanks
I think your article was nicked by someone else.
ww.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/pepper/pepper-wilt-on-plants.htm
I think your right, they must have liked it to.
I am in despair … last year I grew my first chilli plants in a veggie pod, in soil recommended by my local nursery… the plants took off beautifully, unfortunately they were eventually invaded by aphids and being a new gardener it took a while before I realised that I had a problem …. on advice again, I sprayed soapy water, then went to white oil with no luck. I managed to get a small crop of chillies before the aphids took over. After some further research I also realised where that where pod was positioned, the plants did not get a full eight hours of sun. The location went into shade around 4 ish. This year, I planted about six plants in individual pots and in a full day sun location …. within weeks the plants were struggling, leaves dropping off, some plants have fruited some are still small and obviously still not happy. I realise that it’s trail and error being a new gardener and my second attempt at growing chillies. I live In Mittagong NSW Southern Highlands, with unpredictable climate …we have had heatwaves for weeks, then (now) non stop rain and thunderstorms…temperatures have gone from 36 degrees to 16 degrees within the last six weeks. This is my last attempt to get some advice as I am on the verge of pulling up my plants and going back to buying expensive chillies from Harris Farm . Can you help please
G’day Carol,
If you want to know almost everything about growing chillies I recommend investing in a copy of “The Complete Chile Pepper book” By Dave DeWitt.
For your Aphids I use Dettol just mix 10 parts water to 1 part Dettol and spray your plants each day until the aphids are gone. Or if you can encourage some lady beetles into your garden they will eat the aphids for you.
With the leaves dropping off, sometimes plants that have not been in full sun can go into shock when placed in full sun and the leaves can drop off. But if you started and are growing in full sun they might be lacking something. Try feeding them with powerfeed once a week, that seems to make them strong and healthy. The heat waves can also be stressful for them, just give them a bit more water in the afternoon and they should cope.
I hope that helps, if you need anymore help just ask.