Bell pepper or, as it is also called, sweet pepper is a thermophilic plant. It comes from Africa and is used to sunshine, a warm breeze and low humidity. Therefore, in our climatic conditions, this or that disease of Bulgarian pepper or various pests can occur. Today we will talk about what diseases this plant is affected by, what insects can damage the crop, how to prevent this.
Sweet pepper diseases
Like all cultivated plants, bell pepper diseases (photo attached) are divided into viral, bacterial and fungal. Most often on this plant of the nightshade family you can find signs of the following diseases:
- with white rot, the upper part of the plant withers, and the bottom of the stem rots;
- gray rot is characterized by spots on fruits of light green color and brown spots on them;
- the base of the fruit, covered with brown spots, is a disease of Bulgarian pepper called brown rot;
- tobacco mosaic (leaves with dark and light green stripes);
- Fusarium wilt, in which yellowed leaves and shoots wilt;
- black leg - a disease characteristic of peppers grown in a greenhouse, manifested by blackening of the stem at the base, as a result, the plant dies;
- Fusarium - a disease in which leaves are dropped;
- late blight - hard dark spots on the fruits, often at their ends;
- spotted wilting - leaves with a purple hue and brown spots, the fruits are ringed with rims from green to yellow;
- root rot - this disease can appear on seedlings and on an adult plant.
How to treat Bulgarian pepper disease?
All these ailments appear due to increased humidity or due to improper care. They are treated by drying the soil, loosening and sprinkling with wood ash. It is recommended to remove the affected bushes and burn them, in order to prevent infection of other plants. If the disease has just begun to manifest itself, then the pepper is sprayed with fungicides or with Fundazol.
Pepper pests
Most often, the following insects attack this plant:
The aphid that appears on the leaves and then spreads to the entire plant. This insect drinks all the juices, and eventually the pepper dies.
Spider mite. It acts the same as aphids, but leaves a characteristic web.
Naked slugs that damage the fruit. As a result, they rot and become unusable.
To combat all insects, the plants are sprayed with Karbofos or Keltan.
Care Rules
All diseases and pests of bell pepper in most cases are the result of errors in care. You need to know the following:
- pour pepper no more than twice a week with warm water;
- for the whole summer they are fertilized up to five times with mullein, bird droppings, urea or complex mineral fertilizers;
- pinch the tops of the plant and remove the extra stepsons;
- regularly loosen the soil and spud the plant;
- weeds are removed;
- Before sowing, it is recommended to disinfect seeds and soil.
Well, and, of course, under favorable weather conditions, when it is not very hot and cold, no illness of Bulgarian pepper will spoil your crop.