flowers fall off before the fruit is formed

Rainforest Tom · May 17, 2011

Dying Flowers..on Peppers.
Hello, I am growing Giant Tomatoes, several large Russian varieties and lots of very hot and hot peppers in the Amazon... Everything grows great down here all year long BUT I have 1 variety of mildly hot peppers that always have the flowers fall off before the fruit is formed. Is this due to the variety and killer bees refusing to pollinate them or is there something that got into the soil in that variety? The plants are beautiful and healthy I must say though

Thanks!

organichris · May 23, 2011

Looks like you stumped us, Tom. Would like to see some photos of your amazon garden.

RayR · May 23, 2011

peppers are self pollinating.
Maybe it's temperature related, peppers won't set fruit if it's too hot, some varieties may be more sensitive than others. Haven't got that problem up here.

Rainforest Tom · May 23, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by organichris

Looks like you stumped us, Tom. Would like to see some photos of your amazon garden.

Looks like it could be heat cause it was incredibly hot for several weeks, now the rains begin, it cools down a lot at night like to 72-75 degrees now and I actually have several long green semi hot peppers forming though many flowers and stems are still falling..so sad. maybe I need some geothermal cooling over the plants to drop the temp a bit because after digging a well for watering the Russian toms, it is very cool underground so I will dig and lay pipes. Would love to post some pics as soon as I figure out how to attach them.
My Adjuma Yello Hot peppers are doing great and now mature! There are the hottest variety I have ever eaten and come from the island of Jave I believe, literally take the skin off your lips,

I added some to some cassave chips we made down here and took to some relatives in Canada thinking it would causte them to burn BUT THEY LOVED the flavor and asked us to make more for the next trip this fall...

Rainforest Tom · May 23, 2011

Killer bees moved into my east wall this week, maybe because they are closer to my peppers they are finally polinating and 5% staying on the plant but likely the heat..?

Rainforest Tom · May 23, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayR

peppers are self pollinating.
Maybe it's temperature related, peppers won't set fruit if it's too hot, some varieties may be more sensitive than others. Haven't got that problem up here.

Thanks I think you may be right but it is hard to get away from the heat here, the rains started now so perhaps more will stay on!

Rainforest Tom · May 23, 2011

When I try to upload pics, I get a new screen that says I need to add a URL, Is this normal? Thanks

Rainforest Tom · May 23, 2011

Managed to get a picture of the latest batch of Killer bees on my Avatar but still working on uploading pics of the gardens,,,

Bdobs · May 23, 2011

Really hot and/or humid conditions can lead to blossom drop. Unfortunate, but common, look it up

Rainforest Tom · May 23, 2011

Hope these uploads work. First pic is one of the Adjuma plants and the second are the gourds I picked with the neighbor kids..

Rainforest Tom · May 24, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by organichris

Looks like you stumped us, Tom. Would like to see some photos of your amazon garden.

Looks like you may be Organic, that's Great, I am 100% organic here only add cow manure and water in the dry season

to veggy gardens

WVTomatoMan · May 24, 2011

Several things can cause blossom drop in peppers. In your case I would suspect heat and/or humidity. When daytime temperatures are in the 90s and nightime temperatures are 75 and above many varieties will have issues setting fruit. Hot peppers tend to handle the heat better than sweet peppers. Humidity can cause pollen clump, which can be an issue even though it is a more common issue with tomatoes.

I doubt the killer bees are having much affect. Generally pollenation has occurred before the blossom opens. Therefore smaller bees, like sweat bees, would be more likely to have an affect.

Good luck.

Randy

organichris · May 27, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainforest Tom

Hope these uploads work. First pic is one of the Adjuma plants and the second are the gourds I picked with the neighbor kids..

Excellent pictures, dude. Keep them coming.

franzb69 · May 28, 2011

flowers and pods on peppers are quite sensitive to temperatures. a difference of 10-12C with peppers will be forced the plant to abandon pods and flowers before they fully mature or even form a pod.

Rainforest Tom · May 30, 2011

The Grapefruits are lush and huge, ... Nice for desert after a feast of Tomatoes!

May 17, 2011	#1
Rainforest Tom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Amazon Posts: 61	flowers fall off before the fruit is formed Dying Flowers..on Peppers. Hello, I am growing Giant Tomatoes, several large Russian varieties and lots of very hot and hot peppers in the Amazon... Everything grows great down here all year long BUT I have 1 variety of mildly hot peppers that always have the flowers fall off before the fruit is formed. Is this due to the variety and killer bees refusing to pollinate them or is there something that got into the soil in that variety? The plants are beautiful and healthy I must say though Thanks!

May 23, 2011	#9
Bdobs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Martinez, CA Posts: 92	Really hot and/or humid conditions can lead to blossom drop. Unfortunate, but common, look it up __________________ -Brian

May 23, 2011	#2
organichris Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 630	Looks like you stumped us, Tom. Would like to see some photos of your amazon garden.

May 23, 2011	#3
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	peppers are self pollinating. Maybe it's temperature related, peppers won't set fruit if it's too hot, some varieties may be more sensitive than others. Haven't got that problem up here.

May 24, 2011	#12
WVTomatoMan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West Virginia - Zone 6 Posts: 594	Several things can cause blossom drop in peppers. In your case I would suspect heat and/or humidity. When daytime temperatures are in the 90s and nightime temperatures are 75 and above many varieties will have issues setting fruit. Hot peppers tend to handle the heat better than sweet peppers. Humidity can cause pollen clump, which can be an issue even though it is a more common issue with tomatoes. I doubt the killer bees are having much affect. Generally pollenation has occurred before the blossom opens. Therefore smaller bees, like sweat bees, would be more likely to have an affect. Good luck. Randy

May 28, 2011	#14
franzb69 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Philippines Posts: 210	flowers and pods on peppers are quite sensitive to temperatures. a difference of 10-12C with peppers will be forced the plant to abandon pods and flowers before they fully mature or even form a pod.