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    Capsicum

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    Bijeta Thongam
    The document describes various physiological disorders that can affect pepper plants and fruit, including blossom end rot, sunscald, fruit cracks, fruit splitting, fruit spots, misshapen fruit, and internal growths. Blossom end rot is caused by environmental stressors like water deficits or nutrient deficiencies that limit calcium movement in the plant. Sunscald causes similar lesions from direct fruit exposure to sunlight. Maintaining optimal growing conditions can help prevent most of these disorders.

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    Capsicum

    Uploaded by

    Bijeta Thongam
    95 views3 pages
    The document describes various physiological disorders that can affect pepper plants and fruit, including blossom end rot, sunscald, fruit cracks, fruit splitting, fruit spots, misshapen fruit, and internal growths. Blossom end rot is caused by environmental stressors like water deficits or nutrient deficiencies that limit calcium movement in the plant. Sunscald causes similar lesions from direct fruit exposure to sunlight. Maintaining optimal growing conditions can help prevent most of these disorders.

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    The document describes various physiological disorders that can affect pepper plants and fruit, including blossom end rot, sunscald, fruit cracks, fruit splitting, fruit spots, misshapen fruit, and internal growths. Blossom end rot is caused by environmental stressors like water deficits or nutrient deficiencies that limit calcium movement in the plant. Sunscald causes similar lesions from direct fruit exposure to sunlight. Maintaining optimal growing conditions can help prevent most of these disorders.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    95 views3 pages

    Capsicum

    Uploaded by

    Bijeta Thongam
    The document describes various physiological disorders that can affect pepper plants and fruit, including blossom end rot, sunscald, fruit cracks, fruit splitting, fruit spots, misshapen fruit, and internal growths. Blossom end rot is caused by environmental stressors like water deficits or nutrient deficiencies that limit calcium movement in the plant. Sunscald causes similar lesions from direct fruit exposure to sunlight. Maintaining optimal growing conditions can help prevent most of these disorders.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Description / botany: Leaves alternate, simple, without marginal teeth.

    Flowers white or greenish white, usually stalked and solitary or in 2- to 3-flowered clusters, generally wheel-shaped and 5-lobed. Fruit typically podlike with a thickish rind. Most are hot; all are edible.

    Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/capsicum#ixzz1aOoiBBG9

    Taxonomy Popular Name: Super Kingdom: Kingdom: Phylum: Sub Phylum: Division: Subdivision: Super Class: Size of Genome: FoodCompData: Sweet Pepper Eukaryota Viridiplantae Streptophyta Embryophyta Tracheophyta Spermatophyta Magnoliophyta Class: Super Order: Order: Family: Sub Family: Tribe: Genus: Species: Variety: Asteridae lamiids Solanales Solanaceae

    Capsicum annuum L. var. Annuum

    Physiological Disorders
    Blossom end rot Blossom end rot (BER) is a common disorder of greenhouse peppers, with the symptoms occurring on the pepper fruit. The disorder is associated with a number of environmental stress triggers as well as calcium deficiency (Howard et al 1994). Any condition which causes water stress or a reduction in transpiration, and resultant movement of nutrients through the plants can bring on symptoms. Under watering, fluctuating water conditions, from dry to wet to dry etc., damage to the root system high E.C. in the root zone can cause BER (Howard et al 1994, Portree 1996). An actual calcium deficiency to the plant is rarely the primary cause of the disorder as BER can develop when adequate levels of calcium are being fed to the plants. The environmental factors that can trigger the disorder interfere with the movement of calcium within the plant, causing less calcium to reach the fruit. Some cultivars are more prone to this disorder than others (Portree 1996). Symptoms of BER begin as soft spots on the fruit which develop into sunken tan-brown lesions with a very distinct border between affected and healthy tissue. The spots usually occur on the bottom third of the fruit and are not strictly confined to the bottom, or blossom end of the fruit. Affected fruit are unmarketable. Control is obtained by avoiding conditions of moisture stress or conditions of reduced transpiration

    in the crop, ensure that the plants receive adequate water and that vapor pressure deficit (VPD) targets are met. Weekly foliar applications of calcium nitrate can have a significant impact on reducing the amount of BER ( Schon 1993).

    Sunscald The symptoms of sunscald on the pepper fruit are very similar to those for blossom end rot. Soft, tan coloured sunken lesions develop fruit that are exposed to direct sunlight. It is important to adjust pruning practices to ensure that all fruit are shaded from direct sunlight. Applying shading to the greenhouse during the summer months will also help reduce the incidence of sunscald. Temperatures of exposed fruit can often be 10 C higher than shaded fruit, reaching over 35 C during the mid day of a typical hot, sunny Alberta afternoon, even when air temperatures in the greenhouse are maintained below 27 C. Fruit temperatures over 35 C should be avoided (Portree 1996).

    Fruit craks: This condition is characterized by the appearance of very fine, superficial cracks on the surface of the pepper fruit which gives a rough texture to the fruit (Portree 1996). The development of these cracks are associated with sudden changes in the growth rate of the individual fruit. The appearance of fruit cracks can follow periods of high relative humidity (over 85%), changes from hot sunny weather to cool cloudy weather or vise versa (Portree 1996). Maintaining a consistent, optimized growing environment is the best way to prevent the development of fruit cracks. Fruit splitting The development of large cracks in the fruit is a direct response to high root pressure. Factors that contribute to the development of high root pressure directly impact fruit splitting (Portree 1996). Ensure that optimal VPD targets are met at all times. Adjust the timing of the last watering in the day so as not to water too late. Eliminate any night watering cycles. Fruit spots The appearance of small whit dots below the surface of the pepper fruit is associated with excess calcium levels in the fruit, and the subsequent formation of calcium oxalate crystals (Portree 1996). Conditions that promote high root pressure will also favor the development of fruit spots. Misshapen fruit The development of misshapen fruit is generally associated with sub-optimal growing conditions at flowering and pollination which result in poor flower development or poor pollination. Section 6.3.7 discusses some of the common causes of misshapen fruit, which include the temperatures being either too cool or too warm. Ensuring that all environmental targets are met and maintained will reduce or eliminate the development of misshapen fruit. internal growths in the fruit: The development of growths within the pepper usually appear early in the cropping cycle, generally on the first fruit set (Portree 1996). This results from abnormal tissue development in the honey gland of the fruit (Portree 1996).

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