Why are my bell peppers turning yellow and falling off just after blooming?

Question:My tomatoes are doing great. I use the same fertilizer and bloom spray on both. Help!

Answers:
Hot, dry winds and dry soil may prevent fruit set or cause abortion of small immature fruits. A uniform moisture supply is essential with peppers, especially during the harvest season. Irrigate to maintain uniform moisture (not soaked). You may want to consider applying a layer of mulch.

Once you have flowers developed, you should apply a balanced fertilizer such as a 8-8-8 or a 10-10-10 around the base of your peppers. IF you apply the fertilizer prior to flower before flowers develop, the fertilizer will create more foliage growth and very little to flower development.

Calcium defficiency is also another problem to be concerned with. As with tomatoes, calcium should be applied foliarly and you can find it in a spray form at most of your hardware/garden shops. Please keep in mind that calcium is not readily translocated from roots to developing fruits/foilage so it's a good idea to apply it foliarly once the plant is established.

NOTE: IF you smoke.always remember to wash your hands prior to handling pepper plants. The nicotine causes Tobacco mosaic and is easily spread once it becomes established.

Hope this information helps solve your problem with the fruit drop. GOOD LUCK!

-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a Degree in Plant Science