Guide to Growing Bigger, Healthier Peppers

Growing healthier, higher-quality peppers starts with addressing plant health before problems appear. From preparing the soil to supporting pollination and preventing disease, a proactive approach will help you produce larger, more uniform fruit while reducing some of the most common challenges in pepper production.

How to Grow Larger Peppers: The Coveted 4-Lobe Pepper

For bell pepper growers, a solid, blocky four-lobe pepper is premium fruit. Four-lobe peppers are typically more symmetrical, heavier, thicker walled, sweeter, and more disease resistant, while three-lobe peppers are often considered seconds.

We look at lobe count as more than a characteristic of the variety. It is also an indicator of plant health and pollination. When peppers experience stress during blossoming and pollination, especially from hot weather, water stress, low calcium, or low boron, the crop will produce more three-lobe fruit.

That gives growers an opportunity to influence the percentage of premium four-lobe peppers they produce. By keeping plants adequately watered and maintaining calcium and boron levels during this critical stage, we create the conditions needed for better pollination and more desirable fruit.

Soil Preparation

Phytophthora is one of the biggest reasons to focus on soil preparation before planting. It can spread rapidly through a field, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall, and once an outbreak occurs, controlling it becomes much more difficult.

We want to start with a field that has good drainage. If drainage is a concern, use a subsoiler to improve water movement through the soil.

We also focus on building a balanced biological environment before peppers go into the ground. Our starting point for biological applications includes Root Primer, BioQuest Foundation, and EnSoil Algae. These products help balance the biological populations in the field and establish healthier soil before planting.

Cover crops are another important part of our approach. In our experience, we have found that a blend of oats, mustard, and peas works well when planted in the fall before pepper production. Allow the mustard to flower a little before frost terminates the crop.

Preparing the field before planting is one of the most important steps you can take for pepper health. Problems such as Phytophthora are much easier to prevent than they are to correct after they become established.

Planting Process

Planting is one of your best opportunities to influence crop health, and it is also one of the least expensive opportunities to do so.

We recommend adding 1 pound of BioQuest Magnifier to the transplant water. BioQuest Magnifier is a seed treatment containing beneficial microbes and mycorrhizal fungi that supports the crop as it becomes established.

Starting with a strong biological foundation around the developing roots gives the plant a better foundation for the rest of the growing season.

Watering

Peppers require a lot of water. When plants become dry, they will not set or fill out fruit well.

Water management becomes especially important during blossoming and pollination. Water stress at this stage interferes with pollination and contributes to a higher percentage of three-lobe peppers.

We recommend keeping plants adequately watered throughout the growing season, with particular attention during fruit set and development. At the same time, avoid creating saturated soil conditions. Excess moisture and poor drainage create the conditions Phytophthora needs to spread.

This is why irrigation and drainage have to be managed together. Peppers need plenty of water, but they also need a root zone where water can move through the soil instead of remaining stagnant.

Nutrient Needs

Calcium is the primary nutrient challenge we see in pepper production. Peppers have difficulty taking up adequate calcium, while they take up potassium very easily. Excessive potassium uptake can interfere with calcium availability.

Our approach is to put down a flush of available calcium as a soil fertilizer, usually in the form of gypsum, along with boron and sulfur. Both boron and sulfur enhance calcium uptake.

We also avoid potassium fertilization unless the plants show a need for additional potassium during the growing season. Manganese is another important trace mineral because it helps control potassium, so we keep manganese at adequate levels.

Peppers also require significant amounts of nitrogen and zinc. When these nutrients are inadequate, plants will not grow aggressively and the fruit will be much more susceptible to sunscald damage.

For foliar applications (per acre), a good starting point is: 

• 1-2 quarts of MicroForce
• 2 pounds of ProCal
• 8-16 ounces of BioQuest CropShield

NutriPlus can be added to this program, and we are seeing significant benefits from its inclusion, especially when it comes to calcium uptake.

Focus on Calcium and Boron During Pollination

Blossoming and pollination are critical stages for pepper production. This is when growers have a major opportunity to influence the percentage of four-lobe fruit.

We address calcium and boron heavily through drip irrigation and use foliar applications where appropriate. We also make sure plants have adequate water throughout this stage.

Think of lobe count as feedback from the plant. If you are seeing too many three-lobe peppers, look at what happened during blossoming and pollination. Heat stress, water stress, low calcium, and low boron all contribute to poor pollination and more three-lobe fruit.

Common Disease & Pest Problems for Peppers

Pepper growers face several recurring disease and pest challenges. Some problems can be addressed during the growing season, while others, particularly Phytophthora, are much easier to prevent than fix.

Our approach focuses on prevention through healthy soil, balanced nutrition, adequate water, and early intervention when problems appear.

Bacterial Leaf Spot

Bacterial spot is a common disease that peppers are highly susceptible to. We have found that it responds well to nutritional applications when those applications are made early enough.

Bacterial spot usually appears on the underside of the leaves first before becoming visible on the upper surface. If the disease continues to develop, it will eventually move onto the fruit.

Bacterial spot is usually seed-borne, but it also survives on crop debris and solanaceous weeds, including weeds in the same family as peppers and tomatoes. High relative humidity, heavy dew, and warm weather favor infection and disease development.

Controlling bacterial spot is important because these infections become entry points for secondary fruit rots such as anthracnose.

When plants develop bacterial spot, we recommend applying the following as a foliar application per acre: 

2 quarts of Rebound Zinc

2 quarts of Rebound Copper

2 pounds of Conductor 16 

You can substitute 2 quarts of NutriPlus for the Conductor 16.

We have seen substantial reductions in bacterial spot with this recipe. It typically takes a few applications to get the disease under control, so early intervention is critical.

For more information, read our complete guide to Preventing and Treating Bacterial Leaf Spot on Peppers.

Thrips

Thrips can wreak havoc on a pepper crop. These small insects move into the flowers and damage the tiny developing buds. The resulting fruit becomes distorted and develops numerous feeding marks.

One of the biggest challenges with thrips is that pesticides do not always work well. Thrips hide inside the blooms, where they are protected from sprays unless the application achieves adequate pressure and coverage.

Our current best line of defense is keeping Brix content high and nitrate content low. Maintaining plant health and balanced nutrition gives the crop a stronger defense against thrips pressure.

Regular scouting remains important. Pay close attention to flowers and developing fruit so you can identify thrips pressure before significant fruit damage occurs.

Phytophthora

Phytophthora is one of the most destructive problems we see in pepper production. During periods of heavy rainfall, it can wipe out large portions of a field in a very short time.

We focus on preventing Phytophthora rather than trying to fix it after an outbreak. Phytophthora is essentially a specific strain of biology that has gone rampant. To prevent it, the soil needs a more balanced ratio of the different bacteria and fungi naturally found in healthy soil.

Our preparation starts with drainage. Pick a field with good drainage or use a subsoiler to improve drainage.

Next, apply biologicals to help balance the biological populations in the field. We recommend Root Primer, BioQuest Foundation, and EnSoil Algae as a starting point.

We also recommend sowing a cover crop blend of oats, mustard, and peas in the fall before pepper production. Allow the mustard to flower a little before frost terminates the crop.

There are things we can do to slow Phytophthora when an outbreak occurs, but prevention is far more effective. Preparing the field, improving drainage, building soil biology, and using the right cover crop strategy give you the best opportunity to keep Phytophthora from becoming a major problem.

For more information, read our complete guide to What Is Phytophthora and How to Treat It?.

Anthracnose

Anthracnose is another important disease to watch for in pepper production. Warm, wet weather favors infection and development. While anthracnose can develop on green fruit, it is much more likely to show itself on red, ripe fruit.

We pay close attention to calcium and boron early in the crop’s life cycle because these nutrients form our primary line of defense against anthracnose.

Bacterial spot also makes anthracnose more concerning. When bacterial spot damages the plant and fruit, those infections become entry points for secondary fruit rots such as anthracnose.

Our team also expects to see resistance benefits from BioQuest CropShield and Pinion as part of the overall crop management program.

The key is to address plant health early rather than waiting for anthracnose to appear on mature fruit. Adequate calcium and boron throughout the crop’s development give the plant a stronger foundation for producing healthy fruit.

Locate a Trusted Keystone Bio-Ag Dealer Near You

Every pepper grower will face different challenges, and we have developed regenerative products to help address many of the most common issues in pepper production. Our dealers are not just a source for products. They are also there as consultants to help you understand your soil and crop nutrient needs.

From preparing the soil before planting to managing calcium and boron during pollination, growing healthier peppers requires attention to the entire crop. We focus on building healthy soil, maintaining balanced nutrition, managing water, and addressing problems early.

If you want to produce higher-quality peppers while building healthier soil for future crops, locate the closest Keystone Bio-Ag dealer to you or contact us directly to discuss your crop.