What do you do to avoid flower/fruit abortion?

[Tobi]

Good day everyone.
Please I've been battling with flower and fruit abortion in this greenhouse for a long time.
This is the third time I'm planting inside it and facing this same challenge.
No traces of nutrient deficiency the issue keeps repeating each time we plant bell pepper.
I've sometimes tried to applied calcium in ring form and sometimes through fertigation and I still get the same result, I'm still thinking of foliar spray. But I don't know maybe the greenhouse temperature is the issue because we have no cooling fan in it to control the temperature and it's extremely hot at times.
What do you think I need to do to stop this?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What does that fruit and flower abortion look like? Do fruits form and fall off or rot? If so, how big do they get before they fall off or rot? Or do they fail to form?

Peppers are self-pollinating. The pollen in a pepper flower can pollinate that same flower. That's why they usually breed true. They do not need pollinators to transfer pollen from one flower to another. But they do need something to shake the flower so the pollen gets transferred. That can be an insect crawling around on it or maybe the wind shaking the plant. What is going on in your greenhouse to cause that shaking of the flower? Is lack of pollination part of the problem?

I know tomatoes are heat sensitive, unless nighttime temperatures cool off to a certain degree new tomatoes will not set on. Different varieties have different tolerances but it's usually in the range of 70 F (21 C) for tomatoes. I don't know if the same holds true for peppers or not.

 

[Tobi]

The flowers drop after forming, and some of them fall after turning to young fruit. They don't rotten, they just drop off.

What does that fruit and flower abortion look like? Do fruits form and fall off or rot? If so, how big do they get before they fall off or rot? Or do they fail to form?

Peppers are self-pollinating. The pollen in a pepper flower can pollinate that same flower. That's why they usually breed true. They do not need pollinators to transfer pollen from one flower to another. But they do need something to shake the flower so the pollen gets transferred. That can be an insect crawling around on it or maybe the wind shaking the plant. What is going on in your greenhouse to cause that shaking of the flower? Is lack of pollination part of the problem?

I know tomatoes are heat sensitive, unless nighttime temperatures cool off to a certain degree new tomatoes will not set on. Different varieties have different tolerances but it's usually in the range of 70 F (21 C) for tomatoes. I don't know if the same holds true for peppers or not.

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[flowerbug]

yes, you have moderate the temperatures.

 

[Tobi]

What does that fruit and flower abortion look like? Do fruits form and fall off or rot? If so, how big do they get before they fall off or rot? Or do they fail to form?

Peppers are self-pollinating. The pollen in a pepper flower can pollinate that same flower. That's why they usually breed true. They do not need pollinators to transfer pollen from one flower to another. But they do need something to shake the flower so the pollen gets transferred. That can be an insect crawling around on it or maybe the wind shaking the plant. What is going on in your greenhouse to cause that shaking of the flower? Is lack of pollination part of the problem?

I know tomatoes are heat sensitive, unless nighttime temperatures cool off to a certain degree new tomatoes will not set on. Different varieties have different tolerances but it's usually in the range of 70 F (21 C) for tomatoes. I don't know if the same holds true for peppers or not.

Scouting now, i found this two. The one in the first picture will eventually drop with the way it look and the second picture already drop.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

It’s probably too hot. They could also be going unfertilized if there isn’t a source of wind.

 

[Tobi]

Thanks
I guess we need to get a shading net, I hope this will help regulate the heat.

 

[R2elk]

My guess is they aren't getting fertilized. I use a little paint brush to spread the pollen from the stamens to the pistils.

 

[Zeedman]

The plants look healthy, but they can tolerate higher temperatures than the flowers. As others have already stated, excessive heat is the most likely cause of the blossom drop. If there is electrical power, adding an exhaust fan would help. The fan has the added benefit of causing plant movement, which helps to pollinate the flowers. Without a fan, I would recommend shade cloth, and improved venting to allow some wind to pass through.

In my experience, bell peppers are the most temperamental of the peppers. Other thick-walled peppers, such as paprika and pimento types, are less problematic. I gave up bell peppers years ago in favor of thick non-bell types, and have never regretted it.

 

[flowerbug]

Thanks
I guess we need to get a shading net, I hope this will help regulate the heat.

i hope that does help, i'm not sure if your greenhouses are fixed sides that you can't open or not, but anything you can do to improve the daytime temperatures to get them down will be a help.

you may need evaporative cooling and shade that is up on top of the greenhouse and not inside as if you put shade cloth inside the greenhouse that won't do anything at all or may even raise the temperature even more.

without knowing what you are doing and what conditions are like... well, hard to know for sure.

you can get cooler temperatures by burying big enough pipes in the ground and then sucking air through them to bring cooler air up. if you can get solar panels you can use them to run the fans only when needed.

burying the sides of the greenhouses can also help, but perhaps isn't always possible. straw bales and other types of walls can provide a temperature moderation source, there are a lot of options, just not sure what will actually be possible there or what may help.

i am just throwing ideas out there, i hope things improve for you.