Contents
Pepper, despite its reputation as a capricious and demanding plant, every gardener dreams of growing. After all, its fruits contain six times more ascorbic acid than citrus plants. And in terms of taste, it is rare that a vegetable can compete with it. In addition, cooking a variety of adjikas, seasonings, sauces and vegetable preparations for the winter is unthinkable without hot pepper. In fact, growing modern varieties and hybrids of pepper is not so difficult if you provide the plants with enough heat and moisture. In areas with unstable weather conditions, additional film shelters may be used. Pepper is also very picky about nutrition. And in adverse conditions, it can be susceptible to various fungal diseases. Therefore, it will probably be difficult to manage without regular dressings and treatments.
At the same time, many gardeners are now trying to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and remedies in order to get not only tasty, but also healthy fruits. What natural folk remedies can help in this situation? In the case of pepper, ordinary iodine can help out, which is easy to find in the first-aid kit of every home. After all, iodine can serve for pepper not only as a fertilizer, but also as a growth stimulator and a means of protection. But first things first.
Iodine and its effect on plants
Iodine is one of the many trace elements that is quite common in nature, but it occurs in very small concentrations, therefore it is a relatively rare substance. In different regions on different soils, its content can vary greatly.
But most podzolic soils, gray soils and solonchaks often lack iodine content.
At the same time, experiments conducted in recent decades have shown that iodine:
- It is able to increase the content of vitamin C in some cultures, in particular, in pepper.
- It has a beneficial effect on productivity, as it stimulates the growth and development of garden crops.
- It has a positive effect on the size, color, and taste of grown fruits.
Such a multifaceted effect of iodine on plants is primarily due to the fact that with the help of iodine, plants improve the absorption of nitrogen compounds. And nitrogen is one of the main elements that plants need for good growth.
Thus, the use of iodine as a top dressing for peppers is a completely scientifically substantiated fact. True, it is required for the normal development of plants very little, therefore, it is not produced as a separate type of fertilizer. Moreover, it is found in manure and ash, often used for plant nutrition.
However, it is perfectly possible to prepare and use a separate iodine solution.
And this can be very beneficial for health in modern acute iodine deficiency in food.
Ways to use iodine for pepper dressing
Interestingly, iodine can be used at various stages of pepper development.
Seed and seedling processing
Iodine is often used at the stage of seed treatment. To prepare the necessary solution, it is enough to dissolve one drop of iodine in a liter of water. In this solution, pepper seeds are soaked for about 6 hours. After soaking, the seeds are immediately sown in the prepared land mixture. This procedure helps to accelerate germination and the appearance of more strong and strong shoots.
An iodine solution can also be used to feed pepper seedlings. When young plants have 2-3 true leaves, they are watered with a solution obtained by dissolving one drop of iodine in three liters of water. One such procedure will be enough before planting seedlings in the ground, so that it acquires increased resistance to various fungal diseases.
Iodine as a top dressing for adult peppers
After planting seedlings of peppers in the ground, plants can be treated with iodine both by watering under the root, and using foliar feeding – that is, by spraying the whole pepper bushes.
To use iodine as a fertilizer, it is enough to dissolve 3 drops of iodine in 10 liters of water and pour pepper bushes with the resulting solution, using one liter under the plant.
As a result, fruits can grow up to 15% larger than without feeding, and their ripening time is reduced.
If it is easier for you to use foliar feeding of peppers, then 2 drops of iodine are diluted in one liter of water. The resulting solution can be used to treat plants in the open field every 10 days. Three treatments per season are enough. When growing pepper in greenhouses, it is enough to carry out two foliar top dressings with an iodine solution with a time interval between them of 15 days.
The use of iodine as a means of protecting peppers
Also, foliar top dressings are used to simultaneously protect peppers from diseases. A solution prepared as follows is very effective for prophylactic protection against late blight and powdery mildew:
Take 10 liters of water at room temperature, mix with one liter of whey, 40 drops of iodine tincture and one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. After mixing thoroughly, pepper bushes are sprayed with this mixture, so that all twigs and leaves are not overlooked, especially on the reverse side.
There is also another recipe that helps well with late blight, even if the disease has already affected peppers.
It is necessary to heat 8 liters of water to a boiling state and pour 2 liters of sifted wood ash into it. After the solution has cooled to room temperature, the contents of a standard vial of iodine are mixed into it, as well as 10 g of boric acid. The resulting mixture is infused for 12 hours. When feeding peppers, one liter of the mixture is taken, diluted in a 10-liter bucket of water, and pepper bushes are poured under the root with this solution. Treatment with a solution according to the above recipe will stop the development of late blight disease, but it is better to remove the affected parts of the plants.
Rules for feeding pepper with iodine
It is necessary to take into account the fact that iodine is a toxic substance. The use of only 3 grams of this element can lead to irreparable consequences for a person.
- Therefore, it is necessary to strictly observe the recommended dosages in the manufacture of iodine solutions for feeding peppers.
- When spraying peppers with a solution of iodine, even the smallest concentration, it is recommended to protect your eyes with special glasses.
- For plants, exceeding the recommended doses is also quite dangerous, as it can lead to distortions in the shape of the fruit.
- Foliar top dressing of peppers is desirable to be carried out only in cloudy weather in order to avoid getting burns on the leaves.
- Like all top dressing, spilling iodine solution under the root should be carried out only after preliminary watering of the plants with water.
As you can see, iodine supplementation can be very beneficial when growing peppers, provided that all precautions are followed.
