Pepper Plant Root Damage

Planting and Harvesting

• Gardeners can accidentally damage the roots of peppers plant seedlings when planting them in the garden. Dig a hole in the garden twice the size of the root ball on your pepper plant seedlings. Remove the entire seedling root ball, with the surrounding soil, from the starter pot. Gently loosen the soil with your hands, not a trowel, spreading out the roots as you place the plant in the hole. Provide nutrients necessary for the plant to build strong roots by incorporating compost or other organic matter into the backfill, and water thoroughly. Put down weed paper or straw around the plant to minimize the need for pulling weeds, which can damage roots. When harvesting peppers, do not pull them from your plants because doing so can uproot the plant; use a sharp knife or scissors to cut them off instead.

Pests

• A myriad of garden pests can attack your pepper plants and damage their root structures. Moles and voles travel through soft, sandy soil and will chew the roots off of pepper plants; because this occurs underground, you will not know it happened until the plants wilt and die. Treat the perimeter of the garden with mole and vole repellent, and tamp down any visible tunnels or holes. Pests such as microscopic root knot nematodes will also damage the roots of peppers plants by disrupting their ability to absorb nutrients and water and reducing overall root volume. Crop rotation can help curtail nematode damage to pepper plants.

Diseases

• Pepper plants are susceptible to diseases that assault their root systems. Phytophthora root rot occurs in plants placed in heavy soil that does not drain well. Rhizoctonia root rot, a soil-borne fungus, attacks both seedlings and mature plants, causing lesions on the stem and taproots. To help prevent diseases, keep the ground around the pepper plant free of debris; trim off the plant's lower leaves to ensure adequate air flow; rotate crops annually, and do not overwater. During wet, cold periods, young plants are susceptible to damping off, whereby a fungus causes the roots to rot.

Weather

• The weather can have a significant impact on the health and productivity of your pepper plants because they have shallow root systems. Do not set out pepper plants until all danger of frost has passed. If the water molecules in the plants' roots freeze, the plants will die. Plant them in full sun but in an area protected from the wind, which can blow over young plants and break off roots. Similarly, too much rain or water can soften the ground around your peppers and weaken the root structure, causing them to pull from the ground.