issue Leafs turning black

[WillieWonka]

The leads of my Carolina Reaper recently started having a faint blackish layer. In New to the hobby and was wondering if this is an issue/something common. They were recently placed under new growing lights, might they be burning cause they are too close? The soil contains no nutrients yet, so its not nutrient overkill thanks for the help!

 

[CaneDog]

Hey WW. Nice grow you have started! Yes, that's exactly what it looks like; an anthocyanin response to high light levels. Given that the plants are young and that you just changed the lighting, it's not certain the lights are too close for the best growth (sometimes it's just a temporary thing as they adjust), but it might be wise to back them off a little, at least for a brief time while they adjust. As they become more established and are less at-risk than when young, you can experiment and figure out the best lighting distance/intensity for your setup.

 

[WillieWonka]

Hey WW. Nice grow you have started! Yes, that's exactly what it looks like; an anthocyanin response to high light levels. Given that the plants are young and that you just changed the lighting, it's not certain the lights are too close for the best growth (sometimes it's just a temporary thing as they adjust), but it might be wise to back them off a little, at least for a brief time while they adjust. As they become more established and are less at-risk than when young, you can experiment and figure out the best lighting distance/intensity for your setup.

Thanks! I've adjusted the height of the lights now, should be safer now! You mention it could be a temporary thing, does that mean the black rash would still go away, or is this plant doomed?

 

[CaneDog]

That's great. Not doomed. Probably just fine. You'd likely see other signs in the leaves, such as canoeing edges, burned tips, etc., if it were becoming a more serious issue. I've had seedlings of certain varieties that would typically show an anthocyanin blush early for the first couple pairs of true leaves, but the subsequent leaves would come in without issue as the plant progressed even without moving the lights back. It's good to play it safe when the plants are small though, because if they do start to actually burn it can be all over pretty quickly.

 

[WillieWonka]

That's great. Not doomed. Probably just fine. You'd likely see other signs in the leaves, such as canoeing edges, burned tips, etc., if it were becoming a more serious issue. I've had seedlings of certain varieties that would typically show an anthocyanin blush early for the first couple pairs of true leaves, but the subsequent leaves would come in without issue as the plant progressed even without moving the lights back. It's good to play it safe when the plants are small though, because if they do start to actually burn it can be all over pretty quickly.

Awesome, thank you for your help and the very clear explanation!