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finally.. some answers to my pepper issues

for those that know.. for the last 2 years.. ive had a massive problem that has attacked my plants... it is a killer.. and i feel bad since i have helped spread it by sharing my plants with local friends.. coworkers.. its disheartening.. and ive thought about not growing.. possibly...
 
here are the results
 
 
PATHOLOGY RESULTS: PEPPER PLANT
Examination of the above mentioned specimen delivered to our pathology laboratory on November 11, identified the
following organisms:
 

Tissues examined and cultured: roots, crown, stems, and leaves
Pathogens (disease causing organisms) isolated and/or insects identified: the malformed leaves were heavily infested with Eriophyid mites.
No culturable plant pathogens were isolated from the stems and crown. Pythium spp. was isolated from the roots.
Comments and Recommendations
The Eriophyid mites are extremely small, vermiform, and very difficult to find without the aid of a dissecting microscope. Eriophyid mites are easy to overlook and not all miticides provide good control, which is why this pest often gets out of hand before it is discovered. Systemic miticides such as Pylon® , Avid® , Judo® , and TetraSan® are known to provide good control. Wettable sulfur is known to be highly effective in controlling some eriophyid mites, but remember that sulfur can by phytotoxic when applied above 900 F, or when the leaves are wet. We strongly
recommend that you consult with your preferred agrochemical provider for specific product advice, and that a few plants be tested first to check for potential phytotoxicity before making broad applications of any product. Aside from managing soil moisture, judicious applications of appropriate fungicides can also be helpful in controlling pythium. Products with active ingredients such as mefenoxam, fosetyl-aluminum, phosphorus acid derivatives like phosphite, dimethomorph, and fenamidone, are routinely used. Check with your preferred agrochemical provider for a specific product recommendation.

 
here is a photo of the issues that ive dealt with... if you have these symptoms.. kill them all. kill all the plants

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
It takes integrity and backbone to stand up and tell all your friends that you've unwittingly exposed their pepper cultivations to a pest like this. No matter how good your intentions, no matter how kind and generous it is to give friends seedlings, plants, whatever... there is a hell of a guilty-feeling backlash in finding that you've been spreading a pest.
A quirk of fate like that can make a friendly gardener feel like the cad in a TV soap opera who gave the neighbor's wife a dose of clap, right?

Thank you for this thread. I might never have heard of eriophyid mites, were it not for you. And your friends know what to look out for. Any chagrin you're feeling about this... hell, take a look at the lurch your friends would be in without a "heads-up" from you.

Integrity and backbone... necessary attributes in a horticultural forum, especially when something as bad as locusts or potato blight shows up and gets around. Thanks, man. I never met you, but you're clearly packing a set of brass ones. Right on.
 
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/insects/mites/eriophyid-mites.aspx
 
I can't find it now but I think it was UC Davis that says that Canola oil is better than most miticides if used often.
Sulfur I think was #2.
 
Sulfur when wet in sunshine makes Sulferic acid so they recommend it for cooler temps OR spray it at dusk and rinse it off before it gets hot.
OR if it dried overnight you have nothing to worry about.Heat and water react with the sulfur-so I've read.
 
NEVER mix oil with sulfur...BAD news.
 
You'll find that Safer Brand Garden Fungicide is 12% sulfur.
 
It got rid of my spider mites a few years back.
Gotta shake the heck out of it.Sulfur settles in the botton and takes a LOT of shaking to mix it back into the liquid.
BUT it seemed to work.
Nothing else did for very long.
 
Miticides only worked 1 time,mites get immune fast,miss a plant and you are screwed.
 
https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&q=uc+davis+mite+control&oq=uc+davis+mite+control&gs_l=serp.3...3480.21032.0.23425.44.41.0.0.0.1.169.5037.0j38.38.0.msedrc...0...1c.1.58.serp..11.33.4349.0.Ykk5FR1nR4s
 
I used to buy a gallon of wetable sufur easily online.
Now it's hard to find.
Not hard to find but out of stock very often.
 
I used this stuff.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Soil-Sul-Liquid-Sulfur-Gallon/dp/B000FPX25K/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1417526276&sr=8-12&keywords=sulfur+soil+sulfur
 
Most times it costs $12.00 to ship,but still cheaper than miticide.
I forget the amount of water I used to mix with it for a mite spray.
BUT a gallon goes a long way...
 
Powders were a pain in the but to use.
Liquids you can flood everything with and see it.
If you use sulfur a lot treat your soil with lime if it gets too acid.Use a cheapo soil test kit.
All you need to know is a ballpark figure.
In pots it washed out long before my soil had any problems.
 
Wow Denniz that really sucks but at least you've been able to pinpoint the issues now. Hopefully you're able to get the mites and pythium eradicated so you can finally grow and see things flourish instead of struggling. If anyone did get infected plants from you I'm sure they don't blame you. We've all dealt with plant problems at one time or another and one thing is for sure, many times you can't tell just by looking at a plant if it's harboring some nasty bug or pathogen in the soil. A plant can look completely healthy, green and standing strong one day and the very next wilted and on death's door. It's happened to all of us and will happen again it's just the nature of growing. You can do everything perfect and still things can go wrong in the blink of an eye. The fact that you were generous enough to share your plants with friends, family and coworkers is what matters. I was lucky enough to get some of your red moa scotch bonnet seeds from your sasbe giveaway that Chris held and I want to say thank you for that. I'll definitely be growing a few in my 2015 grow. Thanks as well for sharing the info and pics. I'd never heard of that particular mite before.
 
Glad you finally got a handle on your problems DeNNiZ... as much work as you've put into your grow over the last couple of years, it's a cast-iron B**** to have them fail.
 
I guess some people think the best way to get rid of mites is to march around your garden with their hands up chanting "No Mites" then laying on the ground between the rows.
Seems to work for the protesters.  :)
 
I don't see whats so hard to understand.
 
Don't spray ALL the plants in your garden or yard or the plants you didn't spray might have mites still.
 
By the time they make it back to the sprayed plants which now only has residual miticide on them.
The mites get immune to the poison.
 
Thanks for all the comments...another person did mention that mites are smart mofos... just like we overuse antibiotics. .it's the same with miticide and mites.

its really hard because my vegetables have also been consumed by spider mites and now I have these mites to deal with my peppers. Its really disheartening, and makes me think about continuing to grow. Only time will tell right now what I'll be doing but as mentioned at least I know what I'm fighting...

so for now I will keep my chin down and think what I need to do to move forward with this issue. Thank you smoke master James and all those that have commented I will put all recommendations into consideration
 
Mites and many pests of the grower/gardener reproduce relatively quickly, and can in 20-50 generations develope resistance to improperly applied pesticides. Resistance re: the applied miticide does not provide the level of control seen in initial applications. Resistance does not correlate to immunity. It is somewhat ridiculous to expect a population of mites to become immune within a single generation.
 
What's with the axe grinding Quee? Usually you wait for someone to recommend an alternative treatment before busting out the condescension.
 
UC Davis Eriophyid Mites - a great resource for growers on either side of the fence.
 
Eriophyid mites are more likely to reach high densities in sprayed orchards where predaceous mites are destroyed.
 
smokemaster said:
I guess some people think the best way to get rid of mites is to march around your garden with their hands up chanting "No Mites" then laying on the ground between the rows.
Seems to work for the protesters.  :)
 
I don't see whats so hard to understand.
 
Don't spray ALL the plants in your garden or yard or the plants you didn't spray might have mites still.
 
By the time they make it back to the sprayed plants which now only has residual miticide on them.
The mites get immune to the poison.
Try a rotational program or piggyback your products.
 
 
 
miguelovic said:
What's with the axe grinding Quee? Usually you wait for someone to recommend an alternative treatment before busting out the condescension.
i do not believe this to be the case. I call bullshit whenever i see it. especially when it relates to my pet topics.

mites WILL absolutely not become 'immune' to mitacides in one application. thats absurd. even the aids virus takes like 50 million replications to beat out an individual anti retrovial drug.

there are dozens of varieties of mitacides with various modes of action. a blanket claim that mites become immune impossibly quickly to mitacides in general, even if true for some mitacides ( which it isnt), is a wholly specious assertion.

"mitacides only worked one time" or what ever was said above was absurd. don't get upset at me when i point that out. god forbid we offer a viewpoint other than those that adhere to organic ideology.

hogleg said:
I'm so sick of your shit QQ. Real people are talking about real stuff. If you got nothing to contribute. Then get lost Asshat
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queequeg152 said:
 
 
i do not believe this to be the case. I call bullshit whenever i see it. especially when it relates to my pet topics.

mites WILL absolutely not become 'immune' to mitacides in one application. thats absurd. even the aids virus takes like 50 million replications to beat out an individual anti retrovial drug.

there are dozens of varieties of mitacides with various modes of action. a blanket claim that mites become immune impossibly quickly to mitacides in general, even if true for some mitacides ( which it isnt), is a wholly specious assertion.

"mitacides only worked one time" or what ever was said above was absurd. don't get upset at me when i point that out. god forbid we offer a viewpoint other than those that adhere to organic ideology.
 
So who's bullshit were you calling as the first reply? Denniz mentioned nothing of alternative solutions, you jumped down the throat of some imaginary organic boogeyman.
 
I've personally no problem with limited use of conventional control to avert disaster, my problem is putting these products in the hands of the average grower, most of whom can't be bothered to properly read the label, beyond glossing over the usage rates. If a less toxic solution exists and is just as effective when applied properly, why not use it? For f**k sakes, I can wipe out any mite infestion with a few drops of essential oil properly applied, where a large majority of dipsticks use a gallon of concentrated blot, miss half the foliage and pour the refuse down the sink/drain.
 
Offer your viewpoint as often as you want, I enjoy reading your perspective. But you did start this off with a whiney rant to no one.
 
Apologies for the huge sidetrack :D
 
miguelovic said:
So who's bullshit were you calling, as the first reply? Denniz mentioned nothing of alternative solutions, you jumped down the throat of some imaginary organic boogeyman.
clearly not directed at king, t'was in response to the immunity claim. i think the context makes that more than obvious.
 
It's actually obvious I am refering to your first post, not your second. There's nothing condescending or axe grindy about "lol what?".
 
 
The immunity claim is nonsense, no question there. Even my guesstimate of 20-50 generations is probably on the lean side by a large margin.
 
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