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Gassy's 2010/2011 Pepper Growing Thread Thingy

geeme said:
Wow Gas! Except for the "problem child", you have a fine looking batch o' pepper plants going there. I hope you are able to figure out and resolve whatever is causing the curling problem.
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Thanks geeme! I have about another 12 plants I will be adding to that in a couple weeks when they get a bit bigger and will be doing my final sow of a few more varieties in the next couple days hopefully (if I ever get these seeds that have been held up in quarantine! But that's another story).

As for the problem child, make that two problem children. I just went and looked and one of my plants here has started doing it.... :eek: :eek: :eek:

I don't feel so good.......
 
Yep, second confirmed case of whatever the hell it is.

IMG_3767.jpg


Excuse me while I go bash my head against the wall and smash it open.

After spending most of my day researching, I am not ruling out pests. Of everything it could be, Broad Mites so far sound like the most likely thing. I am just about to go do a soap and neem but I will be buying chemical tomorrow.... I cannot bear another year of the same crap and wasted energy with nothing to show for my efforts and hard work.
 
if you have space somewhere in your outdoor garden, try sticking one plant in the ground and see if it grows normally. might solve your problem. sure has helped my plants that's got the same or similar condition.
 
I just took a walk around my unit complex and discovered plants, trees and weeds of all kinds with exactly the same or very similar damage. I'm thinking now that it has to be mites of some kind.

Here's a snap I took of the underside of a leaf on one of my "infected" plants:

IMG_3797.jpg


I don't know if the white dots are normal but I'm thinking they might be mites. Unfortunately that's as close as I could get a shot to stay in focus.

And just to really make my day something special, while inspecting plants around the place I discovered these on my curry leaf tree:

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IMG_3859.jpg


Damn spider mites are back too!
 
franzb69 said:
could be mites. mine don't have that. ok, i might have a different problem than you've got.
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I'm still not ruling out other causes just yet but in my situation mites do appear to be the most probable cause. I will start treating for mites first and if that fails, then I will explore other avenues. If I do have broad mites though, it will be tricky to determine whether or not treatment is successful due to the fact that not only are the damn things all but invisible to the naked eye and even difficult to see with magnification (making it hard to see if they are gone or not), but I have also heard that it can take weeks, even months for the damage to stop. If it is something else, then by the time I have ruled mites out, it could be too late!

Thanks for your input btw, franzb69. It's given me something to ponder and may very well help out somewhere down the track. I am going to buy a pH test kit very soon too just to be on the safe side.
 
Thanks for your input btw, franzb69. It's given me something to ponder and may very well help out somewhere down the track. I am going to buy a pH test kit very soon too just to be on the safe side.
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also looking into pH testers as well. you're welcome.
 
Gas, can you take one of the plants to a decent nursery and get someone with hort quals to take a look? I was looking at the common pests of SEQ, and outside of rot/fugus issues, there aren't too many bugs. I'm guessing they could sort it pretty quickly? Good luck either way - too early in the season to be feeling that pain...
 
tooninoz said:
Gas, can you take one of the plants to a decent nursery and get someone with hort quals to take a look? I was looking at the common pests of SEQ, and outside of rot/fugus issues, there aren't too many bugs. I'm guessing they could sort it pretty quickly? Good luck either way - too early in the season to be feeling that pain...
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:think:

That's actually an awesome idea but I wouldn't know where to take it! Got any ideas or know of anywhere around this neck of the woods?

I'm so bummed right now and more than anything I just want a definitive answer on what is causing this.
 
Hmmm, was just doing some quick research and found that broad mites are apparently a major and frequent pest here in SQ.

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/26_17183.htm

When I get some time later, I will get some snaps up of last seasons damage too for comparison. Out of everything I have compared my damage to, so far broad mite damage is the only thing that fits like a glove.
 
I find this interesting too:

"Broad mite is a major pest in the warmer parts of Australia and favours capsicum plants."

"Broad mite usually attacks the young growth of a wide variety of vegetable crop plants especially capsicums or peppers and many ornamentals by injecting a toxin from their saliva as they feed so that a few mites can cause a lot of damage."

http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/pestsdiseases/horticulture/horticultural_pests/integrated_pest_management/resources/greenhouse_pests/broad_mite
 
Gas, I'm not sure where you are in Bris but if you take a plant to a larger nursery most folk are happy to help (so long as you leave it in the car!). Ive done this (not with chillis) at Hawkins nursery at Chandler and had a few people happy to help out. Not the types to suggest all-out chemical warfare either, so you might get some good advice.
 
tooninoz said:
so long as you leave it in the car!
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Already a step ahead and was thinking that when I read your suggestion. ;)

The last thing I want to do is rock up with my plant and quite possibly "infect" their plants! I somehow don't think they would be as keen to help if I put them in that position.... :lol:
 
And just how small are broad mites...?

http://macromite.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/1broadmite_new.jpg

That's a few of them hitching a ride on a whitefly. Apparently it's one of the favourite modes of transport.

I have seen a couple whiteflies around too but I thought not enough to be alarmed. I guess I was wrong. It just goes to show that even seeing one of any pest is cause for alarm.

I'm also thinking that if they are that small, it is possible that those little white dots on one of my leaves could very well be them.
 
shite hey - i feel for ya gas

i didnt get a pepper all last season due to the prob your having. Still dont know what caused it

So far this year, ive avoided it, thank god
 
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