issue Hole in Rocoto plant leaf

[Nickjg]

Hi folks,
I’ve been growing a few Rocoto plants (Capsicum pubescens) indoors and over the past couple of weeks I started taking them outside to a shaded area for a few hours to harden off.
One of them now has a small hole in a leaf surrounded by a yellowish area (see pics).
Any thoughts of what it could be? The plants look otherwise healthy and the light spots in the leaves are neem oil I sprayed when I took them outdoors. Thx

 

[CaneDog]

I've seen sunburn look like that. Whatever, it doesn't look like cause for concern.

Your rocotos look great, by the way.

Also, I'm curious, why are you hardening them off at this time of year?

 

[Marturo]

You need to be very careful spraying any sprays, & exposing them to bright sunlight.
We use WP Surround as a sun shield, every time our young plants are first exposed to hot sunlight.

Use Surround with your sprays to protect them from burning.
Our Peppers & other fruits & vegetables are cool & White from mid June to mid August, they do not wilt even in the 90s.

Surround® WP - 25 lb bag

Surround WP is an effective OMRI listed crop protectant. Made from specially modified Kaolin clay that is registered for agricultural use; forms a barrier that protects from many pests when sprayed on fruits or vegetables. The white barrier not only repels pests, it causes irritation...

www.arbico-organics.com

 

[Nickjg]

I've seen sunburn look like that. Whatever, it doesn't look like cause for concern.

Your rocotos look great, by the way.

Also, I'm curious, why are you hardening them off at this time of year?

Thanks very much for your answer. That’s a relief.
And very good question. I don’t think I have a good answer. At one point I thought I was going to be able to move them outside for (maybe) faster growth and perhaps some buds coming out before first freeze, but it’s obvious now that this won’t happen.
I’m a beginner at this but I assume it may be safer to keep them indoors. They are on a windowsill with SW sun exposure a few hours in the afternoon and they’ve been doing fine.

Any chance buds will come out indoors without artificial lights?

 

[Nickjg]

You need to be very careful spraying any sprays, & exposing them to bright sunlight.
We use WP Surround as a sun shield, every time our young plants are first exposed to hot sunlight.

Use Surround with your sprays to protect them from burning.
Our Peppers & other fruits & vegetables are cool & White from mid June to mid August, they do not wilt even in the 90s.

Surround® WP - 25 lb bag

Surround WP is an effective OMRI listed crop protectant. Made from specially modified Kaolin clay that is registered for agricultural use; forms a barrier that protects from many pests when sprayed on fruits or vegetables. The white barrier not only repels pests, it causes irritation...

www.arbico-organics.com

Great! Thanks for the recommendation

 

[francisp]

Any chance buds will come out indoors without artificial lights?

I have Cayennes, Thais and a Madame Jeanette on my windowsill, and I do get peppers from them. Not as much as my outdoor peppers, but my 2 Cayennes have provided a steady stream of peppers since April. My Thais and Madam Jeanette only started to make pods, but they are much younger.

 

[Nickjg]

I have Cayennes, Thais and a Madame Jeanette on my windowsill, and I do get peppers from them. Not as much as my outdoor peppers, but my 2 Cayennes have provided a steady stream of peppers since April. My Thais and Madam Jeanette only started to make pods, but they are much younger.

Great! Thanks for the info!

 

[CaneDog]

Thanks very much for your answer. That’s a relief.
And very good question. I don’t think I have a good answer. At one point I thought I was going to be able to move them outside for (maybe) faster growth and perhaps some buds coming out before first freeze, but it’s obvious now that this won’t happen.
I’m a beginner at this but I assume it may be safer to keep them indoors. They are on a windowsill with SW sun exposure a few hours in the afternoon and they’ve been doing fine.

Any chance buds will come out indoors without artificial lights?

If you plan to grow them inside, it's best never to take them outside at all, because if pests get on them once you bring them inside there are no natural predators and the pests can get totally out of control. Aphids are notorious for this. Depending on your weather aphid activity might be cooling off by now, though. It might be good to at least rinse the plants off well - spray them with a shower head, invert and dunk-and-swish them in a bucket, spray them with safe soap, etc. - when you bring them inside for the final time.

EDIT - Rocotos should grow and flower just fine indoors, though I think they'll need at least some supplemental lighting. I wrote what's below this before I re-read your post and realized you were planning to grow them by a window without artificial light - I haven't had my coffee yet I think by the window could work, but that you'll need at least some form of artificial light for maybe 8-12 hours during the day.

EDIT - This is more geared toward growing them in a dedicated grow area with full artificial light:
The likely challenge will be in getting them to produce pods. Generally, they prefer it doesn't get too hot and the lighting isn't too intense to grow best. As to producing, when they flower it's common to experience 100% flower drop (no pods setting at all) in which case you may want to try some "tricks" to get them to set pods. The best trick I can suggest is once they get into flowering mode, move them to a window sill (very close to, but not touching, the glass) and keep them there temporarily until they've set some pods. That way they get both natural light and cooler overnight temperatures from being so close to the window in cold weather. Alternatively, you can move them to the window overnight and back to the lights during the day, getting them the increased day/night temperature differential. Or maybe stick them in a cool, not freeing garage overnights. Another thing that might not hurt is to brush the flowers with a small paint brush to help them pollinate, but from my experience assisting with pollination won't do it alone if they're not setting pods indoors, it's just a little help once you get their environment dialed in.


I'll be growing a couple/few rocotos indoors myself this winter, but you're way ahead of me. I plan to drop the seeds sometime in the next few days. I'm still experimenting with lighting and temps and tricks to try to get them to produce well in indoor grows. Hopefully I learn more this time.

Good luck!

 

[Nickjg]

If you plan to grow them inside, it's best never to take them outside at all, because if pests get on them once you bring them inside there are no natural predators and the pests can get totally out of control. Aphids are notorious for this. Depending on your weather aphid activity might be cooling off by now, though. It might be good to at least rinse the plants off well - spray them with a shower head, invert and dunk-and-swish them in a bucket, spray them with safe soap, etc. - when you bring them inside for the final time.

EDIT - Rocotos should grow and flower just fine indoors, though I think they'll need at least some supplemental lighting. I wrote what's below this before I re-read your post and realized you were planning to grow them by a window without artificial light - I haven't had my coffee yet I think by the window could work, but that you'll need at least some form of artificial light for maybe 8-12 hours during the day.

EDIT - This is more geared toward growing them in a dedicated grow area with full artificial light:
The likely challenge will be in getting them to produce pods. Generally, they prefer it doesn't get too hot and the lighting isn't too intense to grow best. As to producing, when they flower it's common to experience 100% flower drop (no pods setting at all) in which case you may want to try some "tricks" to get them to set pods. The best trick I can suggest is once they get into flowering mode, move them to a window sill (very close to, but not touching, the glass) and keep them there temporarily until they've set some pods. That way they get both natural light and cooler overnight temperatures from being so close to the window in cold weather. Alternatively, you can move them to the window overnight and back to the lights during the day, getting them the increased day/night temperature differential. Or maybe stick them in a cool, not freeing garage overnights. Another thing that might not hurt is to brush the flowers with a small paint brush to help them pollinate, but from my experience assisting with pollination won't do it alone if they're not setting pods indoors, it's just a little help once you get their environment dialed in.


I'll be growing a couple/few rocotos indoors myself this winter, but you're way ahead of me. I plan to drop the seeds sometime in the next few days. I'm still experimenting with lighting and temps and tricks to try to get them to produce well in indoor grows. Hopefully I learn more this time.

Good luck!

Many thanks for the very detailed explanation, it’s very helpful. I’m glad I joined this group.
I will keep them indoors and follow your tricks when they start flowering. We’ll see what happens and I’ll keep you guys updated!!