hey all, i need some help troubleshooting this indoor plant...
previously (early june), it had thrips: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/68581-thrips-pest-id-small-bugs-black-spots-on-leaves
i eradicated them with spinosad spray, and the plant recovered nicely. no more leaf drop, no more visible larvae.
the plant looked good, and i got a pepper harvest between then and now.
however, for the last week or two, leaf drop has resumed. also, it had a bunch of open flowers, and basically all of them fell off.
the leaves that are falling off now resemble thrip damage (yellowing, black spots along veins from feeding).
i'm not so sure it's thrips though. i think that what i'm seeing is pre-existing thrip damage from last month, but the yellowing and leaf drop may be from something else. i've carefully inspected the plant a bunch of times, and i can't find any larvae.
even so, i gave it another spinosad treatment last week thinking maybe i missed them in the visual inspection, but it didn't improve.
example of dropped leaves:
that crap on the back is just some edema from overwatering early on.
shot from today:
the plant looks kinda good except that some leaves are falling off.
seems like it's old growth that's affected:
new growth seems ok?
it's in potting soil. i've been feeding it with dyna-grow FP (1/4 tsp/gal), but somewhat recently i've changed to weekly feeding with 1 tsp/gal to simplify things (less preparation of nutrient solution). could that be it?
today it's due for its weekly feeding, but i'm going to hold off just in case.
thanks
previously (early june), it had thrips: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/68581-thrips-pest-id-small-bugs-black-spots-on-leaves
i eradicated them with spinosad spray, and the plant recovered nicely. no more leaf drop, no more visible larvae.
the plant looked good, and i got a pepper harvest between then and now.
however, for the last week or two, leaf drop has resumed. also, it had a bunch of open flowers, and basically all of them fell off.
the leaves that are falling off now resemble thrip damage (yellowing, black spots along veins from feeding).
i'm not so sure it's thrips though. i think that what i'm seeing is pre-existing thrip damage from last month, but the yellowing and leaf drop may be from something else. i've carefully inspected the plant a bunch of times, and i can't find any larvae.
even so, i gave it another spinosad treatment last week thinking maybe i missed them in the visual inspection, but it didn't improve.
example of dropped leaves:
that crap on the back is just some edema from overwatering early on.
shot from today:
the plant looks kinda good except that some leaves are falling off.
seems like it's old growth that's affected:
new growth seems ok?
it's in potting soil. i've been feeding it with dyna-grow FP (1/4 tsp/gal), but somewhat recently i've changed to weekly feeding with 1 tsp/gal to simplify things (less preparation of nutrient solution). could that be it?
today it's due for its weekly feeding, but i'm going to hold off just in case.
thanks