• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

Leaf "Dents"

geeme

geeme

I looked at my plants just a couple of days ago, and was pleased with how happy they looked. Went out tonight, and did a bugger-eye at what I found:
One leaf, closeup:
leaf1.JPG

More leaves:
leaves2.JPG


Any ideas what this is?
 
kiddc said:
i currently have that, i think its due to over-fertilizing.
Click to expand...
Why do you think that? I'm curious, because I generally have not fertilized, and have given it some food only a couple of times now. Could be I didn't dilute enough that last time, though I thought I did. But then I'm thinking it ended up raining that night, after I fed it, so that should have diluted it further.
 
i currently have that, i think its due to over-fertilizing.
Click to expand...

i agree, got a few of those myself. but i've only been fertilizing with coffee grounds and "organic" other stuff.

overfertilizing is also prevalent with my preferred way of growing things. i'm a noob gardener. still learning.
 
I think adding some Bone Meal to your soil and watering it in may take care of that problem. Looks like they need some calcium. You can buy it at your local Home Depot, Lowes etc...
 
I wanted to add to my opinion after seeing kcso's reply.

Calcium deficiency also causes leaf curl.
 
I wanted to add to my opinion after seeing kcso's reply.

Calcium deficiency also causes leaf curl.
Click to expand...

i see. been adding calcium phosphate to my watering. i do see improvement on the new growth. so that's why. lol.
 
To me it looks like thrip damage, when a thrip or other pest munches on the side or middle of an immature leaf, when it grows up, that damage is magnified into the shapes you see. Also, those leaves are too flat and smooth (a good thing) to indicate a calcium or magnesium problem. Also, I don't see many flowers on that plant, and typically the Western Flower Thrip will feed on the leaves of the new growth when no flowers are open or available.
 
+1 for thrips...and it could have been aphids too...
 
Okay - so I see what appear to be tiny red bugs crawling here and there. They're so tiny, I can't make out what they look like - more like little red periods crawling here and there. Likely aphids, or thrip?
 
now that sounds like red spider mites...if you get infested, they will ruin your crop..

to make sure, take a sheet of white paper....hold the paper under the top of the plant and brush the tops of the plants (or where ever the tiny red spots are), then look on the paper...they are tiny tiny insects, less than 1mm and are actually in the Tetranychidae family...kinda spider like...if you see movement on the paper, you probably got spider mites...

spidermites.jpg


link to bunches of spider mite pics...

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=spider+mites+pictures&FORM=IGRE&qpvt=spider+mites+pictures#

I have a 10X/20X jewelers loop for insect identification...not a bad investment...

http://www.amazon.com/SE-Jewelers-Loupe-Double-Power/dp/B000RB57BY
 
All I can say is that those damages look identical to what chili thrips did to my plants. Not saying you got thrips, but insects definately do that kind of damage.
 
I've read the best control for aphids is ladybugs. But what is a second, if it's too late to get ladybugs? And what is best to get rid of thrip or spider mites? I'm inclined to think they're spider mites - yes, they look like tiny little moving red dots.
 
That has to be spider mites then, same general result in leaf damage as thrips and aphids. Don't think ladybugs will help, neem oil works as well as pesticides with pyrethrin.
 
I read on some edu sites that you can get predator mites to go after the spider mites, some specific to the plant and region. But even that has mixed reviews, as some places like to sell an "all in one" that doesn't really do anything (multiple varieties of predators, hoping to get one that works for you doesn't usually work.) Some places label these as all in one, but others cheat on their labels a bit. Do you know of a good place to get predators? In the meantime, I'll see if I can get the neem oil. I appreciate your feedback!
 
geeme said:
I read on some edu sites that you can get predator mites to go after the spider mites, some specific to the plant and region. But even that has mixed reviews, as some places like to sell an "all in one" that doesn't really do anything (multiple varieties of predators, hoping to get one that works for you doesn't usually work.) Some places label these as all in one, but others cheat on their labels a bit. Do you know of a good place to get predators? In the meantime, I'll see if I can get the neem oil. I appreciate your feedback!
Click to expand...

yup 2000 predator mites = $50.00 USD plus shipping...been there done that...
 
Oh nooooooooooes! Not spider mites! Them little shits are relentless!!!

IMO, get something strong (i.e. a systematic chemical miticide). Through personal experience, I have found both neem and pyrethrin to be rather ineffective against mites. As neither are systematic, contact with the mites is essential. You have to make sure you get the spray into every single tiny little nook and cranny on your plant to stand even half a chance of getting them all. Neither will take care of the eggs either making regular follow-up sprays a MUST. Last season I found myself having to spray every second day and still the little shits got the better of me....
 
AlabamaJack said:
yup 2000 predator mites = $50.00 USD plus shipping...been there done that...
Click to expand...

Lucky for me, the bag of "Miracle grow Organic potting soil" I bought early this year was LOADED with predatory mites that eat fungus gnat larvae and most importantly thrip larvae! The plants that are in that soil have ZERO thrips and the lowest gnat population of the ones with normal soil.
 
From what I've read, the predator mites are the only thing that really works. Part of this is because, as you stated, contact is required on mites for the chemicals to work, and the chemicals do not work on the larvae. They say the mites reach maturity and mate within just a couple of days, and new eggs hatch within 2 weeks - hence the application and re-application of chemicals. Also, some mites have a way of building shelters for themselves within the cells of the plant, and some build a resistance after only a few apps - the chemicals can't get to them.

The predator mites reportedly eat both larvae and mature spider mites, and can eat as many as hatch in a single day. The thing I'm scratching my head about is whether the predator mites cause an equal problem - I haven't found anything saying they do or don't. Still and all, it seems it might not matter, since they don't usually tolerate cold weather, and cold is definitely on its way here.

AJ - a good reference for those predators, please? Which company did you obtain them from? Particularly asking because of that thing I read about some companies trying to mix predators, rather than sending you only ones that will be effective for you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top