Looks like a big problem

Honey Badger

Honey Badger

Several of my little chilli plants have leaf browning and some are falling off. Please see images: 
 
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I just hope it isn't virus or bacteria as that would probably decimate all of them but I could live with this being lack of nutes. I just gave them a weak feed and epsom spray.
 
Does anyone knows a bit more of what it could be?
 
Mostly in coco coir?
Could be nutrient deficient. I think you are on the right track with some diluted nutes and epsom/Mg.
It will take time to see the results.
 
What kinda Gingrichs (Newts lol) are you using? I use fish emulsion and Alaska step one, my plants were looking deficient so I started giving them feedings every time. They haven't had plain water for over a month. But if you use chemical nutes, then I think you need to use plain water to flush out salts. I am gonna give mine some straight water when this new ph pen shows up. I think with coco you need to try to keep your ph of your water/nutes between 5.5 and 6.5
Thats probably not a bad idea regardless of your soil composition.

Your plants dont look too bad though. Are you letting them get pretty dry between watering? That seems to be ideal as well.

Keep us posted!
 
I'm using compost 50-60%, coco coir 30% and rest is perlite. I fed them with some diluted chicken pellet manure and Chempak N. I don't want to over do it and don't mind them being deficient, much better than having to deal with nutes lock or bacterial or viral problems. 
 
In few weeks time hopefully they'll recover and start new growth, that'll tell me if I'm doing alright. They also could be to hot and dry on this window sil, just above the radiator. I had a fan blowing this morning, they enjoyed some breeze. :0 
 
the problem with growing in coco with organic fertilizers is you need to feed a bit higher. a good portion of nitrogen in organic fertilizers is insoluble, which means it's unavailable to the plants and only become available once it breaks down (decomposes) which takes time. organic fertilizers in pots usually takes a bit longer to break down as there are less microorganisms in it. mixing in some fresh compost defiantly helps add micro-critters that are needed. adding some molasses (or some carbohydrate like brown sugar) also helps feed and keep the microbial live thriving which in turn helps and continue breaking down the organic food to make available for the plants.

i generally tend to avoid using dry organic fertilizer in seed starting/pots and prefer to use something like a fish emulsion which typically has much higher water soluble nitrogen. about half of the nitrogen in a 5-1-1 fish emulsion immediately available to the plants. from what i remember, chicken poop is pretty high nitrogen as well, but you might want to check the tech sheet on the manure you're using to see it has enough soluble nitrogen in it.
 
stevie said:
the problem with growing in coco with organic fertilizers is you need to feed a bit higher. a good portion of nitrogen in organic fertilizers is insoluble, which means it's unavailable to the plants and only become available once it breaks down (decomposes) which takes time. organic fertilizers in pots usually takes a bit longer to break down as there are less microorganisms in it. mixing in some fresh compost defiantly helps add micro-critters that are needed. adding some molasses (or some carbohydrate like brown sugar) also helps feed and keep the microbial live thriving which in turn helps and continue breaking down the organic food to make available for the plants.

i generally tend to avoid using dry organic fertilizer in seed starting/pots and prefer to use something like a fish emulsion which typically has much higher water soluble nitrogen. about half of the nitrogen in a 5-1-1 fish emulsion immediately available to the plants. from what i remember, chicken poop is pretty high nitrogen as well, but you might want to check the tech sheet on the manure you're using to see it has enough soluble nitrogen in it.
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There is enough of multi-purpose compost mixed with coir and perlite in those pots, I don't think that is the case. I'm more inclined to think it's environmental issue, such as (too much) heat, (insufficient) light, overcrowding and not too good ventilation overall. It is what it is and hopefully conditions will improve soon enough so they can be moved outside into greenhouse but before that, it is very little I can do because there's just no space.
 
I worry that they won't develop bacterial or fungal disease, that is something I don't want to deal with. 
 
Here is that same plant today:
 
sb.jpg
 
your plants look relatively healthy and at the stage their in, the yellowing is primarily culprit of two things.. lack of food or overwatering. based on what i can see, it doesn't look like you're overwatering.. and unless your temps are like excessive (well over 85F) i doubt that's the problem either.

my advice would be to take the one that has the most yellowing and give it a boost of nutrients and monitor it for the next 3-5 days. if lack of nutrients is the culprit (likely) you will see changes/improvements within a week. i would also advise in getting a fertilizer with more nitrogen in it that can be mixed with water so its readily available to the plants. walmart sells 5-1-1 fish for about $6-7) and feed it to the most yellow plant at about 1/2 the strength (1 tablespoon per gallon), might want to get yourself a ph meter as well. fish emulsion tends to have phosphoric acid added to preserve it which tends to lower the ph. its a bonus if you have high water Ph levels, the fish emulsion will lower it. generally once the plants are outside in the ground, ph-ing the water is unnecessary as the ground is less susceptible to ph changes compared to a tiny pot..
 
 
stevie said:
your plants look relatively healthy and at the stage their in, the yellowing is primarily culprit of two things.. lack of food or overwatering. based on what i can see, it doesn't look like you're overwatering.. and unless your temps are like excessive (well over 85F) i doubt that's the problem either.

my advice would be to take the one that has the most yellowing and give it a boost of nutrients and monitor it for the next 3-5 days. if lack of nutrients is the culprit (likely) you will see changes/improvements within a week. i would also advise in getting a fertilizer with more nitrogen in it that can be mixed with water so its readily available to the plants. walmart sells 5-1-1 fish for about $6-7) and feed it to the most yellow plant at about 1/2 the strength (1 tablespoon per gallon), might want to get yourself a ph meter as well. fish emulsion tends to have phosphoric acid added to preserve it which tends to lower the ph. its a bonus if you have high water Ph levels, the fish emulsion will lower it. generally once the plants are outside in the ground, ph-ing the water is unnecessary as the ground is less susceptible to ph changes compared to a tiny pot..
 
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I have water soluble N and it is in this chicken pellet feed tea as well, so that is covered. 
 
This is my worst affected plant, the yellowing leaves have fell off and now I'm waiting to see if it will improve or get worse:
 
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Only two or three plants are affected, the rest are happy and growing fast. My rocotos are really taking off, I had an issue with leaves curling but it's all good now.
 
at their stage all they really need at first is just mostly nitrogen, once they put on some growth you can give them some nutrients that has more balanced NPK.
 
I am inclined to believe that it is in these plants that the broken pH, as a result of which, nutrients are blocked and irrigation with fertilizers will aggravate the situation even more. Try changing substrate.
 
evolka said:
I am inclined to believe that it is in these plants that the broken pH, as a result of which, nutrients are blocked and irrigation with fertilizers will aggravate the situation even more. Try changing substrate.
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Thanks but I'm baffled by terminology here. What do you mean by 'broken pH' and what is substrate and how do I change it?
 
Most of my plants are doing well and they are all in the same medium, recently repotted.
 
Honey Badger said:
 
Thanks but I'm baffled by terminology here. What do you mean by 'broken pH' and what is substrate and how do I change it?
 
Most of my plants are doing well and they are all in the same medium, recently repotted.
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pH of soil very low or high.
substrat it is the soil in which your plants are planted.
You can change the soil 
 
evolka said:
 
pH of soil very low or high.
substrat it is the soil in which your plants are planted.
You can change the soil 
Click to expand...
 
Gotcha, thank you.
 
I'll check it over the weekend, I have a cheapo pH meter and book of litmus papers and should be able to broadly determine if too high or too low. I also happen to have spare compost, perlite and coco coir so I can mix a new batch.
 
I really appreciate you time to reply, thanks again.
 
I don't think it's N deficiency. The affected leaf on the scotch brain is in the middle, not the bottom. Whatever it is, from the first picture to the last, that leaf seems to be experiencing early senescence and natural abscission. The plant is mobilizing the assimilates/stored carbs from that leaf and preparing to detach it. Sometimes this happens because of inadequate light. In the recent picture, that leaf appears to be on the side not facing the window. Could be that leaf isn't producing as many photosynthates as it requires for maintenance. So, being a net loss in energy, the plant diverts its stores to the leaves with a higher photosynthetic capacity (younger leaves or those receiving more light).
 
Is that plant topped? I don't see a new growth tip.
 
Another possibility is that there was some sort of root damage and the plants got rid of leaves to reduce the demands of transpiration on the roots.
 
Mr. West said:
I don't think it's N deficiency. The affected leaf on the scotch brain is in the middle, not the bottom. Whatever it is, from the first picture to the last, that leaf seems to be experiencing early senescence and natural abscission. The plant is mobilizing the assimilates/stored carbs from that leaf and preparing to detach it. Sometimes this happens because of inadequate light. In the recent picture, that leaf appears to be on the side not facing the window. Could be that leaf isn't producing as many photosynthates as it requires for maintenance. So, being a net loss in energy, the plant diverts its stores to the leaves with a higher photosynthetic capacity (younger leaves or those receiving more light).
 
Is that plant topped? I don't see a new growth tip.
 
Another possibility is that there was some sort of root damage and the plants got rid of leaves to reduce the demands of transpiration on the roots.
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I completely agree with you that this plant has a problem with the root system. Therefore, I suggested to change the soil first.
 
Here is that plant just now:
 
latest.jpg

 
Another plant with similar issues is this Dorset Naga:
 
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I just mixed some fresh compost with perlite, vermiculate and a bit of coco coir and cooked it 2 minutes in the microwave to kill any nasties if any before repotting.
 
Couple of others have developed brown spots:
 
latest3.jpg

 
Any insight what causes this?
 
 
Thanks guys, your knowledge is unsurpassed.
 
Btw, most of my plants have no issues and seem healthy and growing. My worry is that this is something spreadable and if so, I'd cull these few to save others if not too late.
 
healthy plants.jpg

 
Some of my healthy chillies.
 
Honey Badger said:
I just mixed some fresh compost with perlite, vermiculate and a bit of coco coir and cooked it 2 minutes in the microwave to kill any nasties if any before repotting.
 
 
Click to expand...
What is quantity of each component you mixed?
 
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