Nearly all my plants are getting distorted leaves

[bennoz]

Strongly recommend you checking out Fade's grow log here:
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/14213-fades-grow-log-2010/

as was already said, this is not a new problem. Myself, fade and a handful of other members had this problem last year and its devestating. We still havent worked out what caused it, or how to fix it. Fade started again and seemed to have good results. I repotted and it worked for a time being but the prob came back

possible causes so far:
-overwatering, poor drainage and drowning the plants
-pests - mites, thrips, gnats
-chemicals - overuse of pestacides

pretty sure its not nutrient related, or Ph related, but its always wise to check

 

[patrick]

Patrick,

My affected plants also had a darker green, almost purplish, coloring to them which initially led me to believe they were suffering from a P deficiency so I treated them with some fert to no avail. One thought would be regarding your situation is, do you have the same cultivars planted in the commercial soil as in affected soil? I had over 45 different cultivars planted this year from 4 species and I observed differences in the degree of affliction. Some were very damages (Bhut, Naga Morich being the heaviest and Japs and Cayennes being the lightest. I do not dispute your conclusion, it makes sense but my own experience with what appears to be the same problem led me to a different conclusion. Another thought is that if it were a mineral deficiency would it not be completely remedied by the application of the deficient nutrient? What is in your soil mix? Is it possible that your mix is contaminated with herbicide?

Some peppers are the same, some are different. What was the conclusion you came to?

Adding the deficient mineral, if that's the problem, won't always solve it. The plant has to be able to absorb and use it. If the pH is off then that may not happen.

I suppose it's possible my mix became contaminated. Here's a kicker, not all of the plants in my mix are affected. But I made up several batches of the mix and didn't use precise measurements, just guessing and "eyeballing" things.

My mix was the mix in the left over pots from last year, new peat moss, worm castings, pelletized lime, perlite, vermiculite and a Fox Farms soil amendment that I can't for the life of me remember what it was. What I do recall is it was $20 for a bale.

This give you any ideas?

 

[The Medicinal Pepper]

Some peppers are the same, some are different. What was the conclusion you came to?

Adding the deficient mineral, if that's the problem, won't always solve it. The plant has to be able to absorb and use it. If the pH is off then that may not happen.

Absolutely true, guessing from your mix below you might be on the acid side as peat moss and worm castings will drive the pH down and since you used pelletized lime (slow to get dissolved and reacted with the soil clay) it may have not had a chance to react with the vermiculite. So if you are on the acid side you could be having issues with Ca or Mg but they do not produce the symptoms we have been discussing. On the other hand, you could be having toxicity issues with some of the micros (particularly Zn, Cu, or Mn) but then again the symptoms do not match, they all exhibit chlorosis.

I suppose it's possible my mix became contaminated. Here's a kicker, not all of the plants in my mix are affected. But I made up several batches of the mix and didn't use precise measurements, just guessing and "eyeballing" things.

My mix was the mix in the left over pots from last year, new peat moss, worm castings, pelletized lime, perlite, vermiculite and a Fox Farms soil amendment that I can't for the life of me remember what it was. What I do recall is it was $20 for a bale.

I still think we are dealing with herbicide damage owing to the symptoms, no way to be sure absent tissue analysis but the symptoms sure look like it to me.

This give you any ideas?

Did you have this problem last year with plants that were grown in the soil that you ultimately recycled?

 

[patrick]

Yes I did have the same problem with a few of the plants last year. You think I would have been smart enough no to use the same mix but I guess I'm not. I should say I know I'm not smart enough but then I may actually be smart enough so I'll stick to "guess".

So it is possible that I added too much of the micro nutrients. Thing is for the most part they all pretty much got the same dosage.

Thanks for working this medicine man.

 

[The Medicinal Pepper]

Yes I did have the same problem with a few of the plants last year. You think I would have been smart enough no to use the same mix but I guess I'm not. I should say I know I'm not smart enough but then I may actually be smart enough so I'll stick to "guess".

So it is possible that I added too much of the micro nutrients. Thing is for the most part they all pretty much got the same dosage.

Thanks for working this medicine man.

 

[patrick]

I had a friend who's working on his PhD in Botany stop by and check my peppers out. After a few questions and giving things the once over he came to the conclusion that it was some type of herbicide that had been sprayed on my lawn.

 

[srin2]

hi there

i got the same problems.

i have tried many things and finally the plant dies. sometimes i think its because i tested too many thing on the plant it died!
i hope someone comes with a solution here.