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Tightly curled leaves

bpiela

bpiela

Hello all,
 
I have noticed that a few of my plants have new growth where the leaves are very tightly curled.  I thought that might have been due to spider mites in the past, but I just don't see that pest anywhere right now.  Any thoughts?  I am wondering if I should just top off the new tightly curled growth and hope for the best.
 
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Wish I knew, Ben. This Aji Arnaucho OW started over AND under curling just day before yesterday. I had to rinse the aphids off the poor thing, trim the roots and repot it a month ago. I figured it was dead, but she took off. Then the other day, this:
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Being as the soil was new (and factory fortified), all it gets is water...so if you find out, Ben, let me know, eh?
 
Hey bpiela.  Bummer to see that happening.  I'd totally top it under that first big leaf on the right that's starting to show the curling and hope the laterals grow OK.  It could just be a systemic thing that's inhibiting movement of water and/or nutes or something above certain point. 
 
What concerns me is I seem to remember a picture of a sickness that looked like that - strong downward curling and raised-looking veins - but just can't remember. I could be wrong. In any event, I'd suggest being careful with the potential for transmission of a virus or something by not sanitizing cutting tools if you do top it. Stetto's curl looks more like more typical (not pathogen-based) curl to me.
 
Wish I had a more certain response for you.  Good luck!
 
Hey, Ben!
If you haven't heard from Trent yet, I just asked a friend, he might chime in here, but the 2 culprits I would put as possible suspects would be
2,4-D.....Herbicide/Round-Up
Broad mites.

Since is almost NEVER broad mites, it is probably herbicide. I've been dealing with this for years. It's either embedded in my soil, or someone sprays every year. Probably both.

But I'm just going by what I have here. You could get a jeweler's loupe or any cheap mini-scope to know for sure.

Let's see if we hear more.
 
Before you do anything, you have to scope so you KNOW it is or isn’t mites. Get one of these for like $10 on Amazon.

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If it ends up being mites (which I bet it isn’t) then you can denude, and then hit with sulfur/pyrethrin.


What I bet it is is nutrient toxicity. What are you feeding them?

Could also be herbicide drift but I doubt it.
 
So, I had dropped a couple of plants off at Rugers Plant Diagnostic Labs today to find out what is going on.  I already got a response back and it is bad.  The plants tested positive for the presence of a potato virus Y group virus (poty group).  The only solution is to destroy the plants.  Not good.
 
bpiela said:
So, I had dropped a couple of plants off at Rugers Plant Diagnostic Labs today to find out what is going on.  I already got a response back and it is bad.  The plants tested positive for the presence of a potato virus Y group virus (poty group).  The only solution is to destroy the plants.  Not good.
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Shit Ben, sorry to hear. 
 
bpiela said:
So, I had dropped a couple of plants off at Rugers Plant Diagnostic Labs today to find out what is going on.  I already got a response back and it is bad.  The plants tested positive for the presence of a potato virus Y group virus (poty group).  The only solution is to destroy the plants.  Not good.
Click to expand...
 
Really bad news and I'm sorry to hear that. 
 
Thanks for sharing the information so others can consider this in the future.  Did they have any idea of how it ended up on all your plants - and how it might have gotten transmitted among them?  At first I thought it was on only one or a couple, but it sounds like it got around to most or all of them.
 
I hope you have time enough to get some good things growing and salvage a decent season.  Just a really crappy thing to have happen.
 
bpiela said:
So, I had dropped a couple of plants off at Rugers Plant Diagnostic Labs today to find out what is going on.  I already got a response back and it is bad.  The plants tested positive for the presence of a potato virus Y group virus (poty group).  The only solution is to destroy the plants.  Not good.
Click to expand...
 
 
Really interesting! Wonder what the vector was? Also, I wonder why it only affects the newest growth tips? 
 
I wonder also, what their means for testing for this virus is. 
 
Pepper-Guru said:
 
 
Really interesting! Wonder what the vector was? Also, I wonder why it only affects the newest growth tips? 
 
I wonder also, what their means for testing for this virus is. 
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Obviously this is just speculation, (I have some microbiology background, but nothing with plants), but I wonder if the newest leaves don't have an outer waxy coating, or as much of a cell wall, as older leaves - and thus are more susceptible? If this were the case, it would indicate that there was an external source which they were exposed to later in the plant's life. This matches with the fact that only some of his plants were affected. Which, as others said - I'm sorry to hear that!
 
Yikes.  Even more alarming, is that the main vector for this condition, appears to be aphids.  That's bad news for us all...
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There are a lot of cases of this kind of thing that never quite get diagnosed on the forum, with many of us chasing our tails.  i know I myself, have had dozens of plants over the years that go through this.  Unfortunately, I have a real problem with broad mites, on top of it all.
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There is some irony, in that this is the first diagnosis that I've seen of this confirmed in pepper plants, and it's timing coincides with that other thing that everyone is talking about right now...
 
Pepper-Guru said:
 
 
Really interesting! Wonder what the vector was? Also, I wonder why it only affects the newest growth tips? 
 
I wonder also, what their means for testing for this virus is. 
Click to expand...
 
 
The growth tips are often affected most visibly by pathogens, because they are still growing.  The old growth, with a number of different damage conditions, will eventually show damage - but the new growth is basically a growing mutation.
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The vector for poty group y is listed as aphids, first and foremost.
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And since this is a condition that affects commercial crops so heavily, I'm betting dimes to dollars that there is a ready made test kit for it.  Apparently, it's quite a bad thing, and not the least bit uncommon.
 
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