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Weird leaves on some of my Tabasco plants

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Oz73

Hello,

I have been coming to this website for the past couple of years as a lurker and have always found great information, advice and cool grow logs.

Today I come with a problem that is affecting a few of my Tabasco plants. These plants were germinated in seed trays and then transplanted into the ground around mid-December. Since then, they have been growing very nicely, save for a few problems with pests which I am more on top of.

A few of my plants have developed leaves that curl up and have yellowish spots. Curiously some of the plants are only affected on the top half, and adjacent plants many times are not affected (even if their leaves are in direct contact).

Any ideas of what this may be?

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That isn't a calcium deficiency. Not sure why it would be suggested. Doing research before posting an answer it the right way to go.

Could be mosaic virus, definitely some type. Get that plant away from the rest of them ASAP. There is no known cure for the mosaic virus either. It won't kill the plant but production will be minimal. It's best to destroy the plant and be sure to thoroughly clean any tools used in getting rid of the plant. Wash your hands after dealing with the infected plant.

Best of luck to you.
 
If you are going to post something, stick with it.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I hate that edit button.
 
Thank you for your answers!

I have not been as on top of Calcium applications as I should have been. The applications I have made were a calcium carbonate amendment in the soil before planting and Calcium-Boron foliar applications. It is not until today that I applied Calcium Nitrate. As a side note, this was not done because of Dustin's first assessment (which I appreciate and have no problem with. I would've even encouraged him to leave the pre-edit post up as well as next time I can read up on calcium deficiencies if I see wrinkly leaves).

Patrick and Dustin: I have been looking up pictures of viruses on pepper plants but never found one that looked like mine in particular. I have heard some recommendations to just leave those plants in the field and just take extra care to avoid insect problems and since it is more than one plant, I have hesitated to take the decision to remove them (some have flowers and are even starting to get fruits!).

Since there seems that there is nothing I can do to "cure" my plants or be 100% sure I can contain spreading, I am going to remove these plants.

Armac, is that a Flowerhorn?
 
I changed my post back to the original because I stand by what I first said. I edited it to begin with due to Patrick's hostile reply. I did not intend for what I thought was a helpful response to draw such negative attention, and at the time felt best to just remove it to prevent it escalating further. We should concentrate on helping Oz73 with his issue, and not turn this thread into a "my answer is better than yours" war.

That being said, I am glad you are taking both possible problems into consideration. If you don't see the new leaves being formed start to flatten out, I would definitely think about the possibility of it being the virus. You don't want your whole crop becoming slowly affected. I remember reading about the mosaic virus attacking Tabasco's plants back in the 1960s and took them a while to recover.
 
I agree with Dustin, pointing fingers at each other is silly and not helpful ideas for Oz73 to explore.

Oz73 so where is “Location:~12°N, ~85° W?” My guess is Nicaragua, estoy correcto, hehe …

You might want to check with other local growers and see if they have ideas or have had similar damage. Have you inspected leaves under a 30x magnifying glass or microscope? Could be a pest like thrips or a combination of pests, I recently had broad mites and they’re hard little devils to get rid of but I believe I have them under control by spraying with a mineral oil based product. Good luck in the identification and cure … if you find out the cause and cure be sure to post it back here so we all learn and welcome to the forums :)
 
Estas correcto WalkGood. I have asked other growers here but they are always hit or miss with advice. As for the magnifying glass, I will do that this weekend. I have had thrips, white fly, weevils, borers, and mites so vectors have been present. We are in our "dry" season so I imagine my green oasis is pretty atractive to pests.Thankfully all these were caught in early stages with low populations and I took measures to control them.

Dustin, I don't think you deserve flak. You were quick to add alternatives and helpful.

Again, thank you all for your answers!
 
Many people post things because they have read it or seen it here. Those that give advice, please give from experience, not regurgitation.

Keep in mind, folks are looking for accurate advice to improve their plants health.
 
I don't know what's wrong here. It could be nutrient deficiency or over fertilization. What kind of soil have you grown it in and what fertilizers have you given it? I had a white habanero look the same way last year. I doubt it's mosaic virus. I think people jump to that diagnosis too quickly, because it's so devastating.

Edit: Checking for pests is a good idea.
 
I think there are a lot of good answers here for your possible problem. Just to throw in my .02... I had a tabasco last year that did something very similar. Wasn't this extreme but had the curl just like yours. I never got a single pepper off of it but the plant itself grew well.... Not helping you I know just my experience with a tabasco.
 
Dulac: The soil is mostly clay. I water daily about a gallon a plant. Fertilization has been mostly via fertigation and I have used Monoammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Nitrate, Magnesium Nitrate, Zinc Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Urea, Potassium Chloride, and now I added Calcium Nitrate to the mix. Just to clarify, each fertigation is a mix of one or two of these products and in small quantities. If I had to guess, over-fertilization should not be to blame since some of the plants are fine in some parts with only the tops like this. Also their neighboring plants look pretty good.

A slight twist, plants are looking better right now. I will try to get more pictures and upload them tomorrow or the day after.

ETA: Spicy_echo, did your Tabasco plants flower? I have already seen some peppers growing from plants like this and most of them have flowers already. Like I wrote in the title of the thread, this is strange.
 
Oz73 said:
Dulac: The soil is mostly clay. I water daily about a gallon a plant. Fertilization has been mostly via fertigation and I have used Monoammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Nitrate, Magnesium Nitrate, Zinc Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Urea, Potassium Chloride, and now I added Calcium Nitrate to the mix. Just to clarify, each fertigation is a mix of one or two of these products and in small quantities. If I had to guess, over-fertilization should not be to blame since some of the plants are fine in some parts with only the tops like this. Also their neighboring plants look pretty good.

A slight twist, plants are looking better right now. I will try to get more pictures and upload them tomorrow or the day after.

ETA: Spicy_echo, did your Tabasco plants flower? I have already seen some peppers growing from plants like this and most of them have flowers already. Like I wrote in the title of the thread, this is strange.
Click to expand...

Yes, but not a lot. I even got some very small tabasco's but they never got to harvest size. Of course some of that for me could be due to 100 degree weather for sure, but even in the fall season they never really produced.
 
if i remember correctly, its the micro nutrients that affect the top of a plant first. and ph affects the micros first. so if not disease / virus, i would be thinking something with the micros. maybe someone can clarify this. ?
 
Oz73 said:
Dulac: The soil is mostly clay. I water daily about a gallon a plant. Fertilization has been mostly via fertigation and I have used Monoammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Nitrate, Magnesium Nitrate, Zinc Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Urea, Potassium Chloride, and now I added Calcium Nitrate to the mix. Just to clarify, each fertigation is a mix of one or two of these products and in small quantities. If I had to guess, over-fertilization should not be to blame since some of the plants are fine in some parts with only the tops like this. Also their neighboring plants look pretty good.

A slight twist, plants are looking better right now. I will try to get more pictures and upload them tomorrow or the day after.

ETA: Spicy_echo, did your Tabasco plants flower? I have already seen some peppers growing from plants like this and most of them have flowers already. Like I wrote in the title of the thread, this is strange.
Click to expand...

I grew tobasco last year in clay soil. I never fertilized them. They grew taller than me. I don't know if they are more sensitive to fertilizer than other species of capsicum. Clay stores a lot of nutrients. If you don't see any bugs on the plant, it might be a good idea to give it a break from fertilizers. The leaf curling up seems like it's trying to protect itself, which you often see from overfertilization, bugs, and viruses. If it was the mosaic virus, you would see it on your other plants. It spreads rapidly. It's impossible to kill and you can only manage it (lives 7 years in the soil). Your plant might snap out of whatever the problem is on its own. My white habanero never did, but it still gave me a good yield. I honestly couldn't figure out its problem (perhaps it just never recovered from the solution I used for aphids and the damage they did), lol.


Edit: Make sure you check for mites. They are hard to see. Bugs can cause your leaves to curl up like that. Lots of things can, but it's good to rule out possibilities.
 
When you're looking for mites/pests be sure to check the bottom of the leaves as well as that's where a lot live. I always hold the leaf up against the light as I find it's easier to see the silhouette.

GA Growhead said:
if i remember correctly, its the micro nutrients that affect the top of a plant first. and ph affects the micros first. so if not disease / virus, i would be thinking something with the micros. maybe someone can clarify this. ?
Click to expand...

Nutrients are either mobile (the plant can relocate where needed) or immobile. Mobile nutrients (N-P-K, there's another but I can't think of it off hand) show at the bottom first as the plants moves them to the new growth at the top. Immobile nutrients (the other 12) show at the top first as it isn't present as the plants grow. Here's a chart showing the different availability of nutrients depending on pH for organic soil. http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/doc/_media/library/articles/soil_buffer_ph/nutrient_availability_soil_ph_organic_soils.jpg?w=500&h=&cache=cache

Micro nutrients and potassium are usually the easiest to lock up because of over fertilising. The easiest way to test to see if it is a micro-nutrient problem is to use a complete foliar spray with all the trace minerals, if the growing tip stops curling and greens up that's the issue. Then it's just figuring out the root of why the nutrients aren't availble. Being in a high clay soil, over fertilising would be more likely as some may have gotten a higher dose by accident. If it was a pH problem it should show more uniformly as the soil pH should vary less.
 
Dulac said:
I don't know what's wrong here. It could be nutrient deficiency or over fertilization. What kind of soil have you grown it in and what fertilizers have you given it? I had a white habanero look the same way last year. I doubt it's mosaic virus. I think people jump to that diagnosis too quickly, because it's so devastating.

Edit: Checking for pests is a good idea.
Click to expand...

Looks like over-fertilization to me too. Looks like the new growth is trying to grow faster than the plant is able to.... but that's just a WAG.
 
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