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health What's wrong with this Aji Pacay, and Aji Cacho de Cabra? 5/5 Looking better! Photos...

Roguejim

Roguejim

My wife says they look droopy, and need water.  I'm stumped.  They weren't dried out.  They are also very fast growers which outgrew, in height,  all other plants.  They were in a #1 pot, but are now in a bigger one, as of today.  They weren't terribly root bound, with only slight root curl around the inside of the pot.  Not over ferted, either.
 

 

 
 
 
I'm still learning, but looks like they need a drink to me. In my limited experience whenever my plants look like that a good watering fixes them up. I am still only a rookie though so hopefully a more experienced grower can either confirm or deny my input.
 
Man, I hope that's all it is. I repotted them with 1/2 strength organic fert (1.5-1.5-1.5). These are easily the most vigorous pepper plants I've ever grown. I think Nigel might concur. Great seeds.
 
How long have they been outside? If you didn't harden them off properly (starting with sheltering then slowly exposing to the elements a bit at a time, over 2+weeks) then they will stress if you expose them to sunlight and/or wind too soon. Also, what are the temperatures they're experiencing? If too cold they will droop like that. Mostly they look stressed to me.
 
They were put outside today.  They started this drooping, indoors, under HID lighting.  I thought if I potted them up again, and gave them fresh air (in the shade), they might rebound.  They will be indoors at night, and back outside in the morning.  I know how to harden off plants, so that will not be an issue.  Day temps will be in the low 60s-low 70s through Wednesday. 
 
So you are saying they were drooping like that before you repotted; did I understand that correctly? If so, not transplant shock. How close have they been to the light and how long each day? What kind of temperatures are they experiencing - is the HID light possibly emitting too much heat? Also, are you feeding them? If so, what, how much, and how often? Have you checked the pH of the soil? Have you checked the base of the stem at the soil line - does it look healthy? You said they were not dried out; are you letting the leaves droop just a tad between waterings? Are you checking for wet/dry by picking the pots up and testing the weight? (They don't look overwatered, but it's good to check.) 

….And I'm assuming they're in potting soil of some kind. Can you tell us if the potting soil has nutes pre-mixed in, and if so, what they are and how much?
 
geeme said:
So you are saying they were drooping like that before you repotted; did I understand that correctly? If so, not transplant shock. How close have they been to the light and how long each day? What kind of temperatures are they experiencing - is the HID light possibly emitting too much heat? Also, are you feeding them? If so, what, how much, and how often? Have you checked the pH of the soil? Have you checked the base of the stem at the soil line - does it look healthy? You said they were not dried out; are you letting the leaves droop just a tad between waterings? Are you checking for wet/dry by picking the pots up and testing the weight? (They don't look overwatered, but it's good to check.)
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Just transplanted today.

HPS not an issue. Plenty of distance from light, with no discernible heat that I could detect. 18/6. All other plants, fine.

I think I'm on the conservative side of feeding. I do not, normally, wait for leaf droop before watering. I go by pot weight.

I have not checked pH. I just checked the stem lines, and there is no sign of rot. Stems are green and hard.

At this point, they are well watered and ferted. I think only time will tell, now.
 
geeme said:
Sounds like you are doing things right. IMO, pot weight is a better measure of when to water, as well.  The only other thing I can think of ATM is possibly something in the soil - bug, fungus, that sort of thing. You might give them a day or two and if they don't perk up give them some hydrogen peroxide: http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/gardening-with-hydrogen-peroxide.html

… and/or give them a foliar spray of epsom salt.
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Thanks.  Epsom salt is something I've never used, but, I'm not opposed to it either. 
 
I have a Aji pancay that looks very similar. In my case, the plants have been in full sun 6-8 hours a day for 2 months, but we had temps of 95 in the shade, 110 in the sun tues-sat and I attribute the leaf curl to that, as it seems like the leaves are dried out on the outer edges. I moved it out of the sun and into the shade and it`s perking up. Zero sunburn, though. I did just buy some Cal/Mag, to see if that might help.
 
In your case, I think Geeme has it well covered. The plants are definitely quite stressed for some reason. Given that these have been such fast growing, vigorous plants I wonder whether it could be a nutrient issue, such as Calcium deficiency. These plants behave a little more like Tomatoes than Peppers, at least in terms of speed and aggressive growth. It may be that they are just short of some micro-nutrient. 
 
Have a look at this video. It`s showing extreme Calcium deficiency. A bit of leaf curl and droop like you have could possibly be a slight lack of Calcium, but I`m really not 100% convinced. I`d bet it`s some nutrient issue, though.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj8bhuovqGA
 
Nigel said:
I have a Aji pancay that looks very similar. In my case, the plants have been in full sun 6-8 hours a day for 2 months, but we had temps of 95 in the shade, 110 in the sun tues-sat and I attribute the leaf curl to that, as it seems like the leaves are dried out on the outer edges. I moved it out of the sun and into the shade and it`s perking up. Zero sunburn, though. I did just buy some Cal/Mag, to see if that might help.
 
In your case, I think Geeme has it well covered. The plants are definitely quite stressed for some reason. Given that these have been such fast growing, vigorous plants I wonder whether it could be a nutrient issue, such as Calcium deficiency. These plants behave a little more like Tomatoes than Peppers, at least in terms of speed and aggressive growth. It may be that they are just short of some micro-nutrient. 
 
Have a look at this video. It`s showing extreme Calcium deficiency. A bit of leaf curl and droop like you have could possibly be a slight lack of Calcium, but I`m really not 100% convinced. I`d bet it`s some nutrient issue, though.
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Thanks, Nigel.
 
No leaf crinkle on the ajis.  Flat and droopy best describes them.  I hesitate to hit them with cal-mag after just repotting them, and hitting them with a low dose fert.
 
Well, I'm happy to report that both ajis have perked up since the re-pot.  Leaves are large, so they naturally hang.  But, the one plant was flopped over at the top, and it is now straight up.  So, I'm going to conclude that they were in need mostly of water, and probably, fert.  It's surprising to me because the weight of the pots seemed rather heavy.  Oh well...Also, Nigel suggested that these ajis from Peru are such fast growers that their nutrient and water requirements are probably more than for some other plants, and should be treated accordingly.  Having said all that, I do think a dose of cal-mag is in order since the color on the one is not as deep a green as I think it should be.  But, I'll let them ride until next watering which will include the cal-mag.  Thanks, all.
 
Compared with the former photos, there is definite improvement.

 
 
I noticed that some baccatums (Like Amarillo) are very sensitive to Nitrogen and grow huge leaves and long lanky stems when soil is "too" fertile, and also if the soil is "perfect" Plants will get huge, but produce much less fruit than plants grown in sandy dense top soil. This has been my experience anyway. I now grow my Aji amarillo in "crappy" top soil(even in pots) now and get great fruit production, even through the winter in the greenhouse. The rest of my chiles get "better" treatment though.
 
Very interesting, Indiana! Too late for me, I guess. I've never considered using crappy soil on any of my plants. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
 
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