indoor White powder fungi, two pepper plants indoors, any fix?

[Foxtrot_01]

Hello,
I have mango aji and a johnny nardello growing from seed, they are indoors on a high rise and they have developed a white powdery sticky substance that is killing the leaves, pretty much all the leaves have it. I read this is a fungi that is caused by water splashing when watering and or wind or fertilizer and several others, but none of these conditions apply, the plants are in a closed balcony, the only temperature fluctuation is from the ac 73F during the day 69F during the night, water is poured into the base with no splashing. Any ideas? There are some insects around the plant though. Pics below.

 

[peppersproutfarm]

A copper folier spray may help

 

[PaulG]

Looks like a bad case of powdery mildew,
if it's not some other brand.
 
Whatever, I imagine it is caused by insufficient
airflow around the plant due to dense foliage.
I just mostly defoliated a couple of micro tomatoes
in the greenhouse due to that issue.
 
Maybe try to thin out the foliage and cut down on
the water a bit. A fan on the plants might help as
well.
 
I'm not sure where your plants are at growth wise.
After looking at the last pic. I'd say strip the leaves,
and apply a fungicide to the branches and stems
and let new growth come out.

 

[Foxtrot_01]

Looks like a bad case of powdery mildew,
if it's not some other brand.
 
Whatever, I imagine it is caused by insufficient
airflow around the plant due to dense foliage.
I just mostly defoliated a couple of micro tomatoes
in the greenhouse due to that issue.
 
Maybe try to thin out the foliage and cut down on
the water a bit. A fan on the plants might help as
well.
 
I'm not sure where your plants are at growth wise.
After looking at the last pic. I'd say strip the leaves,
and apply a fungicide to the branches and stems
and let new growth come out.

Thanks for the advice, I'm surprised because it's just two plant, not much sense foliage but there in a closed balcony so there is no air flow, I'm in Miami so it gets hot during the day and if I don't water them at least every other day they dry up quickly. I will remove the leaves and try to get a fungicide, any recommendations?

 

[PaulG]

Thanks for the advice, I'm surprised because it's just two plant, not much sense foliage but there in a closed balcony so there is no air flow, I'm in Miami so it gets hot during the day and if I don't water them at least every other day they dry up quickly. I will remove the leaves and try to get a fungicide, any recommendations?

I usually use Safer brand, but I use it so seldom,
that I don't know what else is out there. 
 
Hopefully you will get some more responses to
your inquiry.

 

[Foxtrot_01]

I have other plants like basil, mint and others around, will this powder mildew pass on to other plants?

 

[Max Nihil]

The first thing I do when trouble-shooting things this is check the roots. A surprising amount of leaf issues directly correlate to root issues.

If the problem is over-watering, which is arguably the most common cause of issues with plants in containers, then the roots will not be crisp and white but instead will have off white to brown coloration and show signs of death or decay.

I strongly suspect the issue is excess water.
If you want to save the plant and still water every other day you will be better off using an inert mineral based mix like a 50/50 blend of coarse vermiculite and perlite or perhaps an expanded shale based product. This would allow the plant to have lots of air in the root area which is just as important to plant health as water is.

When over-watering occurs the first major symptom is that leaves wilt, naturally this resembles under-watering and the first thing most people do when then see that is water again... then the symptoms get worse.

Many plants like mint tolerate water at levels that will destroy other plants. In particular Capsicum can be rather sensitive to water.

The powdery mildew may not be the cause of the issue but instead might be a symptom. As I mentioned at the beginning of this reply the roots are a good indicator of plant health in these matters.

 

[solid7]

You don't have mildew, powdery or otherwise.
.
You have a severe whitefly infestation.

 

[solid7]

The first thing I do when trouble-shooting things this is check the roots. A surprising amount of leaf issues directly correlate to root issues.

 
Well that's an interesting strategy.  The first thing I do when dealing with issues that involve things attached to leaves, is to actually look at the leaves, and analyze the things that are covering the leaves.  No point in pulling up the plant, when the problem is obviously on the greenery - or at least that's my theory.
.
Surprised you didn't think of that.  Especially considering that whitefly are one of the main capsicum pests, second only to aphids.  I can recommend a couple of good books and webpages on the topic.  
.
The #1 treatment for whitefly - NEEM. OP, if you don't know how to use Neem, search the forum, or ask.  But make sure you know before you go.
.
The #2 treatment for whitefly - sulfur dust.  Since this plant is indoors, you won't have any real issue with beneficial insect death (it won't matter much).  But never ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER apply sulfur to a plant, within 3 weeks of any type of oil or oil-based product, including Neem.  Just know that sulfur is the nuclear option, and you want to be careful not to get it into the pot.  It will severely raise pH.  But it will lay waste to whitefly, like nothing else.
.
And also... Get a fan on your plants!

 

[solid7]

So...  no follow up?  Have you abandoned this effort?