Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Fungus on pepper plants

omghiomg_123omghiomg_123 Posts: 96
in Problem solving

I’ve today noticed that my pepper plants that I’ve grown from seed have started showing white/bluish spots on their leaves. It looks like some kind of fungus. Should I be concerned about this? I don’t want to lose them 😢

any help would be appreciated!

i have attached pictures but they don’t show it as much as it looks in person.



Posts

  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    It is hard to tell.  Could it be water spots from a liquid fertilizer?  Regardless, a solution of whole milk mixed with water 40%/60% may be beneficial if you think it might be mildew - and will do no harm.  I've used it for several years on powdery mildew on black currents and cucumbers, etc. with what I feel was improvement.  Spray it in full sun for best results, something to do with the sun rays and milk protein.  Wet both sides of the leaves to dripping.

    “More than 50 years ago, researchers in Canada discovered that milk sprays could help prevent powdery mildew on tomato and barley. Then the age of fungicides began, with no further published research on the milk cure until 1999. Since then, numerous small studies from around the world have validated the use of milk sprays on powdery mildew on a wide range of plants. Most recently, a spray made of 40% milk and 60% water was as effective as chemical fungicides in managing powdery mildew of pumpkins and cucumbers grown in mildew-prone Connecticut. In Australia, In Australia, milk sprays have proven to be as effective as sulfur and synthetic chemicals in preventing powdery mildew on grapes. In New Zealand, milk did a top-rate job of suppressing powdery mildew in apples.“
    Utah, USA.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Mildew is a possibility, but not something I've ever had on mine.
    If the patches of grey grow in size, then it's probably mildew

    But zooming in maybe a slug has been testing one or two leaves.
    I think I can see where it's had a go. If that is the case, then those areas will die leaving a tiny bit of dead leaf that will turn into a small hole.
    It's nothing of concern.
    I've grown them for many years and sometimes get the same.
    Slugs don't like them, so they have a taste then clear off and look elsewhere.

    The compost looks quite wet - they don't like wet roots for a prolonged period, so only water when the pot feels light to lift.
    Don't feed them at all until the first flowers start to open, then a tomato feed once a week.
    Generally they look ok :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Way back there was a liquid fertilizer that left blue-ish spots on the leaves … can’t remember what it was tho’ 🤔 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • omghiomg_123omghiomg_123 Posts: 96
    @Blue Onion ah that might just be it, I did feed it the night before with a tomato feed. Thank you for the information on milk sprays, I’d never heard that before, and as I do suffer with mildew on my honeysuckle I might just give that a go! 

    Thanks 
  • omghiomg_123omghiomg_123 Posts: 96
    @Pete.8 Thanks for you response. I don’t think it can be slugs as I haven’t put them out overnight yet. Regarding the wet compost, that’s because I had fed them (which appears may have been the cause of the spots) because the leaves were looking a little discoloured. But I will take you advice and wait until I get flowers on them. Would you advise the same on tomatoes?
  • omghiomg_123omghiomg_123 Posts: 96
    @Dovefromabove as it has coincided with me giving it a first feed the evening before, this is most likely it! 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    omghiomg_123 said:
    @Pete.8 Thanks for you response. I don’t think it can be slugs as I haven’t put them out overnight yet. Regarding the wet compost, that’s because I had fed them (which appears may have been the cause of the spots) because the leaves were looking a little discoloured. But I will take you advice and wait until I get flowers on them. Would you advise the same on tomatoes?
    Slugs aren't confined to the outside.
    I lost all my lettuce not long after they germinated and they were in a propagator in my greenhouse.

    Almost the same for tomatoes, but wait until you see the first tiny fruits forming before you start feeding.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • MikeOxgreenMikeOxgreen Posts: 812
    Dovefromabove said:
    Way back there was a liquid fertilizer that left blue-ish spots on the leaves … can’t remember what it was tho’ 🤔 
    Miracle grow was/is bluey green. I found it interesting that if you left the bag of granules open it turned into a bag of liquid. There is a word for that process, but I forgot it.
  • omghiomg_123omghiomg_123 Posts: 96
    @Pete.8 sorry i meant I bring them inside the house still at night! Though I did once being in a small slug inadvertently 😬 Thanks for your advice 
Sign In or Register to comment.