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Shriveled chilli leaves
AdRock
Posts: 241
Hello everyone,
my chilli plants have been doing really well recently since i had an aphid outbreak. after carefully picking, introducing ladybirds and eventually a couple of washing up liquid showers they all died off a couple of weeks ago and the plants have doubled in size with loads of decent, normal sized leaves.
but, i noticed yesterday 2 of my 14 plants have developed a strange leave formation. the leaves look malnourished, shriveled and dry almost. i've attached a couple of images of 2 plants that are next to each other in the greenhouse to show the difference.
any ideas as to what the problem might be? there's been no further aphid outbreaks so not really sure myself!
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To me that looks like it might be that some specific nutrients are getting locked out.
I can see two different symptoms in your pictures.
1. Twisted, bubbled appearance of new leaves is caused by calcium deficiency but although giving a CalMag feed may help, usually there will be enough calcium already in the compost so it may be more likely that there is a feeding/watering problem that is preventing its uptake.
If you are feeding a lot of nitrogen and/or potassium this might be hindering their ability to take on calcium as well as a couple of other nutrients that causes leaf yellowing).
Alternatively, it may be the result of low transpiration, which might be due to pots drying out too much and needing to be kept more moist.
2. From your picture it's hard to see exactly what's going on with the leaf yellowing. Does it affect the new growth, the old growth or the middle of the plant? It's also hard to see if the yellow is between veins or across the whole leaf, or whether it's spreading from the tip or not. Is it more yellow or more brown? Can you provide more details as yellowing could be due to a number of different causes.
Hi, thanks for the reply.
All the chillis are planted in rows in a bed on the greenhouse floor, it's strange why only 2 are affected and others are ok... Would that rule out a mineral deficiency?
i would say the wrinkled leaves are a paler green rather than yellow, but they are a bit harder/tougher to touch than the other plants.
Yes, this problem is affecting new growth and the leaves to the top-middle of the plant. The bottom leaves seem OK
an update on the chillis, the leaves are now looking pretty sorry for themselves and i think it might be the end for this plant : (
i've tried adding some natural food but this hasn't really turned it around.
really unsure as to what has happened as the plants in the next row are fine!
and here's the healthy one "next door"
Been growing chillies for about 10 years now, never seen that happen to any of mine that i recall. Is it a different type to the others near it?
Reason I ask is I've noticed over the last few years for example that Friar's Hat attracts many more bugs, leaf attacks etc than other types like numex twilight and others I've grown. Weird, and don't know why.
yep, they're all different varieties. can't remember which ones have been affected as i've got loads in there!
they've all had a fairy* spray over them to combat an aphid outbreak so wonder if that had anything to do with it?
or sun damage maybe? i don't know!
*other washing up liquid brands are available
Wonder about a viral infection transmitted by the aphids? Aphids can make the new growth become distorted and curled - sometimes by passing an infection in their saliva. Thrips can also make the leaves curl. But all of those would be infectious so i wonder why only these two affected. If you google some of these problems (esp aphids) you'll get some images of leaf distortions that look quite close matches to what you have.
Calcium deficiency would still be pos (although google images of this show more of a flat, bubbly leaf) - esp since you have different varieties. The advice I read said not to give feed until the plants flower and this happens at different times for different varieties so potentially could have been more of a problem for some than others. The reason for this is that too much of the main nutrients can prevent the plants from accessing the minor ones at all.
Your soil looks quite wet in picture - had you just watered them or do you normally keep it damp?
yes, they had just been watered but i would normally do this once a day anyway.
ok, if this is a viral infection would it be a good idea to remove the 2 affected plants from the greenhouse in case it spreads to the others?
Ok, so the advice I've seen re watering is to really let them dry out so the top layer of soil feels dry to touch and the leaves possibly even begin to wilt a tiny bit. Then give them a really good drink - and repeat cycle. I understand this helps with both correct mineral uptake and root aeration.
My instinct is that you're correct about moving them but it also feels like you might want to think about other preventative measures for the currently healthy ones... To be honest I'm not quite sure what best thing to do would be, esp. as not quite clear what exactly might be causing it. I was looking here http://www.chillilicious.co.uk/chilli-pests-and-problems.html#Aphids for some images of different infections to compare and for info on treatment ... But if you look under the aphids section it sounds like maybe they just sucked these particular plants dry of their sap so they were unable to regrow properly...
There were a few people who were also growing chillies discussing techniques in the fruit and veg section a little while back - I wonder if they wouldn't see this under the problem solving section?
Last edited: 08 July 2016 15:23:30
ok that's all good advice. thanks for your help, especially with watering... perhaps i've been going ott on this!