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Post by glen on Mar 18, 2020 17:14:49 GMT -6
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Post by macmex on Mar 19, 2020 6:00:59 GMT -6
Hopefully it's just the sun. I have never heard anything about them being sensitive to strong sun, but then, most people I would read from are not on the Equator. Have you given these plants any special attention, as in special additives to the soil (especially compost)? The reason I ask is that the symptoms look exactly like herbicide poisoning.
Homesteading Edu: Herbicide Poisoning in the Garden
Also, as I understand, dicamba can drift through the air for miles, when it's hot. I wonder if anyone in your area is using it. It might show up more on the Bhut Jolaka peppers because they may be more sensitive to it than others.
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Post by glen on Mar 19, 2020 11:39:57 GMT -6
This year I was short on compost so I was unable to add amendments to the soil. So, hopefully herbacide's are not the cause. I mostly use Abonat, which means Fertilizer natural, in my pots with the soil. This is partially composted-fermented wood chips and saw dust. Its a commercial product I buy at the feed store. It wasn't available at the time I planted the chili's. I have never had problems with that product in the past though. The symptoms shown on the tomato plant do look similar however I am not seeing curved branch ends. Mostly withered leaf.
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Post by glen on Mar 19, 2020 16:09:52 GMT -6
What ever the problem is the plants look like they will at least survive. They are not forming many peppers now. One plant has 7 peppers. One has 4. A couple are just now starting to form their first pepper. Blossoms have been on the plants for quite awhile. Many drop off the plant. My observation is that the temperatures are not ideal for blossoms to pollinate and form pods. I have many variety's in the yard and almost none are making new pods now. March is the hottest month of the year here in Panama and it is the month where the sun is the closest and the strongest. If I was to visit the beach this time of year I would get sunburned in less than 30 minutes during the hottest part of the day. My guess is that in India, where the Bhut Jolokia is from, the sun is no where near as intense. Plants need to be in a shade house or under shade cloth. Shade cloth would not be suitable for me this time of year because of the high N to NE winds that we have here in Panama every Jan to April. Winds are 20 to 30 mph at times. It is winding down now. Some days it is not so bad now. But, we still have days where the wind is very high and persistent. This kind of wind would destroy shade cloth real fast. I moved all the Bhut Jolokia plants to the south side of the house to protect them from the wind. The wind was burning the plants up. The sun is burning them as well. I have annuum's on the NE side of the house that are tolerating the wind pretty well. Some, not so well though. I have lost a lot of plants due to nematodes, and wind blowing plants over etc. Conditions are harsh and only the toughest peppers can survive.
Rainy season will start usually in early May. We may even get a shower or 2 in April. The clouds will move in and there will be much less sun. I will have to move the plants away from any and all shade so they can glean as much over-cast sunlight as possible. Weather will change to a sort of nuclear winter. Climate in Panama is harsh.
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Post by macmex on Mar 20, 2020 7:44:29 GMT -6
I grow a bean variety that has that kind of leaf deformation almost every year, when it's just getting started. Then it clears up and goes on to produce quite well. Hopefully this is a similar situation.
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Post by glen on Mar 21, 2020 14:44:52 GMT -6
Maybe that bean is sensitive to something that abates later so the plant can still survive and produce? I think what is happening to me is that I am paying the price for not starting the plants at the right time of year. This happened because I was waiting for seed. I had to wait until the seed reached me to plant. Which was late. Its a common problem to plant at the wrong time of year for garden newbies here in Panama. Then they complain that Panama is a bad place to try and garden. Nothing survives here they say. I haven't really tried gardening much during the dry season until this year. Its a bad time to start new plants. I knew from the beginning that starting plants in Late Oct or early November is the best time to start peppers or tomato's. Young plants or seedlings struggle in the searing sun and high winds that start in January. Starting the plants in October gives the plants time to get a little size to them before the wind and intense sun comes. Giving them a better chance to survive. I am also learning that different variety's of peppers and tomato's have better resistance than others. I am trialing so many different variety's now that it is almost to much to try and keep up with it.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Mar 21, 2020 20:14:22 GMT -6
Man! Those knotted up pepper plants sure do look a lot like George's herbicide damaged tomatoes. I bought topsoil from Atwoods once, that had herbicide mixed in it. I lost over 100 tomatoes that I had potted up using their topsoil. I sent a sample to the ODAFF to have it tested and the results came back with Glyphosate contamination. I turned Atwoods in, to the State. I tried to raise as much cain as possible, but I was just one guy, so they probably never got into much trouble about it.
The guy who operated the skid loader that they got their topsoil from, said that it came from a huge pile of dirt that had been sprayed with weed killer the year before. He said he tried to scoop all that bad dirt to one side but some of it must have gotten into the bagging hopper.
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Post by glen on Mar 22, 2020 0:18:35 GMT -6
My pepper plants came from pots from last years planting. I didn't have any compost or amendments available to add to the soil this year. I just recycled the soil and planted the peppers. So, I don't know how herbicides could have gotten into those pots. I don't think its herbicide.
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Post by rdback on Mar 25, 2020 7:44:53 GMT -6
I've seen plants react like this from over-fertilization and/or insecticide use as well. I don't know if that's your issue, but its something else to think about.
Fruit shape/production will be interesting on these plants.
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Post by glen on Mar 25, 2020 11:40:19 GMT -6
Rick, that is a good observation and suggestion. I have not used much chemical insect spray though. Could be over fertilizing though. What ever has caused this is abating now. Plants are now growing normally. Plants are also beginning to set fruit again as well. Several plants are not blooming well. However, some are also just loaded with blooms. The PT plants are getting very large. Also, the peppers look different on every plant.
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