Stressed Pepper Plant

[ferice]

I had some nymphs on my bell pepper plant, and it was recommended that I sprayed it with a safer insect soap. After spraying the plants, the leaves started to look stressed, and the plant stop growing. I recently plant a new pepper plant, and I started to notice the whiteflies on the leaves too. I saw 2 or 3, and the flew away once i touch the leaves. I am afraid to spray them with the soap solution again. I am going to post sone pictures if the plants. YOur help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chuck]

In these pictures I see no evidence of insect damage. However in the last picture I see minor old damage by probably aphids. The smaller dark green leaves that are very crinkled and that have lighter green areas are a sign of Tobacco Mosaic Virus. On the larger leaves you have dark green areas with slight yellowing in other areas, another possible symptom of TMV possibly transmitted to the plant by aphids Safer soap would have not damaged the plant. Google tobacco mosaic virus. There are many sites devoted to this disease. Also this disease is common in your area, and mine unfortunately

 

[headfullofbees]

That's classic aphid damage.
They suck the sap on developing leaves, causing them to contort like that.
Spray the underside, but give s good watering first.

 

[Chuck]

That's classic aphid damage.
They suck the sap on developing leaves, causing them to contort like that.
Spray the underside, but give s good watering first.

I agree that the crinkling of the young leaves is classic aphid sign but there is no sign of aphids anywhere else and there should be, and there should be brown spots and tiny discolorations, minuscule yellow spots on the topside of the leaves, slight browning on the leaf margins etc, but there isn't. Also, on the second picture notice the light yellowing of rather large blotches on the large leaves? I .hope it is aphids or even thrips but I don't think so. At least they are easily controlled.

 

[ferice]

Should I spray these plants with the soap solution to prevent aphids from getting to them?

 

[Chuck]

Should I spray these plants with the soap solution to prevent aphids from getting to them?

Soaps do not deter or repel insects. Soaps kill them. The only deterrent or repellent for aphids that I know of are herbs planted close by such as basil or mint

 

[ferice]

Thanks Chuck, I'll stop by the store and pick up some basil and mints.

 

[ferice]

This is a picTure that I took this morning. You can see the little whiteflies at the bottom of the leaves.

 

[Chuck]

View attachment 8514 This is a picTure that I took this morning. You can see the little whiteflies at the bottom of the leaves.

When you disturb those white things do they fly or crawl or neither one. Is it possible to get a really close up pic. These are a little out of focus. These look more like eggs of the whitefly. Aphids usually lay their eggs in clusters. When you walk by or shake the plants do you see tiny tiny little white insects start to fly around?

 

[ferice]

The flew away when I shook the leaves this morning.

 

[Chuck]

The flew away when I shook the leaves this morning.

What you have are white fly. White fly do similar things as aphids, they suck the sap from the leaves and they are also a major vector of virus. White fly is much more difficult to control though. I won't go into the life cycle as it is complicated. White fly, especially in Florida have become immune to many synthetic/chemical pesticides some of which still work but only at certain stages of the insects life. An important thing to know about white fly is that in its first stages they are just about impossible to see. They resemble a clear transparent scale insect and they act like a scale insect. They attach themselves to the underside of the leaves. They don't fly, they don't crawl, they are basically glued to the leaf and then a different cycle begins. IIRC there are 4 cycles in the life of a white fly. You are lucky in that you have caught them fairly early in their growth habits. As to how to get rid of them. Most gardeners, both outside and in greenhouses have found that spraying Neem Oil is the best method of controlling them. I like Neem because it has other properties but regular horticultural oil will also work. It will smother them while they are in the early stages when they are like scale. Neem will also kill adults if you are lucky enough to get it on them. Also when you see the eggs like in the picture you can rub them off with your finger or blast them off with a strong stream of water.

 

[ferice]

Above is a picture of what I use to create the neem oil solution. I got from Hone Depot. I used 1 FL ounce per gallon of water.


I sprayed my pepper plants And a branch of my tomato plant with the neem oils solution yesterday evening. I looked at them this evening, and the leaves are not looking good. Here are some pictures:

 

[Chuck]

I don't know what is causing that. I have used Neem for years without any problems at all.

 

[ferice]

I don't know if I have to cut the amount of neem oils to half an ounce vs 1 ounce. Also, I don't know if the heat has something to do with it even though I sprayed them early in the evening when the sun is down.

 

[Chuck]

I don't know if I have to cut the amount of neem oils to half an ounce vs 1 ounce. Also, I don't know if the heat has something to do with it even though I sprayed them early in the evening when the sun is down.

You won't have to spray again for about 10 days. Just keep a close watch on your plants and let us know if anything changes