Yellowing leaves on pepper plants

[portlock]

Yellowing of leaves on Hungarian wax, purple jalapeno, and other varieties of jalapeno. I thought it might be magnesium deficiency, which has affected many of my tomatoes, but this doesn't seem consistent with that (though I've never experienced it with peppers before). I found a cluster of brown marmorated stink bug eggs/nymphs on the underside of one leaf on one plant, but I don't think they're the culprits. Sprayed all with neem oil this evening. I haven't done so in a couple weeks but had sprayed several weeks in a row after finding an aphid infestation on a couple of nearby habeneros. Any ideas?

 

[Anniekay]

Don't destroy those bugs and eggs, they look like baby ladybugs to me. They are a good bug.

Someone else may be able to tell you what the yellowing of the leaves may be, IDK.

 

[YumYum]

Looks like a nutrient deficiency, probably magnesium, but could be pH releated or something systemic within the plant. Peppers grow kind of slow so it takes time for the addition to take affect. I'd try sprinkling a tablespoon of epsom salt around each plant.

Those are stink bugs. Bugs can transmit disease to plants that mimic nutrient deficiencies. Probably not in your case.

 

[Anniekay]

The photo provided by the OP is a little blurry, but this is a photo of immatute lady bugs:

 

[portlock]

The photo provided by the OP is a little blurry, but this is a photo of immatute lady bugs:

View attachment 104877

Maybe this one is less blurry?

Thank you for your input but the other UM (Minnesota, not Michigan) and The OSU extension seem to agree that these are BMSB first instar larvae. My understanding is that ladybug nymphs have an elongated segmented appearance.

Brown marmorated stink bug

The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is not native to the United States. It arrived undetected from Asia in the United States in the 1990s and was first detected in Minnesota in 2010. Its current North American range includes the Eastern and Midwestern United States and Canada.The...

extension.umn.edu

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is a pest that was accidentally introduced into the United States from its native range in Japan, Korea, and China. The word ‘marmorated’ refers to its marble-like coloration (Figure 1). The brown marmorated stink bug feeds on fruits, seeds...

ohioline.osu.edu

 

[portlock]

Looks like a nutrient deficiency, probably magnesium, but could be pH releated or something systemic within the plant. Peppers grow kind of slow so it takes time for the addition to take affect. I'd try sprinkling a tablespoon of epsom salt around each plant.

Those are stink bugs. Bugs can transmit disease to plants that mimic nutrient deficiencies. Probably not in your case.

Thank you for your response.

I have applied epsom salt to my tomatoes as a foliar spray 3 times this season. When I noticed some yellowing of some pepper plants 2 weeks ago, I sprayed all with epsom salt. I had already planned to spray all of the peppers with epsom salt tonight. Maybe I'll put 1 tbsp around each plant, as well.

I've been growing tomatoes and peppers for several years and find that there is always something new to learn. I grow the former in the ground and the latter in bags, pots, and the ground.

Have you had much experience with epsom salt? Many on the internet suggest using it as often as weekly (foliar/drench/combo) and many say it will poison the soil if it isn't used exceedingly sparingly. I think I should start treating with epsom salt -- as well as neem oil, but that's another discussion -- right from the jump and regularly next year. But I don't know.

 

[Chuck]

Your plants are showing the first signs of iron deficiency. I would use Iron Chelate which will give the plants ALL of the micro-nutrients they need. I use epsom salts on just about everything. In my soils it completely stops Blossom End Rot on tomatoes. It is NOT sodium and will not harm your soil

 

[Oliver Buckle]

It is NOT sodium and will not harm your soil

Magnesium Sulphate, with quite a lot of water in the crystals, magnesium and sulphur are generally both good additions, but beans, and a couple of other things, won't like it .

 

[YumYum]

I have applied epsom salt to my tomatoes as a foliar spray 3 times this season.

Skip spraying them with it and put it in the ground if you are going to use it. You can overload the soil with salts and cause damage but the amount I gave shouldn't hurt your plant.

Your plants are showing the first signs of iron deficiency.

Chuck could be correct. The acidic side of the soil pH spectrum can cause a magnesium deficiency and the basic side causes an iron deficiency. They both look about the same. Have you got a way to check your soils pH? Could be your main problem especially if you water with very hard city or well water and over years of watering.

 

[portlock]

Skip spraying them with it and put it in the ground if you are going to use it. You can overload the soil with salts and cause damage but the amount I gave shouldn't hurt your plant.

Chuck could be correct. The acidic side of the soil pH spectrum can cause a magnesium deficiency and the basic side causes an iron deficiency. They both look about the same. Have you got a way to check your soils pH? Could be your main problem especially if you water with very hard city or well water and over years of watering.

I ended up using 1/2 gallon water + 1 tbsp epsom salt + 1/2 tbsp neem oil drench on all my peppers this weekend. They were all thirsty enough, after a few low humidity days, that they should have soaked it up well.

I water with (hard) well water, pre-softener. I have watered very little this year, due to the amount of rain we've had. It could be cumulative, over the years, but it's the first year I've experienced widespread problems.

I bought a pH meter last week but haven't used it. I would love to send samples to MSU for testing but it would require quite a few samples (not cheap), due to the varying soil I have around the yard, to satisfy my concerns.

My understanding is that iron deficiency starts with new growth, magnesium with older leaves (as is the case with my tomatoes). The peppers don't seem to show either pattern.

Could it be too much fertilizer? I used to use Garden Tone 1x/month on the peppers but shifted to Tomato Tone every 2 weeks this year. The paquime peppers seem to like it -- they are head and shoulders above the others and producing a lot of fruit -- but almost all of the slower growers have yellowing leaves, to one extent or another.

Note: I think I convinced myself that the problem is ubiquitous but it is very slight in a couple of other beds (and a couple of pots) and non-existent in others. This is the only bed I didn't mulch with 3-4" of straw this year (the first year I have mulch at all). Maybe too many wet/dry cycles? I know iron chelate is slow-acting but I'll put some down in this bed.

 

[Chuck]

I ended up using 1/2 gallon water + 1 tbsp epsom salt + 1/2 tbsp neem oil drench on all my peppers this weekend. They were all thirsty enough, after a few low humidity days, that they should have soaked it up well.

I water with (hard) well water, pre-softener. I have watered very little this year, due to the amount of rain we've had. It could be cumulative, over the years, but it's the first year I've experienced widespread problems.

I bought a pH meter last week but haven't used it. I would love to send samples to MSU for testing but it would require quite a few samples (not cheap), due to the varying soil I have around the yard, to satisfy my concerns.

My understanding is that iron deficiency starts with new growth, magnesium with older leaves (as is the case with my tomatoes). The peppers don't seem to show either pattern.

Could it be too much fertilizer? I used to use Garden Tone 1x/month on the peppers but shifted to Tomato Tone every 2 weeks this year. The paquime peppers seem to like it -- they are head and shoulders above the others and producing a lot of fruit -- but almost all of the slower growers have yellowing leaves, to one extent or another.

Note: I think I convinced myself that the problem is ubiquitous but it is very slight in a couple of other beds (and a couple of pots) and non-existent in others. This is the only bed I didn't mulch with 3-4" of straw this year (the first year I have mulch at all). Maybe too many wet/dry cycles? I know iron chelate is slow-acting but I'll put some down in this bed.

If you use Iron Chelate you will see definite positive changes between 7 and 9 days

 

[portlock]

If you use Iron Chelate you will see definite positive changes between 7 and 9 days

Thanks.

 

[roadrunner]

I never spray any thing, I do things such as chop-and-drop and create bio-diversity to build healthy soil and attract natural predators to eat the bugs. And I don't have issues with pests nor disease.

And it's not just me, this guy grows way more food than me and he never sprays his crops. Check out the video at the 2:55-minute point and he shows how he keeps critters away (It's not the chickens).

 

[Chuck]

Thanks.

Use it as a soil drench. Use the Chelated Liquid Iron @ 1 oz per gallon of water and give each plants root zone a good soaking.

 

[portlock]

I never spray any thing, I do things such as chop-and-drop and create bio-diversity to build healthy soil and attract natural predators to eat the bugs. And I don't have issues with pests nor disease.

And it's not just me, this guy grows way more food than me and he never sprays his crops. Check out the video at the 2:55-minute point and he shows how he keeps critters away (It's not the chickens).

Thanks but I live on 1/3 acre in a subdivision. Trees and limbs that fall here get stacked and burned in the fire pit.