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What is this???

Posted: Wed May 08, 2024 12:30 pm
by AKgardener
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I saw thison my indoor pepper plant so far it was only on 1 but not shure what the heck it is I just noticed it yesterday when I was getting them ready for outside i
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Re: What is this???

Posted: Wed May 08, 2024 6:33 pm
by bower
Looks like edema.
They basically sucked up more water than they can transpire, then it makes blisters on the leaf.
I've had this on peppers and took me several years before I figured out what it was. The green parts of the leaf on a pepper will stay good in spite of all the edema for quite a while - long enough to make new leaves or longer. I thought it was bugs at first - eggs laid or something - and I was pulling off all the affected leaves. In fact it's better to leave them as long as the green bits are still green, until they make new ones.
The key to preventing this is not to let them dry out too much before watering, especially if it's a peaty soil mix. The peat gets super dry before the peppers will wilt, then when watered they are flooded with it, and can't cope, at least indoors and under lights.

Re: What is this???

Posted: Wed May 08, 2024 7:08 pm
by AKgardener
I thought I had spider mites or some bug layed eggs on it because when I looked closer under the leaf there at a tiny web and a spider I think I couldn’t see it very well I have had edema before but this looked completely different then Whst I’ve seen before I know I had mites over winter and it looked different than this had my mind boggling cause they literally look like tiny eggs… thank you for responding


Update after doing research and finding the right video it looks like I got aphids.. I’ve been bring them outside to get ready for planting outside.. I saw a video it’s exactly what’s on my plants

Re: What is this???

Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 11:36 am
by Seven Bends
The symptoms shown in your pictures aren't from aphids. I agree with @bower that the pictures indicate severe edema. It looks different on different plants or in different circumstances; sometimes you'll see fewer, bigger swollen spots and deformities, but it can look like this, almost like a powdery coating on the leaves. It's the damage from swollen and ruptured cells.

Aphids will leave little white discarded exoskeletons on the leaves, but they don't look like what's in your picture. In a severe infestation, you may see large numbers of aphid larvae on the leaves, and it could sort of look like your picture, but not really. One big difference is aphids tend to stay under the leaves, not on top. Also, they move. If you poke the spots on the leaves in your pictures, do they move? If so, maybe aphids. But I'm pretty sure they're not going to move, and it's edema.

Webbing under the leaves could indicate spider mites, but it sounds like you would recognize the difference between a tiny spider and spider mites. Check the underside of the leaves with a magnifying glass to be sure. But the pictures don't look like spider mite damage either.

Re: What is this???

Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 12:24 pm
by AKgardener
I have never seen adema like this before it is weird how it looks like eggs / little crystals.. I’ve had it before on my pepper but never looking like this wich threw me for a loop.. thanks everyone poor guys my room is starting to get really warm so the soil is drying out faster

Re: What is this???

Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 12:32 pm
by bower
I didn't recognize it on pepper leaves at first either - as @Seven Bends says, it looks really different on different plants. Unlike tomatoes, pepper leaves are waxy and that makes their water retention abilities different. The first time I saw it on mine, it seemed they were encrusted with something and I was convinced that is was an infestation of some kind of insect laying eggs. Almost looks like crystals - maybe this is partly due to damage of the waxy leaf coat.

Re: What is this???

Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 1:05 pm
by AKgardener
@bower. Exactly why I was like what the heck.. well lesson learned will do better