Pepper leaves are an indicator of seedling health. They reflect any problems that arise due to improper care, infection or pest infestation. Those who are going to sow pepper seeds for seedlings for the first time should understand this and regularly inspect young plants from germination to transplantation into the ground.
Pimples on pepper seedlings
Pepper seeds are among the first to be sown. The exact timing depends on the variety and region, but most often summer residents get pepper seeds already in February.In March, the dark green foliage of seedlings appears cheerfully on window sills and shelves. Not everyone is lucky, sometimes the picture is very sad. Swellings appear on the seedling leaves, the leaves lose their elasticity, curl and eventually fall off.
There is no need to panic if the pepper has pimples. In this case, you should arm yourself with a magnifying glass and examine the leaves of problem plants. Leaf plates appear in pimples due to the following problems:
- swelling - edema;
- aphid;
- thrips;
- spider mite
Causes of swelling
Oedema (edema) is a physiological type of edema, not a disease. It is not caused by infections or viruses; it is not contagious. A failure occurs at the cellular level, in which the liquid consumed by the roots does not have time to be absorbed into the cells of the leaf plate and accumulates there, causing the appearance of tubercles.
Sometimes even experienced gardeners do not understand why healthy seedlings just yesterday look sad today because pimples have appeared on the pepper seedlings. The most common causes of edema:
- waterlogging of the soil;
- hypothermia of roots;
- too humid and cold air in the room where the boxes with seedlings are located;
- a sharp change in temperature and light conditions caused by transferring seedlings to another room;
- insufficient lighting;
- dense planting or placement of more seedlings per unit area than is acceptable.
Symptoms and treatment of pepper seedlings
The reasons are clear. Now let’s clarify the symptoms by which physiological edema can be determined. First of all, this is the appearance of capsule-like formations located on both sides of the leaf. They are usually green in color, but white can also be found. If the spots spread over the entire surface of the leaf, they eventually die and fall off.
There is no treatment, since it is not a disease if the pepper seedlings have pimples and the leaves curl. You do not need to treat, but simply take the following measures:
- Limit watering.
- Maintain the air temperature at 20 °C.
- Make drainage holes in the seedling container to drain excess liquid.
- Supplement natural lighting with artificial light from fluorescent lamps.
- Place the seedlings away from each other for good air ventilation.
- For the time being, avoid the use of fertilizers of any kind.
- Control soil acidity.
Timely assistance can save plants. The main thing is not to miss the moment, and for this you should regularly inspect the leaves and stems of sweet peppers.
Pepper pests
Seedlings have many enemies among insects. Sometimes the symptoms, which are caused by the vital activity of pests and their larvae, are very reminiscent of pimples. The reverse side of a leaf with spots and blisters may indicate the presence of:
- aphids;
- thrips;
- spider mite.
Aphids on seedlings
You need to know how seedlings are infected by aphids. Knowing them, you can use preventative measures to avoid pest invasions. Possible options for larvae and adults getting onto young plants:
- The larvae come from soil collected in the garden or vegetable garden.
- Individuals of the flying form of aphids flew onto the balcony (loggia) through an open window.
- A flower shop purchased a new ornamental plant that was infected with a type of aphid.
The method of penetration of the pest into a room with young seedlings is clear. Weakened plants planted in poor-quality soil taken from the garden and not containing the necessary set of microelements suffer more.
The main method of prevention is the preparation of high-quality soil and its disinfection. The following methods are used to disinfect soil for planting:
- Freezing bags of planting soil in winter.
- Warming up the earth for half an hour at a temperature of 70 °C.
- Watering with boiling water.
- Prepare a solution of potassium permanganate and pour it over the soil in the boxes before planting.
- Use Fitoverm solution for disinfection.
By the way, boxes and cups need disinfection if they are reused. For them, the best disinfectant is laundry soap (72%). They need to wash the containers thoroughly before filling them with soil.
Quarantine for flowers
Refrain from purchasing new flowers if there are young pepper seedlings in the apartment. This also applies to cut flowers and greenhouse flowers. Flower bouquets can harbor various forms of greenhouse aphids or thrips. Indoor flowers should be moved to another room or at least placed away from the boxes with peppers.
Pest control methods
Did you miss the pests, did colonies of aphids or, even worse, thrips appear on young peppers? What to do in this case? Run to the store for insecticides or fight with traditional methods using soap, ash, bitter, fragrant herbs.
Before making a decision, look carefully at the plant and assess the degree of damage and the number of pests. If there are only a few of them on the peppers, you can get by using traditional methods.
Dissolve 20 grams of laundry soap in water at room temperature and add 1-2 tbsp. l. ash. When the solution is infused, you can wash the pepper leaves on both sides with it or spray it with a spray bottle. The number of insects on pepper leaves will partially decrease. The treatment of seedlings must be repeated after a few days to consolidate the effect.
Some summer residents add a little ammonia instead of ash. A solution of ammonia fights pests on the leaves and serves as a good preventive measure, repelling insects from healthy plants.
Saving seedlings from mites is even easier. The plants are watered very well and immediately put on a plastic bag. Increased humidity in the bag kills spider mites.
Chemicals against pests
Too lazy to rinse leaves with soapy water - buy chemicals. Good reviews of the drugs:
- "Vertimek";
- "Fitoverm";
- "Akarin";
- "Sunmite."
A one-time treatment is not enough here either - you need to treat the seedlings at least 2 - 3 times with a seven-day interval. The listed drugs successfully fight not only aphids, but also thrips and mites. It is best to process peppers in the morning before the sun rises. If this is not observed, in addition to pimples, sunburn will also appear on the pepper foliage.
Seed treatment - disease prevention
Many problems can be avoided when growing young peppers by seed treatment, which is carried out the day before sowing. Seed material is most often disinfected with potassium permanganate - this is the cheapest and most accessible drug for growing healthy seedlings. Every summer resident has manganese in his home medicine cabinet.
A couple of manganese crystals and the water turns pink. Let the pepper seeds sit for 15 minutes or a little more. After draining the potassium permanganate solution, rinse them in water at room temperature and dry them a little. Treated seeds are ready for planting.
In addition to potassium permanganate, effective etching agents:
- "Baktofit";
- ash;
- "Albite".
Preparations for the treatment of peppers should be used following the instructions printed on the package. Ash is added to 0.5 liters of 1 tbsp. l. - Pepper seeds are disinfected with this solution.
Knowing the possible causes of curling pepper leaves and pimples on them and using the proposed measures, you can save young peppers and grow healthy seedlings.
