Causes and treatment of diseases of peppers, when seedlings have pimples and leaves curl

Pepper leaves are an indicator of seedling health. They reflect any problems caused by improper care, infection or pest infestation. Those who are going to sow pepper seeds for seedlings for the first time should understand this and conduct regular inspection of young plants from germination to transplanting into the ground.

Pimples on pepper seedlings

Pepper seeds are among the first to be sown. The exact dates depend on the variety and region, but most often summer residents get pepper seeds in February. In March, dark green foliage of seedlings vigorously greens on the windowsills and shelves. Not everyone is lucky, sometimes the picture is very sad. Swelling appears on the seedling leaves, the leaves lose their elasticity, curl and, in the end, fall off.

You don't 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. In pimples, leaf plates are due to the following problems:

• edema - oedema;
• aphid;
• thrips;
• spider mite.

Causes of edema

Oedema (edema) is a physiological edema, not a disease. It is not caused by infections and 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 in the cells of the leaf plate and accumulates there, causing the appearance of tubercles.

Sometimes even experienced gardeners do not understand why yesterday healthy seedlings look dull today due to the fact that pimples appeared on pepper seedlings. The most common causes of edema are:

• waterlogging of the soil;
• hypothermia of the roots;
• too humid and cold air in the room where there are boxes with seedlings;
• a sharp change in temperature and light conditions caused by the transfer of seedlings to another room;
• insufficient lighting;
• dense planting or placing more seedlings per unit area than is allowed.

Symptoms and treatment of pepper seedlings

The reasons are clear. Now we will clarify the symptoms by which physiological edema can be determined. First of all, this is the appearance of formations similar to capsules located on either side of the leaf. They are usually green in color, but whites can also occur. If the spots spread over the entire surface of the leaf, they eventually die off and fall off.

There is no treatment, since it is not a disease if pepper seedlings have pimples and leaves curl. You do not need to treat, but simply take the following measures:

1. Limit watering.
2. Maintain air temperature at 20 ° C.
3. Make drainage holes in the seedling container to drain excess liquid.
4. Supplement natural lighting with artificial light from daylight fixtures.
5. Place the seedlings away from each other for good air ventilation.
6. For a while, exclude the use of fertilizers of any kind.
7. Control the acidity of the soil.

Timely assistance can save plants. The main thing is not to miss the moment, and for this it is worth regularly examining the leaves and stems of sweet pepper.

Pepper pests

Seedlings have many enemies among insects. Sometimes the symptoms, the cause of which is the vital activity of pests and their larvae, very much resemble pimples. The reverse side of the sheet with spots and swellings may indicate the presence of:

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• aphids;
• thrips;
• spider mite.

Aphids on seedlings

You need to know the ways of infection of seedlings with aphids. Knowing them, you can avoid the invasion of pests with the help of preventive measures. Possible options for the ingestion of larvae and adults on young plants:

1. The larvae come from the soil collected in the garden or in the garden.
2. On the balcony (loggia) through an open window, flying aphids flew.
3. A new ornamental plant, infected with one of the aphids, was purchased at a flower shop.

The way the pest enters a room with young seedlings is clear. Weakened plants planted in low-quality soil, taken from the garden and not containing the necessary set of trace elements, suffer more.

The main method of prevention is the preparation of high-quality soil and its disinfection. The following methods of soil disinfection for planting are used:

1. Freezing of bags with planting earth in winter.
2. Warming up the earth for half an hour at a temperature of 70 ° C.
3. Watering with boiling water.
4. Prepare a solution of potassium permanganate and pour the earth in boxes with it before planting.
5. Use phytoverm solution for disinfection.

By the way, boxes and cups need disinfection if they are reused. For them, the best disinfectant will be laundry soap (72%). They need to thoroughly wash the containers before filling them with earth.

Quarantine for flowers

Refrain from purchasing new flowers if there are young peppers in the apartment. This also applies to cut, greenhouse flowers. Flower bouquets can be carriers of various forms of greenhouse aphids or thrips. Indoor flowers should be taken to another room, or at least put away from the boxes of peppers.

Pest control methods

Have you overlooked pests, have aphid colonies appeared on young peppers, or, even worse, thrips? What to do in this case? Run to the store for insecticides or fight with folk methods using soap, ash, bitter, smelling herbs.

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Before making a decision, take a close look at the plant and assess the degree of damage and the number of pests. If there are few of them on the peppers, you can get by with folk methods.

Dissolve 20 grams of laundry soap in water at room temperature and pour 1-2 tbsp. l. ash. When the solution is infused, you can wash the leaves of the pepper on both sides with it, or spray it with a spray bottle. The number of insects on the leaves of pepper will partially decrease. The processing of seedlings must be repeated after a few days to consolidate the effect.

Some summer residents add a little ammonia instead of ash. The ammonia solution fights pests on the leaves and serves as a good prophylaxis, scaring away insects from healthy plants.

It is even easier to save seedlings from ticks. Plants are very well watered and immediately put on a cellophane bag. The increased humidity in the bag kills the spider mite.

Chemistry against pests

Too lazy to rinse the leaves with soapy water - buy chemistry. Good reviews for drugs:

• "Vertimek";
• Fitoverm;
• Akarin;
• Sunmight.

One-time processing is not enough here - you need to process the seedlings at least 2 - 3 times with a seven-day interval. The listed drugs successfully fight not only aphids, but also thrips and ticks. Pepper processing is best done in the morning before the sun has risen. If this is not observed, sunburns will also appear on the pepper foliage, in addition to pimples.

Seed treatment - disease prevention

Many problems can be avoided when growing young peppers by seed treatment carried out on the eve of sowing. Most often, seed is disinfected with potassium permanganate - this is the cheapest and most affordable preparation for growing healthy seedlings. Every summer resident has manganese in his home medicine cabinet.

A couple of manganese crystals and the water turns pink. Lower the pepper seeds for 15 minutes or a little more. Having drained the potassium permanganate solution, rinse them in water at room temperature and dry a little. The treated seeds are ready to plant.

In addition to potassium permanganate, effective dressing agents:

• "Baktofit";
• ash;
• "Albite".

Preparations for the treatment of peppers should be used according to 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.