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leathery deformed leaves in hot pepper plant

15 years ago

Would anybody know why my hot red pepper plant is showing small, thin leathery leaves with the central vein all puckered up? Looks like a "varicose" vein!!. I wintered this plant in my garage and I have recently fertilized it. The leaves don't die or yellow,but the other older leaves, which looked healthy, are rolling downwards. Some twist or roll side to side...any help will be appreciated. I have 3 plants in a container. Is that too crowded maybe?

Comments (5)

fiedlermeister
15 years ago
3 sounds like a lot unless it's a very large pot but that's probably not the cause of what you describe. Do you have pictures?

john
gringojay
15 years ago
Hi mima,
Boron (B) is slow moving inside the plant, so symptoms of deficiency show up first in the older leaves.
B is much involved in cell membranes & the transport of Potassium which maintains the water equilibrium of tissue (ie: your plump varicose midrib).
B uptake is less efficient in situations of: drought (many pepper growers keep 'em dry), low Nitrogen (N provides the vigorous growth that can move micro-nutrients), high Calcium & also when pH is high (may be pH rose over winter).
B is very mobile in the soil & prone to leaching. It merits thorough mixing of fertilizer blend for ideal bio-availability.
Deficiency symptoms for certain crops vary & most think of B problems on flower/fruit/tips of growth.
As regards leaves, Boron deficiency can cause them to:
distort, cup, curl at margin, pucker, deform, shrivel, crinkle, thicken, brittle, dry & appear wilted (when on young leaves begin to see yellowing &/or central leaf vein chlorosis the B deficiency is already long standing & crop yield will be less)
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ohio_wino
15 years ago
Look down that page at the section about bone meal. Could that be your problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pepper Growing Tips
mima_gardener
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you very much to all of you who answered my plea for help. I have a lot to work on and I'll try all of your ideas...I will conquer!! THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION - THANKS!
rootdoctor
15 years ago
Too much fertilizer mebbe. I have noticed with any plants in containers that have to "winter" in a different environment will show major leaf deformities - peppers included, when reintroduced into a different environment in spring. Maybe a combination of things. I have made the mistake of adding ferts twice in a few containers, and the plants "squirmed" badly for a couple of weeks until they straightened out. Good luck TiMo

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