wonder if the black matting is cooking them on 90 degree days ... have you used this product before???? its not only super heating the soil .... which keeps it hot deep into the night .. it also reduces a recovery period ... and may be why.. lower limbs are more affected ... and the hole is so small.. i wonder if water is getting to the plant efficiently .... i dont watch video of inanimate objects... lol ... it is interesting how you labeled the plants on the black stuff ... ken

When I have used insecticidal soap in the past, I also noticed the plants didn't really like it. But, it was in the Winter (plants were indoors) and I didn't rinse the soap off. After that, I started rinsing them off after an hour or so and they seemed to take it a lot better. Since yours are outside, I could see the same situation happening more quickly. First off, I would expect your plants will be fine. I would just apply in shade / weak sun as you did before, and rinse them shortly after application. Repeat as necessary every 2-3 days. Since the soap is a contact thing, it doesn't take long to work it's magic on the aphids.

Well I'm no authority, to say the least, on pest problems in Dubai, but as a general rule unless they are doing damage or unless there is a severe infestation then there is no need to do anything. Most "bugs" in the garden pose no threat but unnecessary spraying of chemicals, no matter the type, does. So seeing some bug doesn't automatically mean you need to drag out the pesticide. You learned that with the leaf miners. :) It is impossible to tell from the pics what it is. it may be a black winged aphid but it could also be 100 other types of small flies or gnats attracted to the moisture. I wouldn't worry abut it but if you want to spray something then first make sure that pesticide lists it is effective for the pest and then avoid spraying the fruit directly as much as possible. Dave

Sorry Eva but your question got lost in all the other discussion. In the future it is best to start your own thread, ok? I don't know what the foil is supposed to do but it could be making the soil too warm. It can also abrade the stems. Wilting can be caused by many things - over or under watering, over-crowding, transplant shock, the potting mix you used, or even by all the things you have sprayed on them. What are the containers filled with? One problem is obvious, the size of the plants right now compared to the size of the container means they could easily be drowning if you are actually keeping 35 gallons of soil wet all the time. With a container that big what is usually done is to fill it only 1/2 full, plant the small transplant and then slowly fill the container with mix as the plant grows. That keeps the scale of plant to amount of soil in line. Could your tell us the actual dimensions on the container? Are you guessing at the 35 gallons or is that what the nursery claimed? The reason I ask is that 35 gallons is a very unusual size for containers sold to the public. In all my years in the nursery business I have never seen a container that shape that will actually hold that much mix. Standard sizes for hard sided containers is 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 50. Your plants are quite leggy, with long skinny stems and long spaces between the branches. That means they are not getting nearly enough sun. Plus are you sure they were aphids? It would be unusual to see aphids in soil. More likely fungus gnats. Either way I'd suggest laying off on all the sprays. Those home-made remedies usually only make things worse. Based on your photos I can only tell you what I would do. Reduce the plants to no more than two in each container, dig up the two you choose to leave and bury them much deeper so all that bare stem is buried, bury them right up to just below the top cluster of leaves so new roots will develop all along that buried stem. Then feed them with a well balanced fertilizer, preferably a liquid one so it will work quickly and move the containers to where they can get much more sun. Next year, if you plan use those same containers, first take the time to do some research into large container growing. It has some very unique requirements. I hope this is of some help to you. Dave