Contents
Pepper leaf edema is associated with excessive watering, as well as a lack of sunlight. Water exchange in plant tissues is disturbed, as a result of which numerous small tubercles are formed on the underside of the leaf plates. To the touch they are quite dense, the surface is rough. Although oedema is not too dangerous or contagious, its development can lead to root rot. Occasionally, pathology causes the death of the entire bush.
Description and photo of edema on pepper leaves
Oedema (it is often called edema or simply dropsy) is an edema (this is how this word is translated from Latin) of pepper leaves. This is a metabolic disorder that has nothing to do with infectious causes. Those. the disease is not fungal, bacterial or viral, so it is impossible to infect neighboring plants with it.
You can diagnose edema on the leaves of pepper seedlings or adult bushes by the following signs:
- Small and numerous swollen formations on the underside (especially closer to the petiole).
- If you run along the underside of the sheet, a bumpy surface is felt.
- Over time, similar growths may appear on the petioles.
- In advanced stages, the stem begins to curl.
At the same time, outwardly, the peppers look quite normal – the leaves are green, do not lose their elasticity. Although pepper leaf edema is not too dangerous, if left untreated, it will only get worse. This can lead to the death of the plant.
What can be confused with
Oedema leaves of indoor or outdoor peppers can be confused with white mold.
A fungal disease in which the surface is covered with small, numerous pimples occurs with high humidity
The mold has a white color, and in the case of edema, this sign is not observed.
You can also confuse pathology with signs of the appearance of common pests:
- aphid;
- scale insects;
- spider mites.
If mites appear on the bushes, the surface of the leaves is covered with a thin cobweb
When parasitizing aphids and scale insects, a sticky coating may appear. But there will be no dense tubercles – this is a distinctive feature by which it is easy to identify the oedema.
Causes of appearance
Dropsy pepper has nothing to do with diseases and pests. Violation of the rules of care leads to its appearance:
- Regular over-watering.
- Lack of sunlight.
- Too dense landings, crowding.
- Lack of ventilation, high humidity.
- Temperature fluctuations.
Thus, the main cause of edema of pepper leaves is excess moisture. If a lot of water enters the tissue, normally its excess is excreted through the stomata – special pores on the leaf surface. But when there is too much liquid, the holes become clogged, and the excess is concentrated in the tissues of the underside of the leaf. Therefore, they are covered with small tubercles, which indicates the development of dropsy.
Experienced gardeners note that most often leaf edema develops precisely when growing peppers in a greenhouse, as well as indoors (at the seedling stage). Air circulation in a closed room is difficult. If at the same time watering is excessive, this will surely provoke swelling. An unfavorable factor is also constant temperature fluctuations, which impede the metabolism in plant tissues.
Greenhouse-grown peppers are most at risk from the disease.
Oedema Danger
Oedema is not an infectious pathology, therefore it does not pose a particular danger. Even if several plants are affected, the rest of the plantings will definitely not become infected. As a rule, it is enough to simply stop watering and make the soil dry out, and then give water already in normal mode.
On the other hand, if nothing is done, the dropsy will definitely not go away. Moreover, excess moisture combined with a lack of light will lead to adverse consequences:
- leaves curl, lose their shape;
- fall over time;
- roots rot and die.
Treatment methods for edema on pepper
You can treat pepper seedling edema in a fairly simple way – completely stop watering, spraying with water and dry the soil a little. If the tubercles appeared at the stage of growing seedlings, it is enough to put the container on the heating radiator, having previously placed a piece of foam 7-10 cm thick.
If dropsy of pepper leaves appeared when growing outdoors, you just need to stop giving water and wait until the surface layer of the soil becomes almost completely dry. No need to bring to the point that the earth cracked from withering.
When growing in a greenhouse, watering is also completely stopped. But at the same time, it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room, leaving the door and vents open for the whole day. If the night is warm, you can not close around the clock.
In rare cases, when seedlings are literally flooded with water, for example, watering was done, after which heavy rain immediately fell, a plant transplant will be needed, otherwise they risk dying. Then they prepare a dry bed and transfer all the peppers there. And it is better to choose a place in the greenhouse to avoid heavy rains (especially if they are expected according to the forecast). You can land on the same site, after pouring dry soil on it with a small amount of clean sand.
The main measure of treatment and prevention is compliance with the norm of irrigation.
preventive measures
Oedema on peppers is a rather dangerous disease, and sometimes it is not so easy to correct the situation. But it is quite possible to prevent the development of pathology. To do this, you need to take several preventive measures. Among the main methods recommended by experienced gardeners are the following:
- Oedema on the leaves of peppers is primarily associated with excess watering, so it is important to ensure that the earth remains moderately dry. The surface layer should have time to dry out – to make sure of this, just put your palm on it.
- Also, the pathology develops against the background of a lack of sunlight. It is a mistake to assume that if you highlight the seedlings with diodes or phytolamps, this is quite enough. In fact, the illumination is organized only in the morning and in the evening, and during the day the senets should stand under the sun’s rays.
- Some varieties of bell peppers are more prone to various diseases, including oedema. Therefore, it is better to choose genetic resistant varieties, for example, Orange Miracle, Cockatoo F1, Agapovsky, Big Papa, Hercules, Pharaoh F1 and many others.
- Pepper plantings should not be too dense. Low-growing varieties are planted at intervals of at least 40 cm (inter-row spacing of 50-60 cm). If the variety is tall, a minimum of 50 cm should be left between seedlings, and 70 cm between rows. These rules should not be violated, even if the area is small.
Conclusion
Oedema of pepper leaves most often develops when grown in greenhouse conditions. The main prevention is compliance with the norm of watering and regular ventilation. If you follow the rules of care, the gardener will probably not encounter such a phenomenon.
