Problem to grow a chili plant

[anthobkk]

Hi everyone.

So about 2 months ago I received a chili plant and I was hoping to grow some chilies out of it.

At the beginning everything was perfect and it grew quite fast .

check the first pic (with Rambo)

Then it kept growing and some flowers came as well.

Then, 5 days ago, I don't know what happened, the whole plant became kind of yellow and some bugs made a web all over the leaves and it started to die.

Do you know why ? I don't think I can save it anymore, but I'd just like to prevent it in the future. Most of the time my chili plant was on the balcony to avoid the strong storm / rain but it was doing great...

So should I put it on the balcony 24/7 or should I get something to get rid of these weird bugs ?

thanks

[stoneyboy]

Given the abundance of chillies in Thailand,10 baht a bag at my local market,I can't but help wonder why your so keen to grow a chilli plant here.

I have some in my garden they just appeared I don't do anything to them,they are flourishing.

[KittenKong]

Some varieties of chili are hard to find here.

There has been some discussion of growing chillies in the farming sub-forum on here and there is at least one professional grower doing it. Maybe the OP could ask there? Or maybe a mod could move the topic?

[PoorSucker]

I also have tried to grow some odd chili plants here, like chocolate habaneros, Naga morich etc , but always failed.

Moving this one to the farming section.

[bendejo]

I have no experience growing chils,but those webs look like the work of spider mites I encountered in N. America when trying to grow other things. I guess it would be a different type of them in the tropics and on the other side of the planet. This will sound funny, but one non-chemical way to get rid of them is to make a solution of water, garlic, and powdered chili pepper (!) and spray it on the leaves.

[Scoop1]

Hi all , Bendejo, that's exactly what they are and will be near impossible to get rid of them with that level of infestation, and don't you go visit anyone's garden for a while because they will end up with mites as well, they are extremely difficult to get rid of , best to get some fly spray or a flea bomb and spray the area, and dump the plant .

Cheers

Scoop

[cooked]

Spider mites can be treated with tick spray, not fly spray. They also dislike a moist environment, so spraying the leaves regularly can help.

Buy some Thai chili, sow the seeds and they will grow easily, try again.

Having said that, chili isn't necessarily an easy crop, our plants generally die after 6 months or so after giving a decent yield.

[anthobkk]

Thanks everyone, I will try to get rid of them if they appear next time.

I'm quite sad since this chili was brought from India by a friend and it was really strong and tasty and I was hopping to make a som tam with it.

I got rid of the plant already and I will be more careful on the next one.

Thanks again

[xen]

You have either a nutrient deficiency in your soil giving that appearance of your leaves or else those nutrients are locked into the soil making them unavailable to the plant - commonly due to pH balance. i suspect you just used a general NPK fertiliser with high Nitrogen (i am not a fan of high Nitrogen unless you have a specific reason to use it and you get your timing right ) instead of a complete fertilizer (and slow release is ideal).

It appears to be a plastic pot but if it was concrete the lime in the concrete can throw your pH out. A nutritionally poor plant is more susceptible to insect attack too.

Instead of spraying chemicals i would be using secretars and pruning the infected areas of and putting them in a container and burning them.

Also this is a good example of why civilized countries have plant quarantine.You may have inadvertently introduced another pest into Thailand from India that could devastate the chilli industry. Imagine Thailand with out chillies , what carnage would happen in the kitchens . However , the pest probably already exists in Thailand . I am only half joking and illustrating why plant hygiene and bio security is important especially when bring agricultural and horticultural products across borders.

[samuijimmy]

The pot looks a bit too small too! ....

Further to what Xen suggested with secateurs or even scissors, it is usually advised to dip in a solution of bleach and water between snipping plants ... 5% bleach to 95% water if memory serves!

I too have tried some of these varieties without success...... Even tried some of PoorSuckers habaneros seeds one year but the fruit became distorted soon after just starting to develop...

[cooked]

I had a very moderate success with Jalapenos, after nearly a year I got one per plant! They got trace elements, adequate water, mulching and TLC.

Depends on your soil of course but it does seem to be too hot here for some peppers.

[xen]

Although ,probably not relevant to the OP's post but i am wondering why so many growers of chillies are having problems - there has been 2 or three on TV in the past few weeks. I was just pondering (long shot though ) if the chillies are being grown in soil , or near other solanaceae family members such as tomatoes, capsicums, tobacco . Lot of common diseases (and pests) that are soil borne and affect all the solanaceae . Hence crop rotation is always recommended.

Just food for consideration if it applies.

Spot on advice about the bleach on the secateurs or scissors Jimmy too .

[cooked]

Although ,probably not relevant to the OP's post but i am wondering why so many growers of chillies are having problems - there has been 2 or three on TV in the past few weeks. I was just pondering (long shot though ) if the chillies are being grown in soil , or near other solanaceae family members such as tomatoes, capsicums, tobacco . Lot of common diseases (and pests) that are soil borne and affect all the solanaceae . Hence crop rotation is always recommended.

Just food for consideration if it applies.

Spot on advice about the bleach on the secateurs or scissors Jimmy too .

I used to use alcohol to sterilise, I also had two sets of secateurs which I changed from plant to plant.

Replanting Solanaceae year after year in the same place is asking for trouble (egg plant, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, ) are well known for building up nematodes in the soil for instance. I am heading for solarisation, http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html as a drastic last measure to try to get stuff to grow in the garden. At present I can only grow ginger, Pak bung, beans and herbs in the garden. Before I got here my wife planted chilli every year, she tells me that she remembers people carrying out a form of solarisation (without the plastic of course) a long time ago. They would dig the soil over in rough clods and leave it to the sun to do its work.

[NickJ]

I also read that Ph was a big factor. My thai chilles grew great. My imported ones not so well.....

[PoorSucker]

I had a very moderate success with Jalapenos, after nearly a year I got one per plant! They got trace elements, adequate water, mulching and TLC.

Depends on your soil of course but it does seem to be too hot here for some peppers.

The plants like the north better, sometimes I get fresh jalapenos from Makro, grown in the north.

I also found this producer.

http://www.thaipepperproducts.com/peppers.html

[xen]

Actually i was thinking more of diseases in Solanaceae like the tomato and tobacco wilts but nematodes are another aspect i hadn't thought of and could be a major cause of the problems of chillies dying off as nematodes ring-bark the roots thus depriving the plant of nutrient and allowing an entry point for disease .

In the world of nematodes there are many types - some beneficial but most not so - for agriculture in particular .And there are many solutions to nematode infestation such as molasses, marigolds, nemurcur and other heavy duty chemicals and using other nematodes to combat the problem causing ones. Have used them once on a sporting field - hellish expensive but very successful.