diagnosis your crop

Quick Reference Guide
Unless you are an expert taxonomist or have easy access to a laboratory, the correct diagnosis of the problem is probably the most difficult (and critical) factor in your battle with the enemy as a whole host of problems can display similar very symptoms. The following guide will hopeful help you narrow down the problem.

The Leaves:

Yellowing
- see the sections on Aphids, Whitefly, Nematodes and Verticillium Wilt
- could also be caused by a Nitrogen or Magnesium deficiency, mineral deficiency, or excessive watering

Browning
� see Bacterial Leaf Spot and Phytopthora blight
- could also be caused by excessive nitrogen.

Curling/distortion
� see Aphids, Thrips, Spider mites and Viruses

Holed
� see slugs & snails and flea beetles

Scorched
� see sunscald
- could be caused by Chemical or fertiliser burns

Spots/Blotches
- see Bacterial Leaf Spot, Cercospora Leaf Spot Powdery Mildew, Phytopthora blight and viruses
- could also be caused by chemical injury

The Plants:

Browning Stems
- see Bacterial Leaf Spot and Phytopthora blight
- could also be caused by insufficient watering

Wilting
- see Verticilllium wilt, Bacterial Wilt & Phytopthora blight
- could also be caused by too little/too much watering

Plants Falling Over
� could be caused by waterlogged soil, insufficient plant support or poorly develop roots

Slow growth
� likely to be caused by inadequate light, poor soil, low temperatures. Note some Chile species particularly the Chinese are notoriously slow growing

The Pods:

Holes
- see slugs & snails and pepper maggots
- Birds and animals are also partial to the occasional chile pod (animals tend to avoid all but the mildest chile pods - though they might take a test nibble).

Spots/discolouration
� see Anthracnose, Bacterial leaf spot, Blossom End Rot, Phytopthora blight, Grey Mold and thrips
- could also be caused by sunscald or nutrient deficiencies

Distortion
� see Thrips, Spider mites and viruses. Poor Pollination can also cause this problem

Soft Rot
� see Bacterial Soft Rot and Grey mold

Failure to Ripen
� insufficient ripening time likely to be the problem

Insect Pests
The insects most likely to �enjoy� your chile plants are slugs & snails, aphids (greenfly/blackfly), pepper maggots,whitefly and nematodes. Flea beetles, cutworms, hornworms, thrips, spider mites and leafminers are less common. To control insect problems, regular inspection is again the key to success.

Slugs & Snails are probably the number 1 enemy of gardeners, these little devils can quite happily turn one of your prize specimens into a swiss cheese practically over night before sliding back to there hideaways, leaving you to wonder what happened. Thankfully, most slugs and snails leave behind one piece of incriminating evidence which helps to both diagnose the problem and track them down, a trail of slime! Slugs are hermaphrodites (they can mate with themselves) and can produce dozens of eggs several times a year. The egg clusters look like little piles of whitish jelly and hatch anywhere from 10 days 28 days. �Dispose� of any slugs and eggs wherever you find them.