[CH] chile diseases
Margaret Lauterbach (mlaute@micron.net)
Mon, 01 Jun 1998 08:23:15 -0600
Those of you with chile plant diseases should take a small branch with
curled leaves (if that's the problem) to your county extension agent, if
you live in the U.S. They may or may not be able to identify the disease
or the cause of leaf curl. If you're serious about growing chiles, get
your hands on the small booklet called "Pepper Diseases: A Field Guide."
Its color photos help a lot. Judy's chile afflicted with interveinal
yellowing and black spots, for instance could be a local fungus, or it
could be a Tobacco Mosaic Virus, which can be seed-borne and this field
guide says seeds can by cleansed of the virus in a two hour soak in a 10%
solution of trisodium phosphate. (That's TSP, guys, available at any paint
store). The Pepper Gal used to sell the book for $10 or so, but I don't
see it in her current catalog. You could write to the publisher for price
and shipping info. The publisher is (no joke) Asian Vegetable Research and
Development Center, P.O. Box 205, Taipei 10099. The plant pathologists who
worked on this are all from the U.S. The publication was funded by the
Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation. (again, no joke).