What's the Cause? Brown Leaves on Potato and Pepper Plants
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:21 am
by Nik9
Help! I think my vegetable garden might have some type of disease. A couple of my potato plants are getting brown spots on their leaves and some of my pepper plants have some leaves on the bottom rows that are brown spots with yellow. I took some pictures below. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Re: What's the Cause? Brown Leaves on Potato and Pepper Plan
Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:59 am
by rainbowgardener
The top picture is pepper plants and they do look diseased. I don't know, but the commonest disease of pepper plants is bacterial leaf spot (BLS) and your does rather look like that.
I noticed in the picture, they are covered with water drops. Warm and wet conditions favor the growth of bacterial and fungal diseases. And the movement of water drops can spread the pathogens. If your hands or garden tools touch the plants when wet, you can be spreading pathogens as well. Disinfect garden tools frequently with alcohol or bleach solution. And ONLY WATER THE SOIL.
Low nitrogen or potassium, and extra high magnesium and calcium levels have been associated with increased crop susceptibility to BLS. In general the healthier you can keep your plants, the better they can fight off diseases on their own.
Spraying the plants (including undersides of the leaves) with aerated compost tea or fermented kelp, helps fight microbes and boost the plants immune system