Bell pepper leaf curl

[hdan]

Hello, new here.
Has anyone had any issues with leaf curling under on plants 4 weeks old.
I have 6 plants, three with leaf curl, three without leaf curl inside in controlled environment 68-70°.
Three on right has leaf curl.

 

[HoleySmokes]

The light may be too intense. Back the light up a little and see if the leaves don't start upwards.

 

[digitS']

Sure looks like something is "going on." You are sure that they have enough water?

Peppers and eggplants are the greatest attraction for bugs. If aphids on the early starts show up anywhere, it will be on those plants. Check carefully under those leaves.

I don't know much about soil deficiencies and hope that those with more knowledge might weigh in. One thing, peppers are perennials and tough, albeit – a difficult start can mess up their season of growth and production.

Steve

 

[hdan]

The light may be too intense. Back the light up a little and see if the leaves don't start upwards.

I did back the grow light off a bit about a week ago from 80% to 60% because I was thinking the same thing.

 

[hdan]

Sure looks like something is "going on." You are sure that they have enough water?

Peppers and eggplants are the greatest attraction for bugs. If aphids on the early starts show up anywhere, it will be on those plants. Check carefully under those leaves.

I don't know much about soil deficiencies and hope that those with more knowledge might weigh in. One thing, peppers are perennials and tough, albeit – a difficult start can mess up their season of growth and production.

Steve

I did check under affected leave curls for bugs and didn't find anything.

 

[hdan]

I did check under affected leave curls for bugs and didn't find anything.

I think it's getting time to water.
Top 1" is dry. 1-1/2" down is little moist
8" diameter pot 8" deep should take about cup water I think. I will leave this open for suggestions.

 

[heirloomgal]

@hdan Because your plants are so beautifully green, and seem to show no other signs of problems my guess is that the leaf curling is just varietal; they may be responding to some subtle environmental condition that will resolve itself. I checked my peppers tonight and see that 2 of mine are exhibitng slight leaf curl as well but I know that all else is well with them so it's varietal. I've seen this phenomenon in perfectly healthy tomato plants some years. There could also be some slight genetic variations among the plants in a variety that account for it. I'd be willing to bet that once you get them outside they'll do just fine. Peppers have wierd carbohydrate storage mechanisms too, and because of that they sometimes exhibit oddities. Looks like it's the older leaves curling more so than young ones, which points a little to storage issues as well (which is also related to temperatures a bit). As they get exposed to higher temps they may straighten out.

 

[digitS']

If I have any questions about water, I go with bottom watering.

At least an inch depth throughout the time required. Pots of that size may need as much as an hour soak.

Then, I find a way so they have at least that amount of time to drain.

 

[hdan]

If I have any questions about water, I go with bottom watering.

At least an inch depth throughout the time required. Pots of that size may need as much as an hour soak.

Then, I find a way so they have at least that amount of time to drain.

I did water bottom water this morning using rain water preheated in microwave to bring up to room temp. I have drain trays that my 8" diameter x 8" deep pots are sitting in. I filled each tray with 1 cup of water within 15 minutes the trays were dry. I will keep updating on leaf curl and watering as I go as maybe it can be a learning experience for everyone.

 

[hdan]

I did water bottom water this morning using rain water preheated in microwave to bring up to room temp. I have drain trays that my 8" diameter x 8" deep pots are sitting in. I filled each tray with 1 cup of water within 15 minutes the trays were dry. I will keep updating on leaf curl and watering as I go as maybe it can be a learning experience for everyone.

By the way I did a little experiment after I watered this morning. I took a spare pot like bell peppers are in taped drain holes up filled with 1 cup water and measured one half inch. So I may need to water with another cup water, but I don't want to over water. 8" diameter pot x 8" deep but bottom of pot measures 7"