Black Pinhead Size Spots on Stems and Leaves

Dutch · April 25, 2018

A friend of mine had pepper plants that the leaf began to curl inward then started turning yellow on the ends, next the leaf tips began drying up, turning light tan, and final the leaves died and shriveled up. The problem started on the lower leaves first and there didn’t seem to be any other visible problem with the plants other then what looked like a couple of specks of dirt in a couple of spots of the leaves and stems.
Those specks of dirt turned out to be;
Rhopalosiphina.jpg
Please note the yellowing of the leaf near the top of picture on the left side and the drying just below that. The offspring and holes (leave damage) they make are undetectable by the human eye. To the human eye the adults appear to be a slightly oval round black speck. At this stage the adults do not have wings yet and hop somewhat similar to a flea but they are not fleas they are in the aphid family. I have no idea where these aphids came from and how wide spread they presently are. I’ve never seen them before.

For reference one millimeter is smaller the size of three cubical grains of ordinary table salt;
ThreeCubicalGrainsOfTableSalt.JPG

The liquid insecticide soap spray he tried first didn’t do anything other than cause the drying leaves to become moldy, making his problem worse. What worked for him in this situation was using a dry powder as pictured below;
Diatomaceous Earth.JPG
Chapin 5000.JPG
Dutch

April 25, 2018	#1
Dutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: S.E. Wisconsin Zone 5b Posts: 1,831	Black Pinhead Size Spots on Stems and Leaves A friend of mine had pepper plants that the leaf began to curl inward then started turning yellow on the ends, next the leaf tips began drying up, turning light tan, and final the leaves died and shriveled up. The problem started on the lower leaves first and there didn’t seem to be any other visible problem with the plants other then what looked like a couple of specks of dirt in a couple of spots of the leaves and stems. Those specks of dirt turned out to be; Rhopalosiphina.jpg Please note the yellowing of the leaf near the top of picture on the left side and the drying just below that. The offspring and holes (leave damage) they make are undetectable by the human eye. To the human eye the adults appear to be a slightly oval round black speck. At this stage the adults do not have wings yet and hop somewhat similar to a flea but they are not fleas they are in the aphid family. I have no idea where these aphids came from and how wide spread they presently are. I’ve never seen them before. For reference one millimeter is smaller the size of three cubical grains of ordinary table salt; ThreeCubicalGrainsOfTableSalt.JPG The liquid insecticide soap spray he tried first didn’t do anything other than cause the drying leaves to become moldy, making his problem worse. What worked for him in this situation was using a dry powder as pictured below; Diatomaceous Earth.JPG Chapin 5000.JPG Dutch __________________ "Discretion is the better part of valor" Charles Churchill The intuitive mind is a gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. But we have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. (paraphrased) Albert Einstein I come from a long line of sod busters, spanning back several centuries. Last edited by Dutch; April 26, 2018 at 10:10 AM. Reason: Grammar