Topic: Chilli grow 2020

[Robbo141]

Hey Andy, I

[Madrasandy]

Hi Robbo,
I don

[livo]

Success.  I've had some imported Indian Kashmiri seeds taken from whole dried chillies in seed starter mix for 40 days and I was about to give up. Today I have germination.
I have been buying some seed as well for different varieties (Indian) but the germination rate is low and then I have to deal with the topping of my day old seedlings by what I believe is fungus gnatts.  Very frustrating.  They appear to prefer the varieties from India for some reason.

Anyway, I'm protecting my Indian chillies with the hope of obtaining my own grown seeds for next season.  One or two plants will do the trick.

I'll post some photos when I get the opportunity and if they survive the gnatts.

[mickyp]

Try covering the top with a thin layer of vermiculite, i think their interest is the soil.

[livo]

Yep. Thanks mickyp. The guy I buy seeds from gave me similar advice last week and said he had recently had similar losses. I'm pretty sure it's the gnats doing the damage as nothing else is there. One minute the seed leaves are there and next, they're gone. Really annoying when germination takes 3-4 weeks (or longer) and then the seedling is completely topped on day 1. If they survive past a day or two they are left alone so it seems to only happen to first day sprouts.

I have 2 seedlings that appear to be trying to grow the first set of true leaves even after the damage. There is chlorophyll in the top of the stem so I'll see if they survive.

The other day I found one seed leaf on a week old tomato seedling cut in half with the severed piece still there below on the soil. Straight cut like it had been done with scissors. The only things around I can actually see are the gnats.  There is information about the larvae damaging roots but I can't find anything to say that the flies eat seedling tops so I'm puzzled. https://growhotpeppers.com/get-rid-of-fungus-gnats/ actually says that the adult flies dont cause any particular harm to the plants, but I'm thinking this is wrong.

[mickyp]

you could always try putting one of those uv fly killer lamps near, hopefully they will fly to doom, they are so bloody annoying, or some kind of frame with an old pair of tights stretched over it.

[Garp]

I had fungus gnats last year after I brought a couple of plants from the greenhouse indoors. By that time the plants were mature, so no damage was done. I don't believe the gnats cause problems (apart from being very annoying) but the larvae seem to.

I cut down the watering of these plants to a minimum and watered from the bottom only - that seemed to reduce the reproduction a little.

[livo]

The thing that puzzles me is that the damage is done quickly and severely, only once the seedlings have germinated and the cotyledon are well above the soil (maybe 1.5 - 2 cm). I have not been able to catch a culprit in the act. My understanding is that the gnat larva live under the soil surface and can damage young roots. There is nothing I can find that says they will climb to the top of a seedling to eat the leaves.  There is also nothing I can find that points to the adult fly causing the damage but there is no other pest I have been able to find.  The adult fly and larva are both tiny and the volume of vegetation disappearing is vastly greater than you'd expect a tiny bug to eat.

It is also odd that the same few varieties appear to be targeted while others are left unscathed.  So far I have only lost the Kashmiri Mirch, Rajah and Red Cayenne. Other chilli varieties and a range of capsicum are not touched.

Aside from pest damage, I'll be very interested to see if the seeds I bought as Kashmiri Mirch are the same as the seeds I collected from the Indian Grocery whole dried Kashmiri chillis.  Germination success rate from the latter is very low (only 1 so far) but if I can nurse it through then just the 1 will be a pleasing result.  Hopefully I can harvest a few protected pods from it or even do some cloning.  There is a degree of uncertainty about the actual variety sold as Kashmiri and the shape of the pods appears to be quite wrong in some advertisements and information sites.  As with many things Indian sometimes is is just down to regional naming and translation.  Kashmiri Red Chilli translates to Kashmiri Laal Mirch so who really knows?

I'm trying a few other Indian varieties as well.  I've also planted Byadgi, Pusa Jwala, Lal Mirch and Mettupalayam.

[livo]

Here is the latest victim, (yesterday) and the soil is covered in a layer of Perlite.  This occurred in my mini greenhouse. There are no pests inside (that I can find) other than the fungus gnats and indeed there are very few of them.  Complete decapitation with no trace of the cut leaves. They are obviously eaten but by what?

[Garp]

Cutworms?