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I am growing scotch bonnet, jalapeno and cayenne pepper plants indoors from seed. The scotch bonnet plants have what looks like white fur growing around the veins on the underside of their leaves. This is accompanied on some leaves by small hard white spots.

This is not visible on all plants, the plants that do show this fur seem to be suffering, some of their leaves have become soft and are rolling up. Neither the fur or the small white specs move when I rub them with my fingers, they remain on the leaf.

Can anyone help me identify the problem?

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Update: 04/08/14 20:42

More pictures, the same leaf top and bottom:

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    You are welcome :) I hesitated because the hairs were too long to be Leveillula taurica (Lev.) Arnaud G. (powdery mildew). Could you use tweezers and pull some hairs to see if it is some kind of scale insect?
    – BYJ
    Aug 4, 2014 at 20:10
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    I just discover that I can see the pictures at full-size. Some colleagues and I have been discussing and the hairs seem to be a characteristic of the plant (perhaps a remnant from crosses between species).
    – BYJ
    Aug 5, 2014 at 17:19
  • @ondoteam I don't think it is genetic, or part of the plant, or it would be much more uniform.
    – J. Musser
    Aug 6, 2014 at 1:19
  • @J.Musser I think the uniformity is not a must. In a couple of hours I will get some pictures from my colleague.
    – BYJ
    Aug 6, 2014 at 7:35
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    @J.Musser botanicayjardines.com/images/Capsicum.jpg
    – BYJ
    Aug 6, 2014 at 8:55

1 Answer 1

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Those white hairs (marked in green) are trichomes, which are a perfectly normal part of the plant.

The little spots (marked in red) however look like edema, which indicate too much moisture or over-watering.

Trichomes and Edema

Try watering them less, or less often (mine do well with being watered only every other day) and since you're growing indoors, air the room regularly (a hygrometer can be useful too).

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    +1 Note that edema should be visible in the upperside too.
    – BYJ
    Aug 6, 2014 at 7:16
  • Thanks @ondoteam, great resources. I will reduce watering and air the room more often.
    – Dean_0
    Aug 10, 2014 at 13:28

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