Severe leaf deformation - Any ideas?

[Tsuga88]

So this very odd leaf deformation started popping up on just a small section of one plant, but it never spread past the one branch to even adjacent branches it was touching. Now randomly I am finding it on other plants in the garden. There are no deficiencies and all other parts of the plant are beautiful, looking at the leaf at 60X with a scope there are no sign of pests. Never seen anything like this, any one have any ideas? Much appreciated!

 

[al70]

I'm not sure but it looks like a mutation which is nothing to worry about, I've seen it before on some plants of my own, hope they're ok, good luck.

 

[noyd666]

looks like my cabbages when I leave them in garden , reveging.

 

[al70]

looks like my cabbages when I leave them in garden , reveging.

Lol, I think they look pretty.

 

[Tsuga88]

al70, I've thought about mutation or a latent virus, and wouldn't be concerned but the portions that show this contortion are really slowed down. I've only had this in veg so can't say how it affects flowering, but it definitely isn't beneficial.

 

[Arf]

Perhaps cut off the mutant bit so it's not wasting energy and resources.

 

[al70]

It's up to you tsuga, if you're not happy with them snip off the mutated parts, shouldn't do any harm, I'd let one of them grow out for curiosity, good luck.

 

[moses wellfleet]

When I saw the title I was thinking broad mites, but it's not that. You got me stumped, interested to see where this goes?

 

[Tsuga88]

I'll be taking a portion in to an analytical lab, as I'm really quite stumped on this one. Studied Botany at UC Davis and have even run this by old staff friends in plant sciences, no better answer than what I and you all have come up with. Will report back with any new information. Thank you all for participating in this thread.

 

[al70]

Lets know what the lab says about it, I know I'd be interested, good luck.

 

[Mikell]

Herbicide damage can look similar and tends to concentrate in new growth tips. Drift or contaminated compost are potential sources.

 

[PoweredByLove]

are you planted in the ground? i would check the ph of the runoff/do a slurry test if you could. looks like micro deficiencies. is it all near the tops?

 

[Tsuga88]

After digging in deeper and talking to other farmers in the immediately adjacent area and confirming the same odd growth on random plants, it's looking like it may be some aspect of the deep well water I'm using. Going to get a more in depth water analysis this winter and will update this thread in case any future growers are struggling with the same seemingly very unusual problem.

 

[Tsuga88]

Regarding herbicide that's interesting and would entertain that possibility but the exact same problem is happening with my neighbors who use totally different soils than I do. These are all in large 300 gallon smart pots. It affects shoots past a certain point on the stalk, usually midway up the plant. One my smaller plants just seemed to get it everywhere though. Looking for trends and patterns but nothing has emerged yet. Analytical lab hasn't seen it, and this is in Humboldt.

 

[Flyingteapot]

I had a plant where one branch started growing flat like a computer ribbon & google told me it was a fasciated stem, I cut that branch down to the last normal node and it never came back

That happens still trying to figure out what it is. If you just keep topping that part of the plant you get a crazy amount of tops. I love the ribbon branches

 

[Flyingteapot]

I've been having similar problem. Don't think it's a spray since I haven't sprayed since April. I too have a deep well but haven't had a problem with it but water tables change throughout the year. Here are some pics I took reguarding my issue

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=331640

 

[Tsuga88]

Flyingteapot is your entire plant affected like that? It appears very similar to what I'm seeing, but hard to tell - can you post a closer up shot of new growth? Been talking to other growers in my area and they agree it's something with the water. Heard once people switch to trucked in water they don't have the issue. Still going to get better lab testing this winter on my well to find out what exactly it is. I know my water is hard (400 ppm) but hard water alone should not be causing this.

 

[neongreen]

I'll be taking a portion in to an analytical lab, as I'm really quite stumped on this one. Studied Botany at UC Davis and have even run this by old staff friends in plant sciences, no better answer than what I and you all have come up with. Will report back with any new information. Thank you all for participating in this thread.

I'm not sure what the initial cause might be, but to me it looks like there's a problem with the plant growth regulators/auxins, with the main rib of the leaf getting too little on top (rate of cell division is boosted), and too much on the bottom (cell division is suppressed). The net effect is that the leaf bends along it's length (much like when you heat a "bi-metalic strip"), eventually forming curls.

 

[Phenome]

.

 

[Tsuga88]

Neongreen, my thoughts exactly, why I suspected first some sort of pathogen causing this physiologic response. No visible pests, no typical spread were it insect caused, no obvious deficiencies or toxicities other than this warping. Lab has never seen it, all I have to go off of is the several neighbors that claim it's something in the water, perhaps some heavy metal? Will dig deeper into this over the off season.