What is this?

Honestly, I have no idea what this is, and this is the first time something like this has happened to me in the three years I have been growing peppers. There are so many possibilities that I am completely lost, and I would like to know if anyone has any ideas.

​

About two and a half months ago, one plant started showing new growth with black spots, pale leaves, and wrinkling. Then those symptoms spread to a second plant and later to a third one. This all happened while I was controlling a thrips infestation with abamectin.

​

I got rid of the thrips, and the new leaves started growing very healthy. However, several days later, the spots began appearing more frequently. On the first plant, the spots became much worse, and the second plant also started showing more symptoms, although not as severely. This made me suspect a pathogen, so I decided to apply copper pentahydrate in case it was a fungal or bacterial disease.

​

The copper worked on the second most affected plant and generally kept the problem under control on all of them. However, the first plant was extremely affected, so I decided to do an emergency pruning from the main stem. Even then, the new shoots kept coming out with spots, so I assumed it was something systemic. I eventually removed that plant.

​

Now, with the continuous use of copper, most of the plants have improved. However, one plant that I thought was recovering has recently started showing strong symptoms again. I do not know if this is a resurgence of the same problem or if I am actually dealing with two different pathogens.

​

I have been looking for geometric patterns to determine whether this could be a virus. My main suspicion is TSWV. The only thing I have found are some circular shaped spots, like the ones visible on the largest leaf in the photo. It is also possible that I am extremely unlucky and dealing with two pathogens at the same time, maybe a virus and a Xanthomonas infection. That could explain why the copper helped but never completely solved the problem if the real issue is a virus.

​

Honestly, I do not think it is a fungus because I have never seen any spores. Also, the spots spread to the stems. On some leaves, the black spots become necrotic, while on others they do not. It is very strange.

​

One thing that gives me a little hope that this is not a virus is that a lot of time has already passed and the plants are not in really bad condition. Production is still good, as shown in the video. As a last resort, I could try something stronger, such as systemic antibiotics like gentamicin or oxytetracycline.