My bean seedling have started getting puckery, wilting leaves.

Question: These seedlings are Jade bush beans. They sprouted 9 days ago, and everything seemed fine but, I noticed yesterday that one of them had weird crinkles in one of its leaves. Today, that leave is wilted and about half of the plants have puckered leaves. They're growing in a planter in full sun and I water them every day. I have a planter right next to them with Roma II bush beans, planted at the same time, that don't seem to be affected -- yet. Is this something that will be fatal to the plants, or will it go away? Is there any way to remedy it? Will it spread to the other plants? Should I remove the affected plants to keep from contaminating the others? I hate to lose any plants because I had very little space to plant them this year, so I don't have many, but I wanted to compare these two varieties to see which I want to grow in the future. Thank you.

responder: marjorie n. OSU Ext. Master Gardener Replied June 02, 2023, 1:41 PM EDT
response: Are these transplanted beans or in a container not quite big enough? Beans do not transplant well and frequently suffer from a fungal disease called "damping off". I thought you might be experiencing this condition that young bean plants frequently have, but I'm seeing that there are holes in some of the plants. You may have earwig problems. If this is a possibility ( you may have seen earwigs around), then roll up a damp newspaper  (2 or 3 pages} and leave it out overnight. In the morning, without opening it, toss it in the garbage can. You can also examine the leaves carefully to see if any tiny worm-like critters are present. Since your  starts are only 9 days old, I don't think this is the problem, but a possibility. The only other concern is slug damage, but there again, these plants are veery young and may not have attracted slugs yet. One final option: is the soil in the container new? "Used" soil frequently carries with it all sorts of undesirable critters, disease, other soil conditions that are harmful.  You might also slow down a bit on the watering. You want damp,l but not sodden conditions.

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 02, 2023, 2:26 PM EDT
response: Thank you for your reply. These are not transplants. They were started from seed in this planter. I spaced them according to the recommendations for square foot gardening,, 4 inches apart in each direction, so there shouldn't be a problem with the container size.\ I did examine the plants thoroughly, and found no bugs, webs, or larva, but something does seem to be eating the leaves at night. I had toilet paper roll collars around them until yesterday, but the bugs were getting to them anyway. I don't think it's slugs because the planters are fairly tall and I'm not sure how slugs could get up there, but it could be earwigs. Will diatomaceous earth kill earwigs? I started sprinkling that over the soil and the plants yesterday, in the hopes that it might help. Would the bugs be causing the leaves to pucker and wilt?  I'm concerned that they might have a disease that could spread to my other beans. Should I remove the affected plants, or will they likely recover if I can get rid of the insects? Thank you!

responder: marjorie n. OSU Ext. Master Gardener Replied June 02, 2023, 3:33 PM EDT
response: Diatomaceous earth will not keep earwigs out if it gets wet from irrigation, etc., but it will hinder slug movement. Slugs can go anywhere, including across the bottom of a suspended container, i.e. they can cling to anything, even upside down. The damaage does not look like torn leaves, hwoever; the photos I saw looked like holes. Earwigs are very difficult to get rid of. Try the newspaper  procedure first and if it doesn't work, try mixing cooking oil with  the same amount of soy sauce in a empty tuna can or similar (yogurt carton, etc.) buried to the brim in the earth around the plants. Remove dead insects daily.  Should the problem be in the soil, i think the best thing is to start with fresh seeds and soil. It's not too late to start  string beans, especially bush beans.good luck.

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 02, 2023, 3:35 PM EDT
response: Thank you.

responder: marjorie n. OSU Ext. Master Gardener Replied June 02, 2023, 7:18 PM EDT
response: You're welcome. i hope the suggestions work. I should have added that Roma beans are flat, relatively large seeded beans. Versus Jade, there's no competition. I have grown Jade (a regular skinny string bean) for years and i think it's the best bean ever.