Question
Hi. I hope you can provide me with some direction!

I am growing 5 citron trees here in NJ in 8?pots. I grew them from seeds of a Citron. They are about 15 months old. Using a Miracle Grow citrus mix. Keeping them under 2 48?fluorescent grow bulbs 24/7.
They have been doing wonderfully until about 3 months ago when I started noticing strange behavior on the upper most leaves of the plants.
Although no noticeable insect activity (to the naked eye) and no telltale indications of insect infestation (no webbing) the leaves start to deform and curl, slowly drying out.

Photos can be found here http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/28993802/1/Citron%20photos%202?h=f9d5e1

Although someone mentioned leaf miner to me, I do not see any zigzaging or noticeable 搈ining?on either side of the leaves.

Another person leaned toward over-fertilization. I have been fertilizing with Miracid every couple of weeks.....

To take both of the above into account, three weeks ago I flushed the soil several times, pinched the affected leaves and sprayed twice (weekly interval) with Garden Safe insect killer.

Does not appear to have helped. More curling appeared, some possible insect chew appeared and now some yellowish flecking appeared on a good number of leaves.

Someone else mentioned to check ph levels or salt levels. Is there a simple way for me to check this?

Although I was laughed at for bringing this up, I searched Google images for similar symptoms and apparently my leaves most resemble those affected with the Citrus Chlorotic Dwarf Virus. Most people told me that it would me highly unusual for my plants to be affected by a virus or disease. I sure hope not.  However the images that appeared here:
http://idtools.org/id/citrus/diseases/factsheet.php?name=Citrus+chlorotic+dwarf+  look a LOT like my plants.


Any ideas?  
PS Some more background info ...... Before bringing them in for the winter 10/2011, there was indeed some webbing on the plants, and I sprayed them thoroughly with a soap solution. Symptoms started around 6 weeks after bringing them in....Additionally, there appeared to be many 揻ruit flies?or at least that抯 what they appeared like, hovering around the plants, after bringing them in (perhaps fungus gnats?). I sprayed them with the same soap solution.

Thank you so much for your direction!

Kind regards,

Henry Frank

Answer
Henry:
Spider mites can produce webbing- usually starting out in the area where the leaf stalk connects to the main stem. The webs can cover most of the leaves over time. Spider mites are very small and usually feed on the undersurface of the leaves.  I would look closely in that area- perhaps with a magnifying glass.  Look for anything alongside the veins.  The yellow flecking that I saw could be spray injury.  Did it appear after spraying or was it there beforehand.  Eventhough symptoms of a virus are not always easy to diagnose based on symptoms alone, your leaves do not look infected with a virus nor any other disease agent.  I suspect that the distortions were induced another way. The distortions may be a result of some type of injury or an insect. I noticed the leaf edges looked damaged, causing a twisting.   The newest leaves seem like the ones affected most. They may have been injured when they were forming.  Consider holding off on spraying them to see if the new leaves look OK.  Be sure not to overwater, this can create an unsavory experience.  

You might also consider carrying one of your plants to your local garden center (not a big box store garden dept.) to show them.  They may be able to see something previously missed.

Regards
Steve