What's wrong with my peppers ?

Can't identify that mould? Got a great tip for keeping slugs at bay? Suggestions for organic weed control? Post them here...

Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter

User avatar
Tony Hague
KG Regular
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:26 pm
Location: Bedfordshire
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 13 times
Contact:

This is a problem i see each year, and it is getting worse. On thick fleshed peppers and chillies, some in pots outside in a sunny site, others under glass. Compost - some are in homemade mix, some in the new formulation New Horizons. Patches of fruit skin go soft, then brown and necrotic, then dry out to leave a papery brown patch. The rest of the fruit can usually be eaten. What is it ?

On Mulato Mexican chillies:
Image

On sweet peppers:
Image
Image
Image

I also suffer from tomato blossom end rot a lot, despite watering by an automatic system. I do wonder if the two conditions aren't the same or related. Any advice beyond the usual "Erratic watering" much appreciated !
User avatar
oldherbaceous
KG Regular
Posts: 13798
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:52 pm
Location: Beautiful Bedfordshire
Has thanked: 248 times
Been thanked: 286 times

Evening Tony, it does look a lot as if they have been scorched.....Does this start after very hot temperatures?
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
robo
KG Regular
Posts: 2805
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:22 pm
Location: st.helens
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 56 times

I would tend to agree
Westi
KG Regular
Posts: 5892
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:46 pm
Location: Christchurch, Dorset
Has thanked: 652 times
Been thanked: 230 times

Methinks they are sunburnt - maybe water droplets on the fruit magnifying the heat? Water below direct in the pot & avoid the splashes?
Westi
Elmigo
KG Regular
Posts: 487
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:54 pm

I had the same thing happening to my peppers and the parts that were not burnt were still edible, only still green. I have no doubt that this is caused by the summer heat and light. Hot peppers like more heat than sweet peppers. All hot peppers here survived, just a couple of sweet peppers got this:

Screenshot_20190727-233855_Gallery.jpg
Screenshot_20190727-233855_Gallery.jpg (501.67 KiB) Viewed 3834 times


The burnt side was directly facing the hot sun, I think so much heat and intense light was just too much. I find it only a little strange that some of your peppers got this on the bottom side, so it might be water droplets hanging onto it or something entirely different maybe...
User avatar
Tony Hague
KG Regular
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:26 pm
Location: Bedfordshire
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 13 times
Contact:

Thanks for your thoughts. Scorching has been my assumption, it does seem to be worst on sweet peppers or fleshy walled chillies, and does seem to be worst in hot conditions, so particularly bad this and last year.

On the other hand, it is happening on plants outdoors as well as under glass. I will have another check, but it also seems to me to be not always on the parts facing the midday sun. On the glasshouse plants at least, there is no possibility of water on the fruits, they are watered in the top of the pot.

Anyone know if there are any conditions like tomato blossom end rot that could cause the cells to collapse ? In tomatoes it is calcium defficiency, usually caused by erratic watering or water uptake, so they say. On my tomatoes I add bonemeal to be sure there's enough calcium, and they still suffer despite being watered very regularly. I say regularly - but maybe not enough ? I try to avoid keeping them very wet for better flavour. I also was told in the case of chillies, that they resent overwatering as they need oxygen to their roots (advice from the owner of our local chilli farm).
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8048
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 37 times
Been thanked: 276 times

As implied by the others, i suspect scorching is the culprit, possibly the fruits becoming more vulnerable when the temperature rises very rapidly as has happened with the recent mini heatwave. As mentioned in another thread I now protect my outdoor peppers by covering them with an old white net curtain during the heat of the day when the sun is beating down direct on them.

It,s annoying because while the rest of the fruit can still be eaten you probably need to pick it early to prevent the damage to the flesh rotting the remainder of the fruit.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic