Small holes in bell pepper and diseased looking.

Nashville, TN

We have bell pepper plants. Red,yellow, and green. The first problem we had was finding little holes in them like something had eaten through it but there is nothing inside. Now as the pepper start to turn color they are getting soft and have spots on them like they are rotten. I will attach a photo. Any ideas. We need a solution for both problems. We tried spraying them with neem but haven't done it regularly. Thanks

Thumbnail by Rvann Thumbnail by Rvann
mid central, FL(Zone 9a)

if you sprayed neem in direct sun, that could cause the soft spots...they can burn. the third pepper in the first pic looks like animal damage. the holes are probably caterpillar or beetle related.

edited to add: you might try posting in the vegetable forum on this one.

This message was edited Jun 28, 2012 10:15 PM

Sidney, OH(Zone 6a)

The soft spots may be due to sun scald. In very hot weather (like we've been having), peppers, tomatoes, and other vegetables that aren't shaded by leaves often show this type of stress. I agree with trackinsand that the 3rd pepper in the first photo looks like some animal "tasted" the pepper, but didn't like it well enough to finish the job. The holes are most likely some sort of insect that burrows into the pepper.

BROOKFIELD, Australia

Quote from Rvann :
We have bell pepper plants. Red,yellow, and green. The first problem we had was finding little holes in them like something had eaten through it but there is nothing inside. Now as the pepper start to turn color they are getting soft and have spots on them like they are rotten. I will attach a photo. Any ideas. We need a solution for both problems. We tried spraying them with neem but haven't done it regularly. Thanks


Just pinched this from a garden blog on the subject - hope it helps:

Abiotic Disorders The most common problems with peppers are the abiotic physiological disorders. Blossom End rot occurs from calcium deficiency, and sporadic water and moisture fluctuations. The blossom end dries, turns brown to black and feels leathery. It can spread over half of the fruit. Sun scald is another physiological disorder that occurs commonly on sweet peppers when the fruit is exposed to hot sun. The flesh becomes light, dry and papery on areas that had direct sunlight on them.

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP