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Mold Inside Pods - There's a Fungus Among Us

LunchBox

LunchBox

This is blowing my mind...I understand how any tiny little hole can allow mold inside...but this is occuring in "airtight", unblemished pods. It's worse in my caribbean reds, but I see it a little in my red 7's, and the occasional morouga and morich. I've researched off-site, as well as here, and even talked to a well respected grower...and I just can't figure out what the hell is going on. My first thought is I'm watering too much...twice a week, when the soil is dry down to at least 6". These plants are grown in the ground in north-central Texas.


Thanks in advance:

podmold.jpg
 
Is the discoloration visible while it's still on the plant?

Is it happening to unripe peppers as well, or only the ripe ones?
 
As Jamie pointed out, I'm in the same boat as you. I'd say that at least 30% of the pods I've picked so far from the supers has had mold in it. And like you, the pods were pristine on the outside. It's very frustrating. What I derived from the article is that the fungi can be present on the stigma at the time of pollination. I'm going to spray some Bonide Fruit Nut and Orchard spray on the plants this weekend to hopefully kill any fungi that is currently present on the plant. This won't help existing pods, but hopefully new pods will be fungus free after that. I can only hope that the percentage of non-infected pods will increase with the existing pods.
 
I have found that pods with the "funk", as I like to call it, feel a bit softer than the others. Might not matter to anyone else, but I cannot afford to open every pod and check them, so its a tactile inspection and it seems to work pretty well.

Also just wanted to state "Fungus Among Us" -- great album! I hope that is where the reference was coming from.
 
Oddly I never have this happen except with chinense peppers and when it does the pod was usually undersized. I asked about this in another gardening forum a year or two ago and at the time the best suggestion I got was that wind had damaged the stem so the pepper stopped growing but it still received enough water to not shrivel up.

Thanks for the link romy6

I do open every pod and check them, doesn't take too long with a huge cutting board and my ninja chopping skills.
 
Wulf said:
Is the discoloration visible while it's still on the plant?

Is it happening to unripe peppers as well, or only the ripe ones?
Click to expand...

When I pick up the unripe pods that get knocked off from time to time..I have never seen one affected.

One common denominator is they are all red chinense.

As far as pod size...it actually seems more common in my largest pods.

I wonder if a light mist of peroxide on the blossoms would help...or sterilize them.
 
I find it more often on Bhut Jolokia's then any other pod. The mold already on the stigma when it's pollinated sounds pretty reasonable. Once mold gets started any moisture will feed it. If anyone finds a cure I would love to hear about it.
 
So far I have only seen it on undersized pods and only a couple of those. I'm starting to think it is (was in previous years) primarily coming from rain drops splashing off the soil since I have a lower rate this year along with a lot less rain.

Edit: I should mention that on mine I never see any spots start to rot on the exterior surface of the fruit, it always starts out as a fluffy mold at the stem end inside.
 
I too am experiencing this again. Had it last year in my red bhuts. Now this year have already experienced it with 2 out of 3 orange habs and 1 out of 2 caribbean reds. All that have ripened so far. I am on the look out for the solution too. An treat about every two weeks with bonide fruits and nut spray. Starting to think when it's normaly hot and nights around 75 then a night of 65 might be making them condensate on the inside. O r a cool rain on warm fruit. Just my 2 cents.

Note: Was treating these same plants every 4-7 days with fruit and nut spray in their younger stages. When these flowers were forming. For aphid and ant infestations. An am starting to be able to tell which ones are subjected to it. As the stem starts to turn a faint yellow where it mets the pod.

Upon a further google search. Dave2000 seems to be right on with the soil splash. An ripened red varieties are more subjective to the problem. Here's a link I read.

http://spicychiles.com/Fruit-Rot.html
 
patrick said:
I find it more often on Bhut Jolokia's then any other pod. The mold already on the stigma when it's pollinated sounds pretty reasonable. Once mold gets started any moisture will feed it. If anyone finds a cure I would love to hear about it.
Click to expand...

It might be a preventative rather then a cure, any water on the plants flowers when it's humid out would have the potential to grow mold, those that are foliar feeding the plants are more subject to this.
Watering in general when mixed with humidity is not good for the plant, edema is one example of this. The whole stamen should be white, if any part of the stamen is not white then there could be a chance the pod will develop mold on the inside. At least thats my guess anyhow. So, I think that watering whether it be in pot or foliar when it's humid should be avoided.It would also be a good idea to give the plants a fungucide once every two weeks or so to add to the preventative.
 
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