My Habaneros have some kind of fungus maybe?

[Mustangfreak]

Hi everyone, I have 2 chocolate habanero plants, and I have some concerns with one of them.
 
I’ve noticed this a couple of times now when I see some small habaneros that have fallen off of the plant. I cut them up just out of curiosity and noticed this black and brown substance near the stem, inside the pepper. What is it, and how can I fix/prevent it?
 
The plants get watered almost daily (sometimes we forget, we’re growing these at work and there are busy days and we don’t get around to watering them). The bed is approx. 12-16” deep, but sitting on a concrete slab. At first they weren’t getting enough water, and we realized that the slab of concrete is probably soaking up a lot of the water, so that’s when we started watering daily. Most days I’ll just soak the bed behind them, and then a couple of times a week, I’ll reduce the stream coming from the hose to a tiny stream and place it at the base of the plant and let it water it for 5 minutes. They get fertilized with 18/18/21 weekly usually, last week we missed it due to massive amounts of rain. They face the south, so get sun all day.
 

 

[solid7]

How about a top down picture of the calyx?
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First thought is either a pest infestation, or rotting due to pest damage.  But the point of entry would be the calyx, or cap on top of the pod.

 

[Mustangfreak]

How about a top down picture of the calyx?
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First thought is either a pest infestation, or rotting due to pest damage.  But the point of entry would be the calyx, or cap on top of the pod.

 
 
Is this good enough?
 
Edit: Awful picture, didn't review it, let me re-take it. 
 
Edit 2: uploaded a better pic. 

 

[Peter S]

I don't know if it's the same thing, or what causes it. But I've seen similar issues before on early pods with some plants. In the few cases I've seen, it cleared up once the plants got going well.

 

[solid7]

On an unrelated note...  Why are you fertilizing with 18/18/21 weekly?  That's a ridiculously high NPK ratio to be feeding on a weekly basis...  And it's really not a great ratio for peppers.  For a simple strategy, suggest that you try a balanced fert, with a number more like 10-10-10, and feed it about once every 6-8 weeks.
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Daily watering is bad.  They don't need that much water.  In fact, the way it's raining here now, you probably don't need to water them at all.  A heavy top dress of mulch, and back off the watering.  That would be my first recommendation.  I'm not sure if it's related to the rot, but to rule it out, you really should get on some sort of orthodox feed/water routine.
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I have a bed of Cherry peppers that is about 10" deep, but the mix in them sits right on top of good ol' Florida soil (read: sand, as the planters are bottomless)  This will drain much faster than your mix on top of concrete.  However, I put about 5-6" of mulch on top, in the form of yard clippings.  I have not watered them yet this season.  Your Chinense peppers need even less water.  And slow release ferts don't wash out that fast...

 

[Mustangfreak]

On an unrelated note...  Why are you fertilizing with 18/18/21 weekly?  That's a ridiculously high NPK ratio to be feeding on a weekly basis...  And it's really not a great ratio for peppers.  For a simple strategy, suggest that you try a balanced fert, with a number more like 10-10-10, and feed it about once every 6-8 weeks.
.
Daily watering is bad.  They don't need that much water.  In fact, the way it's raining here now, you probably don't need to water them at all.  A heavy top dress of mulch, and back off the watering.  That would be my first recommendation.  I'm not sure if it's related to the rot, but to rule it out, you really should get on some sort of orthodox feed/water routine.
.
I have a bed of Cherry peppers that is about 10" deep, but the mix in them sits right on top of good ol' Florida soil (read: sand, as the planters are bottomless)  This will drain much faster than your mix on top of concrete.  However, I put about 5-6" of mulch on top, in the form of yard clippings.  I have not watered them yet this season.  Your Chinense peppers need even less water.  And slow release ferts don't wash out that fast...

That's what my boss picked up, its the miracle grow for veggies and peppers. I'll reduce the fertilizing and look for some triple 10. 
 
Thanks for the info guys! We're just winging it and hoping for the best. Will these still produce good peppers later this season since they are over watered and fertilized?

 

[solid7]

That's what my boss picked up, its the miracle grow for veggies and peppers. I'll reduce the fertilizing and look for some triple 10. 
 
Thanks for the info guys! We're just winging it and hoping for the best. Will these still produce good peppers later this season since they are over watered and fertilized?

 
If you don't kill them before then, yes
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In seriousness, you have a tremendously long growing season.  Focus on getting them growing optimally, and they'll do just fine.  Could you post some pics of what the plants look like, as well as the beds?  It might aid in giving recommendations...

 

[Edmick]

I've read somewhere before that getting blossoms wet can cause the pepper to develop with mold inside of it. Anyone know if this is true and could be the cause of the OPs issue?

 

[solid7]

I've read somewhere before that getting blossoms wet can cause the pepper to develop with mold inside of it. Anyone know if this is true and could be the cause of the OPs issue?

 
That's an interesting idea.  I had a problem a couple years back with some Big Jim and Hatch NuMex.  It only ever seemed to be anuum varieties, though.  Most of my plants are Chinense, and I've not really had the issue with them.
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I'm only throwing that out there, because I live in the land of monsoons and humidity.  It's pretty rare that a day in the summer goes by, that I don't get some kind of wet on the plants.

 

[Mustangfreak]

 
If you don't kill them before then, yes
.
In seriousness, you have a tremendously long growing season.  Focus on getting them growing optimally, and they'll do just fine.  Could you post some pics of what the plants look like, as well as the beds?  It might aid in giving recommendations...

Sure, I'll acutally post pics of all of our pepper plants. We have 2 plants per species.
 
First pic, On the left, Yellow Devils Tongue, and Peruvan Purples on the right. 
Second pic, on the left, chocolate habanero, and medusa hybrids behind the shade (we didn't know that these are tiny pepper plants)
 
Second post coming with more pics.

 

[Mustangfreak]

 
If you don't kill them before then, yes
.
In seriousness, you have a tremendously long growing season.  Focus on getting them growing optimally, and they'll do just fine.  Could you post some pics of what the plants look like, as well as the beds?  It might aid in giving recommendations...

 
First pic, Chinese Five Color
Second pic, Aji Omnicolor
 
The bed for these peppers is not sitting on concrete, so they get less water from us, and they are in natural shade in the afternoon since they are on the east side of the building. 

 

[solid7]

Your plants actually look really nice, for FLorida.