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Pods rotting on the plant?

AustinPepper

AustinPepper

So, The attached pic is that of a naga7 but this is more prevalent on my purple bhut jolokia plant. The pods grow and, just when they are ready to ripen and change color, they get soft and develop holes. When I tear the pepper open, it looks fine inside. No fuzz. No dark lesions. No bugs.   
 
Can anyone help me identify this and maybe how to prevent it? Thanks in advance!
 
 
well eggshells can help either problem  BER needs calcium  slugs  dont like sharp eggshells scattered around the plant cus it hurts them so they will stay away while giving the plant nutes it needs

but it takes a few weeks to take it thru the plant might want a liquid  supplement
 
I get that now and then never caught the culprits if there are any,  birds usually go for ripe(red) peppers.  Snails here like to strip the stems which eventually kills the plant.
 
Hmm. I have one plant where I looked into it and just saw a bare stem buried in the middle of the plant.

Could this be a water or heat thing?

I turn my irrigation on for 3 minutes twice a day down here in the Tx sun. Three minutes because that's when the water starts coming out the bottom of the pot and the twice a day is because it's been getting up to 105 lately and I bet my no-circulation backyard and heatsink patio raise that another 5.
 
Are you missing any leaves on the plant? I had some tomato hornworms set up shop on a couple of my plants and that's what my pods looked like after they got to them.

The weird part about it is that they would eat little chunks out of them just like that. It kinda confused me because when they hit my tomatoes they just work their way straight through the fruit, but on the peppers they would eat patches out of it.
 
That is not BER. BER shows itself as dark lesions on the blossom end, the opposite from the stem, and as it progresses will form a sunken and rotten area.

While the lack Calcium does contribute to BER, it is often caused by uneven moisture levels that prohibit the uptake of the calcium by the plant. Once a fruit has BER, it can not be saved. The fruit will not heal itself.

Your pod is showing the signs of mechanical damage, not that of nutrients or disease. I will hedge my bet that more than likely it's a caterpillar of some kind. Quite possibly has moved on or still hanging around.
Check the underside of the leaves or the base of the plant as those are usual hiding spots during the day.

Soil pH levels also affect the uptake of nutrients. If pH is too acidic or too alkaline, the nutrients will not be readily available for the plants. This is often called Nutrient Lockout.
 
I think I'll try treating for caterpillars and get some pyrethrin. I have some malathion and sevin but don't want to use those just yet.
 
It's not birds or ber. I'm having the same problem... Had to be a bug. Look at how it's eatin...

CAM00977_zps3af5d72a.jpg


Just wish i knew what it was. I make pepper/water spray and they must not have capsaicin sensory cause they chow right through it and into the pod. I'm going to add some soap next time.
 
Could be anything, even a raccoon that took a bite and upon tasting the pepper spray, stopped short of eating any more... although, it looks too small for raccoons but not squirrel, chipmunk, rat, etc.
 
I wonder if armadillos are into hot peppers... know there used to be some down around that area.
 
birdfather said:
i have that problem. i have snails and spiny stink bugs around. haven't figured out which one or if it's both
Click to expand...
If your referring to soldier bugs those are actually beneficials. They look like stink bugs but with spined "shoulders."
 
AustinPepper said:
I think I'll try treating for caterpillars and get some pyrethrin. I have some malathion and sevin but don't want to use those just yet.
Click to expand...
BT (bacillus thuringensis) works on caterpillars and only caterpillars.
 
Peptacular said:
If your referring to soldier bugs those are actually beneficials. They look like stink bugs but with spined "shoulders."
Click to expand...
no i believe they are called "squash bugs". they have spines on them and i've actually cut myself grabbing them to kill them once. 
 
*edit - i've been doing some research since i posted this originally, and i am finding it is hard as hell to tell the difference between a "soldier bug" and another spined stink bug that is not beneficial. at this point i'm just gonna say fuck it and kill all that i see.
 
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