Black coloration on my pepper plants

[greenthinkglobal]

My green pepper plant has some black coloration right at the point where offshoots grow from the main stem. Someone mentioned calcium deficiency? Is that usually the case and what is a good remedy? Thank you.

[hendi_alex]

Found this post on the web. Not much help but at least your experience is not unique. For me, I'm thinking that bell pepper fruit often contain a good bit of a black coloration, so would think that the black pigment in other areas of the plant would be normal. Post to follow indicates that he/she read the same.

"Question
I live in San Diego, CA and I'm growing two jalapeno and two red bell pepper plants in separate containers on my patio. After a recent cold and somewhat rainy spell the stems of all four of my pepper plants began to sport a blackish color where the stems branch out from the main stem. In addition one of the stems on my jalapenos has black streaks.

I wasn't too concerned at first but earlier this evening
I noticed a tiny white-beige worm, (larvae?)about 1/8 inch, in one of the stem joints of the bell pepper plant that has the biggest patch of black color and wondered if this larvae had anything to with the discoloration.

I have also noticed that the jalapeno plants look as if they are having a hard time blossoming out. They have buds but they are tiny and it seems it is taking them an extremely long time to open compared to the blossoms on the bell pepper plants.

In spite of the black discoloration and a bout with aphids and leaf puckering the blossoms on the bell pepper plants are opening and appear to be forming healthy peppers.

I have grown chilis and bell peppers for years, in a garden plot, in containers and in a greenhouse and only once have I noticed a black colorization on stem joints and stems. It didn't affect the plant nor the crop. Now I'm not so certain.

I have read up on Phytophthora stem rot and looked at photos of this virus but the description doesn't seem to match.

I read elsewhere on the net that that black streaks and patches in stem joints are normal since the stems of pepper plants are woody in nature. Is this true? "

Answer was of no help!

[annafaie]

I just noticed this on my sweet banana pepper plants this evening. We've had TONS of rain for several weeks. Should I be worried? Is this a fungus? Are they diseased? Can I do anything to help them? Please help!

[The Helpful Gardener]

Images would sure help Anna...

HG

[annafaie]

Here's my attempt at posting a picture of the black-ish areas on my pepper plants. You'll notice the spots are right where the branches shoot out from the main stem:

[url=https://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc03573.jpg][img]https://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8748/dsc03573.th.jpg[/img][/url]

Any ideas what this could be? Is it normal?

[annafaie]

Here's a closer up shot:

[img]https://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7320/dsc03571.jpg[/img]

[The Helpful Gardener]

Anna had you pinched these recently?

HG

[annafaie]

Haven't touched them since I planted them. Well, I've touched them but I haven't messed with them at all. All 6 of them seem to have this same affliction....

[TZ -OH6]

That looks like natural pigmentation (purple) on the nodes of the plant, not disease (black), which would not be confined to those areas of the plant. I have some pepper varieties with the same coloration.

[Haesuse]

did you grow them from seed? if you got them as seedlings, there is a good chance that this is a natural response to having been nurtured under florescent lights.

if you did buy seedlings, are you certain that they had NO indication of the purpling, before you planted them?

all 3 of my pepper plants have them, with accompanying purple streaks on the main stem, but they had traces of it when I bought them. the growing just brings it out more...


2 cents.

[annafaie]

Thanks! These responses help so much! I bought them from a local nursery as plants and then transplanted them into my garden. I'm not sure if they had some light purpling or not. I'll keep my eye on them and post here if I see bigger issues happening. For now I'll just call it "normal".

Thanks again for everyone's help!!!!!

[BrianSkilton]

a lot of my pepper plants have blackish purplish streaks, and many are flowering and fruiting, so I am pretty sure what you have got there is normal, some plants get the black spots inbetween portions branching off the main stalk. I wouldn't worry about that.