hi,
it's supposed to be bell pepper.
why so small?
why it has 'scars'?
I'm attaching a photo:
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
It looks like scars from some piercing insect, that sucks plant juices. At a guess perhaps squash bugs. I haven't seen them on peppers, but they make marks like that on my tomatoes.
But I don't think the insect is why your pepper is so small.
I looked back at all your posts, but I don't think you have ever told us where you are located. There are hardly any garden questions that can be discussed without regard to location/ climate.
How was the plant this grew on doing? Was it small/ stunted? Mature pepper plants are usually 3 feet tall or more and bushy. What were the conditions while it was growing?
But I don't think the insect is why your pepper is so small.
I looked back at all your posts, but I don't think you have ever told us where you are located. There are hardly any garden questions that can be discussed without regard to location/ climate.
How was the plant this grew on doing? Was it small/ stunted? Mature pepper plants are usually 3 feet tall or more and bushy. What were the conditions while it was growing?
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30545
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Since you just picked it and it's already red, I think it's more likely due to the earlier hot temperatures causing incomplete pollination. It managed to hold onto the blossom and not drop it as often happens when it's too hot to set fruit, but only a few pollen managed to remain viable and fertilize. The scars could be "zippering" due to clumping pollen dragging on the surface of the ovary.
The plant may also have suffered from insufficient irrigation?
The plant may also have suffered from insufficient irrigation?
It might be zippering. It is a physiologic problem when the anthers stick to the fruit. Some varieties are prone to it.
The other thing that causes damage in a linear pattern are thrips. Usually you will see flecking on the fruit and scarring on the leaves, but if the feeding occurred when the plants were in flower, the developing fruit will grow deformed and scarred like that. Spraying the flowers with pyrethrins can help with that kind of damage. Since thrips can become resistant to pesticides you will have to rotate to oils and soaps every few weeks. Peppers are wind pollinated and not dependent on insects for pollination. Thrips are tiny and hard to see and they attack both the leaves and the fruit. They have many hosts so they can be ubiquitous. They are hard to control since you will also have to treat alternate hosts and anything you use will also destroy their predators.
https://extension.umd.edu/learn/insect- ... nt-peppers
The other thing that causes damage in a linear pattern are thrips. Usually you will see flecking on the fruit and scarring on the leaves, but if the feeding occurred when the plants were in flower, the developing fruit will grow deformed and scarred like that. Spraying the flowers with pyrethrins can help with that kind of damage. Since thrips can become resistant to pesticides you will have to rotate to oils and soaps every few weeks. Peppers are wind pollinated and not dependent on insects for pollination. Thrips are tiny and hard to see and they attack both the leaves and the fruit. They have many hosts so they can be ubiquitous. They are hard to control since you will also have to treat alternate hosts and anything you use will also destroy their predators.
https://extension.umd.edu/learn/insect- ... nt-peppers