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TomatoNut95
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Number of lobes on pepper fruits — significance?

Bell pepper question: somebody told me there's a difference in the sweetness of a three-lobed and a four-lobed bell. I've never noticed that, so I'm wondering if it's true. It is interesting how bells can either be three or four lobed. The Big Bertha I picked this morning is three.

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applestar
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I don’t think it signifies sweetness since there are sweet peppers that are not bells or lobed. My understanding is that pointed and less lobed peppers are the wilder peppers and more lobed, thicker walled, blunt/bell varieties are further along the selective cultivation process. Hybridized bell peppers may have more lobes AND may have been designed to be sweet.

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TomatoNut95
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Interesting! This Big Bertha I picked is three lobed, and is longer and slimer than my California Wonder, which I am seeing are more-so four lobed. I think Big Bertha is a hybrid, whereas C.W is a popular heirloom. Bells and Sweet Banana are pretty much the only sweet peppers I grow, with the exception of one year I planted freebie Avajarksi from Baker. I received some more freebie sweet peppers from them this year I plan to do next year.

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applestar
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Well, once a selected trait is locked in and the line is stabilized, it will stay. CW must have been selected for that kind of shape?

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TomatoNut95
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Perhaps so. I have grown C.W. for years, but I'm sure I've gotten three-lobed from them to, but mostly four. The young peppers still on the plant are four. I wonder if the weather or plant stress can affect the lobing?

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I think lobes have more to do with variety. For me sweetness has more to do with ripeness. If peppers are picked fully colored then they are usually sweeter, but have a much shorter shelf life and it can also shorten the life span of the plant and reduce production. Not to mention the birds will go after the fruit. As Apple said, variety also determines wall thickness, size, and disease resistance.

The same variety of pepper may perform differently depending on where you live. I will never get a long lived bell pepper variety unless I get Kaala which was bred specifically to resist disease in my climate. I never get a lot of peppers. Peppers can live until frost in the mainland, some peppers can live more than one year here if they are disease resistant. Most of the capsicum annuum peppers don't live very long except for the Hawaiian tabasco which can live for years.

Hot peppers produce more and live longer than the larger sweeter peppers. Sweet peppers, like tomatoes will drop flowers when the temperatures soar or if the plant is drought stressed. Peppers from Inidan Peppers are sweeter in soil that is rich with compost and slightly organic. Peppers are heavy feeders. While peppers grow wild in my yard, my soil test runs acidic and peppers are heavy feeders so I always plant a cache of fertilizer for the peppers and tomatoes.

https://harvesttotable.com/growing-pepp ... mely-tips/

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TomatoNut95
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I usually just pick my peppers green.

Oh yes, I know peppers drop their blossoms. That's what mine did earlier this summer, the weather was so incorporative.

I was looking at my bells this morning. Most of my C.W. had three lobes, but I saw one on the same plant with four lobes. How strange.

Big Bertha was bred to big huge, I know. Too bad it's a hybrid or I'd save the seed from it.

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applestar
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Since the lobes are equivalent of locules (seed cavities) in tomatoes, maybe the extra lobe comes from fascinated blossoms? Does the 4 -lobed fruit have extra calyx/sepals?

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TomatoNut95
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Here's some pics if that helps. :-() This other B.B. had four lobes! Last one had three. You know what I thought....suppose my C.W and B.B. crossed? But bees tend to ignore my tomato and pepper blossoms not to mention I don't know what happened to the bees around here.
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Gary350
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TomatoNut95 wrote:Bell pepper question: somebody told me there's a difference in the sweetness of a three-lobed and a four-lobed bell. I've never noticed that, so I'm wondering if it's true. It is interesting how bells can either be three or four lobed. The Big Bertha I picked this morning is three.
I asked basically the same question about a week ago here is the answer.
PaulF wrote:Sorry to say but this is complete myth. Peppers do not have gender and the number of lobes is due to variety and sweetness the same. Look up pepper gender and every reliable source says the same thing...myth. How this started is lost in the vapors of the net. Somehow this myth continues after several years of being debunked.



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