0
points
Misshapen peppers

Pepper, bell    MI

I found two strangely shaped peppers on my plant yesterday. Does anyone know what caused this? There was at least seven fruits that I counted, two were like this and the rest are fine. The plant is in a pot but is currently outside. The plant was attacked by spider mites earlier in the year but I managed to get rid of them and now just a few leaves are a bit crinkly looking.. They are sweet peppers. Thanks in advance.


Posted by: Abby (7 points) Abby
Posted: July 31, 2013




Answers
2
points
Several possibilities come to mind: temps below 60° while the fruit was setting, erratic growing conditions/weather produced misshapen flowers, or poor pollination. Sometimes fruits develop weird shapes when they get wedged between an upright stem and a nearby larger fruit or a stake. You peppers don't appear to have insect damage, and since your other peppers look good, it's probably not a disease. I'd go with erratic weather.

Don't know where you live, Abby, but the weather here in northern New England's been crazy: a premature & punishing heat wave, weeks of heavy rains and floods, high winds, now cool nights. These unusual conditions have wreaked havoc with many garden crops.

My peppers have barely set fruit, so I don't know how they will fare this season, but my gardens have produced oddly shaped fruits & root vegetables of every type. Here are some photos to give you a chuckle http://bit.ly/18NecjD


Posted by: Peg Boyles (4 points) Peg Boyles
Posted: July 31, 2013


Abby commented,
Yes weather has been crazy here too - I'm in Michigan. That would seem to explain it. Thanks Peg!
over 10 years ago.



0
points
The damage is highly characteristic of feeding by the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys.


Posted by: Hoss Fly (1 point) Hoss Fly
Posted: August 19, 2013




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