Q.Need to know disease and treatment on Pepper plants
My bell peppers are showing black areas at the stem where limbs join and there are some black streaks on the fruit itself. Is this normal or a disease?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
Bell peppers often have a purple-black coloration at points where stems meet, but if the black color is a solid black and the area is shriveled, this would indicate the black area is the issue.
One thing that I can think of that could be causing the issue is a condition called stem scald, which normally happens on the main stem. What happens is a heat source can focus heat on a part of the stem and it wilts. It is known to happen when plastic is used and it focuses the heat onto a part of the stem. Since you are also seeing streaks on the fruit, I would say it's sunscald. Providing shade for the plants will help with this.
