pepper with hole in it
 

This is my first season growing peppers and my 2nd growing tomatoes. basically what i'm saying is im a newbe. i have a giant marconi plant in a 12 gallon pot. plant is growing nicely and loaded with peppers. i have noticed recently a couple peppers have fallen off. upon further inspection there is a hole usually low on the pepper away from the stem. the inside of the pepper is kinda rotted but it looks like poop maybe and maybe eggs.

i cant find any bugs, slugs, caterpillars or anything else in the pepper or on or around the plant. any idea whats going on?

I've had slugs do that. They really seem to like peppers and pepper leaves.

Nothing is eating my peppers, but mine are mostly hot ones. Eggplant, on the other hand, was another story. chewed leaves to shreds until the plants got big enough to defend themselves (a little dusting of DE helped!)

i've had peppers attacked this way too. it wasn't slugs but some bug. they get inside and can ruin the pepper. not sure what does it.

tom

With the peppers the worm (maggot) that is usually called "corn root worm" will enter thru the ★★★★★★★★ between the cap and the fruit. The worm turns into the yellow and black "cucumber beetle".

Early in the season they will kill young just emerged squash plants if not taken care of. I don't know of any organic method so we use Sevin dust. Later in the season they will eat the silks off young corn ears.They usually don't bother the peppers much unless they don't have either of their more preferred crops around.

As far as the eggplant with stripped leaves -- most likely Colorado Potato Beetles and their larva. They like Eggplant even more than potatoes. Good luck killing them. Most are immune to just about everything except squishing.
pics here [url]http://www.google.com/search?q=colorado+potato+beetle&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=_Lf-T4aeN8reqgGBhvWKCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CF8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=653[/url]

Carol

Could be the pepper maggot. I have that problem on my scotch bonnets. I throw
away the ones with little holes in it.

Here is one I pulled out of a ghost pepper last year. There are brown one's too.

[IMG]http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/uu359/lrgarden/Garden%202010/DSC_0480.jpg[/IMG]

thanks. i will keep looking. this doesnt appear to be a devastating problem but a problem none the less