Growing Pepper Plants: How to Troubleshoot Growing Problems

This is part 2 of a 2 part series of posts about peppers. Part 1 reviewed the general care of pepper plants and common pests along with ways to manage pests. This post discusses the different diseases that pepper plants are susceptible to, and how to prevent and manage them.

Gardeners often joke about checking their gardens 5 million times a day. I’m definitely one of those people. I have to check the garden and my plants several times a day. (As if the plants grew exponentially since the last time I checked!) There is an important reason for that. That’s keeping an eye out for any pests or diseases that may be happening to your plants. Checking the garden multiple times a day isn’t really necessary!

In the last post, I discussed general care and the most common pests that can disturb your crop. This post discusses the most common diseases that affect peppers. By learning about these pepper plant diseases, you’ll know what to look out for in the garden.

Pepper Plant Diseases and Disease Management

Here are some of the diseases you might run into while growing peppers in your garden. The below chart gives you the name of the disease, what type of disease it is, what the disease does, and how you can best manage and protect it.

Common Fungal Diseases

Pepper Plant Disease	Type of Disease	What It Does	Prevention & Management Tips
Anthracnose	Fungal	A fungal disease that causes spots on the plant. The spots can be yellow, black, purple, and brown in color. The plant also develops sunken lesions and spreads quickly when it is very damp or there is a lot of rain. The fungus can include leaf cupping and curling, or early leaf drop.	Try to find varieties that are disease resistant to different fungi.Destroy any plants that develop anthracnose, and don’t save the seeds from these plants.To avoid spread, stay out of the garden while the plants are wet and thoroughly sanitize any tools used.
Powdery mildew	fungal	Powdery mildew is a very common fungal infection for many plants. It spreads easily, especially during warm, humid conditions.
Southern blight	fungal	Southern blight is a lethal fungal infection that is commonly found in the tropics and subtropics. It derives from a fungus that’s found in soil and plant debris. It can spread through contaminated water, unclean tools, infected plants, and infested soil and plant debris. It can be identified by water soaked appearing lower leaves or water soaked lesions.	Identify any plants that may have this type of blight and remove them right away.As a preventative, be sure plants have proper airflow, use high quality mulch, remove debris from the garden, make sure soil is well draining, inspect plants before transplanting them into your garden.

Common Bacterial, Disorder, and Viral

Pepper Plant Disease	Type of Disease	What it Does	Prevention & Management Tips
Bacterial leaf spot	bacterial	This bacterial infection causes yellowing of the leaves and leaf drop. It may also include spots with black edged lesions, brown spots with yellow halo. The bacteria splashes onto debris in the garden. It also spreads through infected seeds.	As preventative measures, get varieties that are resistant.Prune plants when appropriate for proper air circulation.Try a solution of baking soda, vegetable oil, and liquid soap (not detergent).Avoid overhead watering.If your plants do get this infection, remove debris from the area and do not plant in this area.
Blossom end rot	disorder	It is a physiological disorder that causes rotting on the bottom of the fruit  due to a malabsorption of calcium.	Keep a consistent amount of moisture in the soil with watering. Apply mulch to your soil. There are various types of mulch that can be applied to your soil. Applying mulch helps to retain moisture in the soil, as well as prevent soil from washing away. Before planting seedlings, Make sure soil temperatures have warmed up. Cold soil will limit the plants’ nutrient uptake. Check your soil and amend accordingly.
Mosaic virus	virus	The virus causes a “mosaic” appearance on the leaves of the plant and comes from infected insects. It causes a yellow, white, light or dark green pattern that gives the impression of a mosaic. There are different types of mosaic virus, but the one that commonly affects pepper plants is known as ‘cucumber mosaic virus’ (CMV). Plants are stunted and do not grow, and they can also develop deformities.	Try to find varieties that are disease resistant to different fungi. Destroy any plants that develop mosaic virus. Monitor garden and plants. Clean tools after every use to prevent any potential transmission of pests and diseases between plants. Keep soil healthy by habitually adding in compost and mulch.

Something else to be on the look out for is sun-scald. It is not a pest or a disease,It’s a physiological that damage to the plant caused by excessive exposure to light. It’s the plant version of a sunburn.

Frequent Asked Questions

1. How do you control diseases with your pepper plants?

Besides the above recommendations, one of the best practices if you’re experiencing severe disease amongst your plants is to remove the affected plant(s). Before planting anything, research which disease resistant plants. This may help you avoid some of the most common diseases. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t encounter any issues. As always, keep the garden clean. This helps to reduce pest pressure and the spread of disease. By following these simple tips, you’ll be on your way to healthier plants!