Pepper Pest Identification

Photo by L. Pundt, UConn

Indicates very common pests

Pepper Pests

Bacterial leaf spot: irregular-shaped, brown leaf spots/defoliates plants/wart-like bumps on fruit

Photo by R. Wick, UMass

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Bacterial soft rot: spread into pods by European corn borer or pepper maggots in Northern states

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Phytophthora blight: girdled stem or branch, flour-like mold, kills adjacent plants up the row

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Anthracnose: salmon-colored spores on watery lesion

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Rhizoctonia: seedlings girdled at soil line, kills seedlings in circular pattern in flats

Photo by R. Wick, UMass

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Cucumber mosaic virus: rings on fruit, stunted plants

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Tomato spotted wilt virus: distorted leaves, stunted plants

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Blossom end rot: dark, sunken spots on side or end of fruit

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Sunscald: white, sunken area facing sun/black Alternaria fungus growing on scalded tissue

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

European corn borer: moths/entry holes/caterpillars spread bacterial soft rot/caterpillar with dark head

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Pepper maggot: adult fly/sting fruit to lay eggs/maggots damage sidewall or seed head/also spreads bacterial soft rot when maggots exit fruit

maggot

stings

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Black cutworm: charcoal-grey caterpillar/hides in soil near base of plant/takes bites from leaves, cuts stem

Photo by R. Durgy, CAES

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Common stalk borer: caterpillar striped with purple middle/bores hole in seedling stem, top leaves wilt

Photo by R. Durgy, CAES

Pepper Pests

Green peach aphids: light green, pear-shaped/ brown and round when parasitized

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Tomato fruit worm/corn earworm: green or yellow striped caterpillar bores into fruit

Photo by D. Prostack, Rutgers University

Pepper Pests

Tomato and tobacco hornworms: very large, green caterpillar with white slash-lines or V’s and “horn”/ sometimes covered with white parasite wasp pupae. Defoliate plants, scar fruit

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Colorado potato beetle: migrating adults may feed on seedling stems and leaves

Photo by D. Gilrein, Cornell University

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

(Brown & Brown Marmorated) Stink bugs: feed by sucking juices from fruit/ leaves void in flesh under fruit surface scars

Photo by A.

Eaton, UNH

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Pepper weevil: black beetle with long “snout”, larvae is white grub inside fruit/ adults make small, round holes in pods, pods fall from plant

Photos by G. Ghidiu, Rutgers University

Pepper Pests

Tarnished plant bug: adult/feeds on and can cause drop of flowers and buds/yellow “halo” scars on fruit

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Asiatic garden beetle: small, brown June bug/ feeds at night, eats leaves

Photo by D. Gilrein, Cornell University

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Leafminer: fly larva eats inner tissue of leaf in spiral pattern

Photo by J. Boucher, UConn

Pepper Pests

Four-lined plant bug: yellow and black, sucks leaves, makes round spots and holes in leaves

Photo by D. Gilrein, Cornell University