Crops

Pepper

Pepper is a warm-season crop requiring three to four months of frost-free growing days. Transplants are used to start the crop. Sweet, bell peppers are the most popular varieties in New England and are usually harvested green. Sweet peppers become even sweeter as they mature, typically turning from green to red, although many different colored varieties are now available. Other types of sweet and chili (hot or pungent) peppers are also grown. Hot peppers generally become more pungent as they mature. Check variety descriptions carefully to obtain the proper pepper for your market.

For Current information on production methods (including varieties, spacing, seeding, and fertility), weed, disease, and insect management, please visit the New England Vegetable Management Guide website.

Below you will find additional information on managing this crop, including photos of insects and diseases in this crop, fact sheets, articles, and power point presentations, when available.

Insect List

• Aphids
• Whitefly
• Colorado Potato Beetles
• Cutworm Black
• Cutworm Veriegated
• European Corn Borer
• Fall Armyworm
• Hornworm
• Leafminer
• Thrips
• Two Spotted Spider Mite
• Pepper Maggot
• Stink Bugs

Disease List

• Alternaria
• Bacterial Spot (Xanthomonas)
• Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV)
• Damping Off and Seed Decay
• Phytophthora Crown Rot and Blight
• Root Knot
• Soft Rot
• Sunscald
• Tobacco and Tomato Mosaic Virus (TMV, TomMV)
• Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)

Articles

• IPM Guidelines
• Bacterial Spot and Speck of Tomato and Pepper
• Insect Management in Peppers
• Weed Management Advice
• Phytophthora Blight of Cucurbits, Peppers, and Tomatoes
• Sclerotinia Blight of Vegetable Crops
• ECB, Aphids and Pepper Maggot in Peppers
• Root Knot Nematodes of Pepper