🫑 Pepper How hard it is to control: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Gray mold on pepper

Botrytis cinerea attacks pepper flowers, fruitlets and fruit, usually getting in through dead flower remains or wounds. Under cover it is the main cause of fruit rotting, including after picking.

Symptom photos

Gray mold — Fruit — grey, dusty layer of spores on rotting tissue — Fruit — grey, dusty layer of spores on rotting tissue Photo: Schlaghecken Josef, licence CC BY-SA 4.0

Gray mold — Close-up — fungal spore stalks growing out of the fruit skin — Close-up — fungal spore stalks growing out of the fruit skin Photo: Schlaghecken Josef, licence CC BY-SA 4.0

Gray mold — Packed fruit — mould developing after harvest in high humidity — Packed fruit — mould developing after harvest in high humidity Photo: Schlaghecken Josef, licence CC BY-SA 4.0

Symptoms

Watery, browning patches on fruit and stalks
A gray, dusty bloom of spores on the rotting tissue
Flowers and fruitlets rotting and dropping
Brown constrictions on stems where they have been cut
Mold carrying on developing on picked fruit in the punnet

What it does to the crop

Fruit lost both on the plant and after picking
Sections of stem dying back where wounds are infected
Short shelf life for the peppers
Spores spreading quickly to neighbouring fruit

What encourages it

Humidity above 90% and poor ventilation
Temperature 15-23°C
Physical damage and wounds left by leaf removal
Dead flowers left hanging on the fruitlets

Prevention

Ventilate the tunnel regularly, especially in the morning and after watering
Drip-irrigate without wetting the plants
Prune and remove leaves on a dry, sunny day
Take infected fruit and crop debris out of the tunnel
Keep to the recommended spacing and avoid overcrowding

⚠️ Before you reach for a spray

This atlas is informational and still growing — different diseases can look almost identical. Confirm the diagnosis and read the product label before applying any plant protection product. If you are unsure, ask your local extension or advisory service.

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