Forrest Rose Information Specialist 573-882-6843 RoseF@missouri.edu April 29, 2004 Bell peppers add color to vegetable gardens COLUMBIA, Mo. – Brightly colored bell peppers can decorate a garden and lend color and taste to the table, but the sunlight that gives them their intense colors also can scald and mar the ripe fruit, a University of Missouri horticulturist said. “Missouri growers often find it challenging to produce colored bell peppers during the summer heat,” said Lewis Jett, MU Extension vegetable crops specialist. “Intense temperatures and sunlight often induce sunscald on bell peppers before they attain full color.” Variety selection is the first important choice for the gardener, Jett said. “Bell peppers are available in a variety of colors, including red, yellow, orange, purple, ivory and even chocolate.” Whatever the preferred color, he said, “choose a high-yielding disease-tolerant cultivar.” Recommended red bell-pepper cultivars include Paladin, Red Knight, King Arthur and Vivaldi. “Lafayette and Aladdin and excellent yellow bell peppers,” he added. “Valencia is a good orange bell pepper cultivar.” Bell peppers should be transplanted outdoors at five weeks old, Jett said, about two weeks after the first planting of tomatoes. “Peppers require more heat than tomatoes and will not establish readily in cooler soils.” Row covers might be necessary to protect the plants from late frosts and cool nights. Peppers are best planted in a double-staggered row, with the rows about 18 inches apart and 12-to-18 inches between the plants. Use drip irrigation or a soaker hose beneath the mulch, which can be plastic, compost, straw or other common mulches. “The twin row provides an excellent shaded canopy for fruit maturation,” Jett said. “To develop full color, many colored bells require an additional two weeks of maturation beyond the mature green stage. This additional time makes them very susceptible to sunscald.” Sunscald develops on mature green peppers exposed to high temperatures and intense sunlight, he said. “Any factor that reduces leaf or canopy area will trigger sunscald. Too little nitrogen, water, wind lodging or disease development can affect fruit quality by reducing canopy size.” Staking the crop creates a more upright canopy and reduces the risk of wind lodging, Jett said. One effective method is to drive a wood or metal stake every three to four plants, then use a string-weave system similar to that used for tomatoes. He said some gardeners have successfully used cages to grow peppers. Source: Lewis Jett (573) 884-3287 Return to Current News Releases College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources AgEBB