September 2010. Photos of peppers with spots were sent from Bella Vista, province of Corrientes, Argentina. The spots look like blisters, with the skin forming a light or bright halo with a small necrotic centre. No fungi or bacteria were isolated.

Phytotoxicity is suspected from chemicals or detergents, but the leaves do not show any symptoms. Also, the symptoms do not occur on all fruits and, as seen in the photographs, the spots are found mostly on one side – the shoulder – of the fruit.

A member thought the spots suggested a sucking insect with a toxic response to its saliva. Is the green vegetable bug Nezara viridula present? Look for adults, particularly at night, or brightly coloured juveniles, often clustered together on the fruit.

Another member said that the symptoms on the photo resemble Ghost spot, which is normally caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Similar symptoms have been seen on capsicum or tomato fruits (photo, lower right) mainly on green fruits, during cooler and moist weather conditions.

A good paper on this was published by Williamson et al. (2007) Molecular Plant Pathology 8(5): 561???580.