Most (better than 8 out of 10) of those affected pepper on that link are not BER. victims. Yeah I guess you could say that since 8 out of 10 of the pics aren't even of peppers. But the pics that are of peppers was the point and they are pics of BER on peppers. Bacteria? Sure. That's how BER works - a damaged portion of the fruit is created by the mal-distribution of calcium in the fruit and bacteria invade the damaged area causing the discoloration and rot. That doesn't mean it isn't BER. Just as all varieties of tomatoes are subject to BER given the right conditions, so are all varieties of peppers. There is ample credible info available about BER. Unfortunately there is also a ton of highly INaccurate, anecdotal info about it available. One has to evaluate the credibility of the source of the info when it comes to understanding its symptoms, its causes, and its controls. The only reason I say the BER or sunscalded fruit isn't salvageable is that many find the taste affected, off, bitter, etc. if it tastes fine to you by all means use it. Dave

Our favorite tomato expert Carolyn137 wrote an excellent response to a question about Blossom End Rot (BER) and I am quoting it here: With BER there is NO problem with absorption of Ca++ though the roots. The problem is maldistribution within the plant that can be induced by a number of stresses which include uneven delivery of water, too much N, growing in too rich soil, too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry you name it. As the plants mature they can better handle the streses that can induce BER so usually it goes away. The two exceptions are first, if the soil has NO Ca++ as confirmed with a soil test, and that's a rare condition, and second, if the soil is too acidic in which Case Ca++ is bound in the soil. Again, adding lime, egg shells and on and on can not and will not prevent BER b'c absorption of Ca++ thru the roots is OK. Paste tomatoes are especially susceptible to BER and I think someone in a post above mentioned that. If you go to the top of this first page and click on the FAQ link and scroll down you'll also find an article about BER in case some of you have never looked at the FAQ's And there's some darn good articles there as well, but I wouldn't pay any attention to the variety list b'c it's way out of date. The old information about BER being caused solely by lack of soil Ca++ has been shown to be wrong with research that's been done in the last 20 years or so, but it's going to take another generation before the real story gets into books, websites, magazines, etc. Most of the better websites already have the correct information. BER affects not only tomatoes, but peppers, squash, cabbage, cauliflower, etc., and it's a huge multimillion dollar problem for the industry, which is WHY all that reasearch was done. For instance, when tissues were taken from a plant that has BER fruits and was assayed for Ca++, the normal level of Ca++ was found, it just wasn't getting to the blossom end of fruits. And there's also a condition called internal BER where the fruits look fine, no evidence of BER externally, but when you cut open the fruit the inside is black Hope that helps So, what it comes down too is: Tums do not work, nor do egg shells, milk, and other "home remedy" treatments. Foliar spray only works in some cases. Time and good management practices work best. Good Luck! Betsy

As Terry says there are any number of things that can cause mal-formed fruit. There are also a number of things that can cause a dark spot on a fruit. But that doesn't make them all BER. BER is very specific as to cause and appearance. BER doesn't show up yet in fruit that tiny. Catfacing can, inadequate pollination can, bacterial infection can, injury damage can, etc. Will that particular fruit develop normally? Likely no. Will it develop and still be edible but malformed? Maybe. Could it develop a bacterial infection due to its prolonged contact with the rotting blossom remnant? Possibly, especially if it isn't removed from the fruit. Could it develop BER later? Possibly if the conditions for BER develop. Does it have BER right now? No. Should it be removed from the plant? No need. Is it causing any problem if left? No. Dave

I grow peppers in pots and have the same issues for any new plants. My issue is definitely a lack of calcium even though I use very hard water (before it gets to the softener). I also buy fertilizer with calcium, and while that helps a little it does not eliminate BER. However, the Peppers I put in pots last year do not have BER. Last year, I would wash and dry any eggshells I had and then grind them into a powder using a mortar and pestle. I added that to the pepper plants last year but they still had BER. So I did not do that for this year's plants. However last year's peppers survived and they don't have BER this year. So looking online it looks like it takes a while for even ground down eggshells to release their calcium, so the ground eggshells I used last year is starting to have its desired effect. So I will go back to using ground eggshells in this years plants so they won't have BER next year (its a good thing this is AZ and the peppers have no problems surviving the winters). However for this year I will need something that release calcium much quicker so I guess I will end up buying some epsom salt for that purpose.