Relationships Between Pepper Weevil and Internal Mold of Sweet Pepper. B. D. Bruton, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Lane, OK 74555. L. D. Chandler, and M. E. Miller. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Weslaco, TX 78596, and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Weslaco 78596. Plant Dis. 73:170-173. Accepted for publication 2 September 1988. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1989. DOI: 10.1094/PD-73-0170.

Alternaria alternata was recovered from 37–63% of pepper weevil (Anthonomus eugenii) punctures on bell pepper (Capsicum annuum), depending on age of the fruit. In artificial inoculation studies, the germ tube of A. alternata elongated and entered puncture wounds, which ultimately showed internal mold similar to natural infections. Evidence of direct penetration of epidermal tissue was not observed. Our data suggest a direct relationship between pepper weevil damage and internal mold caused by A. alternata.