Sweet Pepper

Sowing: Sweet Pepper is raised from seed and set out as transplants in full sun, spaced roughly 1.5 to 2 feet apart in loamy or sandy soil that stays moist and well-drained. Once planted, the roots should not be disturbed, and young seedlings should be shielded from low temperatures or drought; mulching between plants helps, and growers are advised to avoid ground where peppers, tomatoes, or eggplants grew previously because of shared soil pathogens.

Feeding and support: A well-balanced fertilizer applied at planting and again when the first flowers appear encourages growth and fruiting, and staking can keep the developing fruit from touching the ground. Drought stress, cool weather, extreme heat, and low humidity can all cause the plant to drop its flowers.

Pests: The principal pests are whiteflies, thrips, and red spider mites, though few insects kill the plant outright. Beet armyworms, cutworms, flea beetles, aphids, leafrollers, weevils, tomato fruit worms, and tomato psyllid may also damage foliage and fruit.

Diseases: Thrips can spread tomato spotted wilt virus, and the plant is also susceptible to mild mottle virus and tobacco mosaic virus. Fungal problems include damping-off, crown and root rot, stem and fruit rot, gray mold, and powdery mildew.

Disorders: Blossom end rot can develop from calcium deficiency, while sunscald leaves papery spots on exposed fruit; good leaf coverage helps protect fruit from this damage.

Fruits form about two to six days after the flower drops and should be cut from the stem regularly to keep the plant producing. Color does not fully develop until the fruit ripens, and as it matures the flavor becomes sweeter than when picked green.

Culinary: Sweet Pepper is eaten raw or cooked, adding both moisture and color to dishes; it is used raw in salads and added to soups and stews for flavoring, and dried fruit is made into paprika. It is a common ingredient in cuisines including those of Italy, India, Thailand, Spain, China, and Holland.

Ornamental: The plant is grown in small garden spaces, flower beds, vegetable gardens, and as a border plant, and because it is a warm-weather species it is sometimes brought indoors as a houseplant over winter.

Traditional: Historical accounts describe Sweet Pepper being used to treat the cold stage of fevers, eaten to prevent sea-sickness, and applied externally as a paste for muscle sprains or soreness.

Sweet Pepper traces to wild Capsicum ancestors of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, with use as a food ingredient recorded in Peru more than 8,000 years ago and cultivation in Mexico dated to around 2500 BC. Following Christopher Columbus's encounter with the plant, it spread from the Americas to Europe and then across the world, including India, within about a century.