A Review of Chile Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Stip: A Physiological Disorder of Peppers

Abstract

Stip, a physiological disorder, which affects certain pepper (Capsicum annuum) cultivars and pod types, has received limited formal academic attention. The disorder, frequently noted for its appearance in bell peppers, but also present in pimento and New Mexican pod types, has been attributed in the literature to nutrient imbalances and/or temperature extremes. Symptoms of this disorder present on fully developed fruits as brown, black, and yellow ovoid subcutaneous chlorotic lesions ≈1.3 cm in length and 0.6 cm in width extending from the endocarp to the mesocarp, without apparent expression in the cuticle. Chile pepper has been significantly affected by stip for the past several decades leading to varying degrees of commercial losses. Due to the sporadic and seemingly spontaneous nature of the disorder, prolonged research interest has not been sustained. This review provides the reader a comprehensive synthesis of all available literature regarding this physiological disorder. Especially because research into this disorder is scarce, it is essential that any and all previous research be made available together in one document to interested scientists, breeders, and growers. To achieve this goal, all available stip-related publications were obtained and analyzed; additionally, searches were performed using all names associated with the disorder. The literature suggests that stip manifestation is a consequence of an interaction between a genetic component (open-pollinated cultivars being more susceptible to symptom expression than hybrids) and an environmental component (increased nitrogen application, shading, and soil applications of lime appear to increase both severity and incidence).