Why Do My Peppers Have White Scorch Marks?

When peppers develop pale, whitish, papery, sunken patches — usually on the side facing the sun — you are seeing sunscald, which is essentially sunburn on the fruit. It is a common problem, particularly in hot, bright climates and on plants that have lost leaves, and it ruins the affected area of the fruit. The good news is that it is very preventable once you understand why it happens. Let me explain.

What sunscald looks like

Sunscald appears as a pale, bleached, whitish or tan patch on the sun-exposed side of the pepper. At first the area looks faded and slightly soft; then it dries into a sunken, papery, white or light-brown patch. The damaged tissue is dead, and unfortunately it often becomes an entry point for fungal rots, which can then spread into the fruit. So beyond the cosmetic damage, sunscald opens the door to secondary disease, which is another reason to prevent it.

Why it happens

Sunscald is sunburn: the fruit's surface gets too much direct, intense sun, especially during heatwaves. The key risk factor is exposed fruit. Peppers are normally shaded by the plant's own leaves, but when a plant loses foliage — from disease, pest damage, heavy pruning, or stress-related leaf drop — the fruit is suddenly exposed to the full sun and scorches. It is most common on the upper and outer fruit, on over-pruned plants, and on plants whose leaves have thinned. Green fruit and recently exposed fruit are especially vulnerable because they have not been hardened to the light.

How to prevent it

The best protection is healthy leaf cover, so the plant shades its own fruit. Keep your peppers vigorous and well-foliaged by managing the leaf diseases and pests that cause leaf loss, and resist the urge to over-prune — unlike tomatoes, peppers generally should not have their leaves stripped, precisely because that foliage shields the fruit. Provide light afternoon shade during extreme heat using shade cloth, which dramatically reduces sunscald in hot climates. Avoid sudden heavy leaf removal that exposes previously shaded fruit all at once.

Managing affected fruit

Once a pepper has a sunscald patch, that area will not recover, but the rest of the fruit is usually still edible — just cut away the damaged part, and use the pepper promptly before any rot sets in at the wound. Remove badly scalded fruit that is starting to rot so it does not become a disease source. Then focus on prevention for the remaining and future fruit: protect the plant's leaf cover, add shade in heatwaves, and keep plants healthy so they carry enough foliage to shade their own crop. With good leaf cover and a little shade in extreme heat, sunscald becomes a rare problem.