Question
We have grown green pepper successfully for 20 years.  Last year, though, our pepper plants didn't produce peppers and they had a disease.  The leaves on the plant were rippled or crinkled in appearance.  Do you have any idea of what this disease might be and how to treat it?  Also, would it spread to other plants?

Answer
Joan:

It's hard to know from a limited description what disease your plants might have had. there are other problems besides disease that can cause blossoms to drop or leaves to be discolored or misshapen, including aphids and other insects, pesticides and the weather.

Some diseases are transmitted by insects and some are soil-borne. You may have bought diseased plants without knowing it. The safest thing to do is to not plant any member of the Solanacaea family in the bed where the peppers were last year. If it happens again, you might try contacting your local extension service if there is an office nearby. If not, perhaps a local nursery could help you. They may need to see the roots of the plant as well as the leaves, as sometimes the signs of disease are more noticeable there.