I'm guessing that thick trunk is due to being topped or pruned a few times and a lot of stimulation such as a fan blowing on it 24/7. I'm not sure about the buds. Hope you get it figured out
-Nick

I had two bell plants bud weird like that last year and they never grew big pods. A chocolate bell and cali wonder and the fruits never got bigger than maybe 3 inches. Dont know if yours will do the same but last year was my first time growing peppers so I may have done many things wrong.

"Godzirra. He COME!"

Looks like fasciated growth from the stem on up. You'll sometimes see it only in the flowers of some species, but "full body" or a single stem/branch fasciation is common in peppers when it happens (which it doesn't happen often).

It's a genetic "whoops" most all of the time. Though it can be caused by a variety of other things (disease, hormones, environmental factors, etc), it's generally nothing much to worry about as far as disease goes when it comes to this happening in peppers.

It leads to really strange looking and strange acting plants. Unfortunately, it also generally leads to undersized fruits which may or may not ripen properly...which isn't so nice for the vegetable grower.

This post was edited by nc-crn on Fri, May 2, 14 at 2:31

Here's an interesting article.

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: Fasciation

I am of the same opinion as nc-crn: Genetic WHOOPS!