Under conditions of environmental stress, many pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars lose flower buds, probably due to production of the abscission-causing hormone ethylene. Field applications of the ethylene-generating chemical ethephon (0 to 300 µl liter -1 ) were made to five cultivars of bell pepper growing under nonstressed conditions, but differing in resistance to stress-induced bud abscission. Cultivars were seeded at several times in 1985 to synchronize stages of plant development and allow a single simultaneous spray application to all plots. In the two 1986 experiments, all cultivars were sown on the same date and either two or three sprays were applied to all plots to more closely approximate screening conditions used by plant breeders. One week after application of ethephon at 300 µl.liter -1 , virtually no flower buds remained on any cultivar in either year. Susceptible cultivars exhibited significantly greater abscission than resistant ones at ethephon concentrations of 75 to 200 µl.liter -1 . The use of ethephon shows promise as a simple screening method for resistance to stress-induced flower bud abscission in pepper. Chemical name used: 2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid (ethephon).