Myth, flip the bell peppers over to check
their gender. The ones with four bumps are female and
those with three bumps are male. In fact, some have two and some
five lobes. Bell peppers do not have gender. Some things never
go away and there are many errant web sites still propagating
this myth.
The number of lobes of
a bell pepper is determined by its variety. Different varieties
produce different numbers of lobes, between two to five. The
most popular variety of bell pepper in the US produces four
lobes, so many plants have been bred for this characteristic.
There is no difference in the peppers number of lobes or bumps
for sweetness or number of seeds.