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Is brown "rot" on a zucchini stem ever NOT borer damage?

This is my third year growing Safari zucchini. Every year at some point a brown/orange "rot" or coloration develops near the base of the stem, though I've never found borer worms and in most cases the plants continue to grow unaffected.

This season as a precaution I've been spraying my plants (Safari and Zephyr) weekly with neem oil, especially along the stems and near the soil line. I happened to find an adult SVB moth for the first time on a Zephyr leaf about three weeks ago and killed it.

Yesterday one healthy Safari plant that had been growing somewhat upright toppled over onto its side, and while putting a stake in to support it, I noticed the same brownish rot on the underside of the stem near the soil line. As of now there are no signs of decline.

So my question is are there some types of zucchini that naturally develop this sort of coloration on the stem as they age and deal with the wear and tear of a growing season? Or is this always borer damage and I've just been lucky to have plants that manage to battle through it? As a comparison, the Zephyr plants (where I found the adult moth) have much darker and sturdier-looking stems than Safari and do not seem prone to the same coloration.

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