Land Preparation of green pepper

1. Crop Propagation

Land preparation

1. Sweet pepper Nursery establishment

• Bush clearing
• Land preparation
• Collection of required tools and selection of certified packed seeds
• Mixing of soil well with compost
• Measuring the bed dimensions and corners
• Heaping the soil mixture and raising it to at least 30 cm high and leveling it
• Protection of the bed walls with timber or banana stems or wooden logs
• Digging small straight trenches horizontally at a recommended spacing
• Carefully planting the vegetable seeds at 1-2 cm spacing (width of one finger) and covering them with little soil
• Watering the bed sufficiently
• Carrying out other nursery management practices like weeds and pest control and thinning to reduce plant congestion are done after the seedlings have fully emerged.
• Construction of a shade to protect seedlings against wind destroying and heavy rain drops
• Covering the soil with little grass after planting but removing it as soon as seeds germinate and use it for mulching
• Hardening the seedlings by reducing watering rate and shade materials 1-2 weeks before transplanting to strengthen them

2 . Garden Soil tillage and planting

Seedbed preparation

It is important to select a well-drained area not recently cropped with a Solanaceous crop. Burning a 3-4 cm layer of rice straw on the seedbed before sowing and forming a raised seedbed of 15 cm or higher to improve drainage reduces soil borne disease problems. Seeds are sown in rows approximately 6-cm apart. The bed surface is covered with a thin layer of compost or rice straw mulch.

Sweet pepper is planted in seedbed for quick establishment and maturity. Certified seeds are used for best results. It is later transplanted in the garden. Raised beds are used to facilitate furrow irrigation and to improve drainage. Beds can be prepared in many ways. In some areas beds are made with a mechanical bed shaper and are about 1 m wide with furrows 50 cm wide. Bed height varies with the season: 20 cm in the dry season and 35 cm in the wet season.

A mulching of rice straw or other material is used to cover the soil surface. Mulches reduce fertilizer leaching, conserve moisture, and reduce weeds.

Planting of Green pepper

Harden the seedlings for 5 days by gradually reducing the frequency of watering and exposing them to more sunlight. A good seedling is in the 4 or 5-leaf stage (about 4 weeks old), vigorous, disease-free, stocky, and without flowers. Transplanting is done in the late afternoon or on a cloudy day to minimize transplant shock. The seedling is inserted in a hole so the cotyledons appear above the surface. Irrigation is done as soon as possible after transplanting.

In most areas, 1.5-m wide beds (furrow to furrow), 30 cm high are commonly used. Two rows are transplanted per bed. The two rows in each bed are spaced 50-cm apart, with plants spaced 50-cm apart within each row. This creates a population density of 26,670 plants/ha

Crop management of Green pepper

Field Crop Management

Sweet pepper crops benefit from crop rotation. Growing pepper after paddy rice, for example, reduces the incidence of diseases and nematodes

It is advisable not to plant pepper in a field previously planted with tomato, pepper, eggplant, or other Solanaceous crop. These crops share some insect and disease problem.

Weeds and weed control

Weeds should be controlled because they compete with the pepper plants for light, water, and nutrients.Sometimes weeds host damaging insects and diseases.

Sweet pepper gardens are attacked by annual weeds such as Oxalis latifolia, Black jack (Bidens pilosa) and amaranthus spp. These can be easily controlled by mulching, uprooting them before flowering and burning them and crop rotation. Mulches can be used to suppress weed growth in the beds. If mulch is not available or does not provide adequate control, other relevant organic practices should be applied.

40-60 Tons of manure per hectare is recommended for medium to poor soil levels.Pepper plants should be fertilized with organic fertilizers to produce healthy produce.Consider local soil conditions and cropping patterns when selecting farming practices. Conducting a soil test is strongly recommended.

Organic N fertilizer should be applied before transplanting; and then in three subsequent phases at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after transplanting.

Irrigation

Irrigation and water management is critical with sweet pepper. The plants have shallow root systems. Sweet pepper will not tolerate drought. The need for water is especially high while the plants are flowering and setting fruit. Fields should be irrigated if there are signs of wilting at midday.

Furrow or drip irrigation is recommended as capability permits. Sprinkler irrigation should be avoided as wet leaves and fruits promote disease development. If overhead irrigation must be used, avoid late evening irrigation. Plants should be dry before nightfall.

Integrated Pest Management

Several insects attack pepper. The following are some of the most serious pests.

Insects, such as whiteflies, thrips, and aphids, can transmit viruses to young pepper plants. Cover seedlings with a net (60-mesh or finer) to prevent infestation. The net will also protect seedlings from heavy rains.

Tomato fruit worm bores inside fruits. Organic pesticides, Bacillus thuringiensis and parasitic wasps (biological) are used to control this pest.

Tomato fruit worm

Cotton aphids feed on the sap of leaves, causing the foliage to curl. Aphids also create a sugary substance that leads to black sooty mould growth on foliage. Aphids are controlled by the use of organic pesticides, reflective mulches, and crop rotation.

Cotton aphids

Thrips also remove sap from foliage, causing mid-veins to dry and leaves to cup upwards. Thrips are managed by eliminating host weeds, rotating crops, and spraying organic pesticides.

Thrip and its damages on pepper fruit

Broad mites can be serious pests during hot weather. The tiny pests feed on the underside of leaves causing the foliage to become dry and brittle. Fruits may be scarred. Mites are managed by sowing tolerant varieties, eliminating host weeds, rotating crops, and spraying organic miticides.

Broad mites and their damages on a sweet  pepper plant

Cultural Pest management

• Physical picking and killing visible pests
• Practicing a good crop rotation

• Practicing Garden rest
• Proper use (frequent) of organic compost
• Use of resistant varieties
• Timely planting
• Crop hygiene

 

Recommended crop rotation

Onions	Beans	Sweet pepper
Beans	Sweet pepper	Onions
Sweet pepper	onions	Beans

Pests and diseases management of green pepper

Pests and disease control

Pepper crops suffer from many diseases. Some of the common examples include the following:

Bacterial spot is a problem, especially during the rainy season. Small spots develop on leaves. Later, the leaves can turn yellow

and drop. Corky lesions develop on fruits. This disease is controlled by using pathogen-free seed, rotating crops, and spraying with organic fungicide mixes.

Bacterial spot on leaf

Bacterial soft rot is a serious disease on fruit. Infected fruits will collapse and hang like water-filled bags. Management strategies include rotating crops, using raised beds to enhance drainage, mulching to reduce soil water splash, and harvesting fruits carefully to avoid wounding.

Symptoms of Bacterial soft rot

Many viruses attack peppers. Some of the most common are Tobacco Mosaic, Cucumber Mosaic, Chili Venal Mottle, and Pepper Mild Mottle. Symptoms can be mosaic or mottling patterns on leaves, distortion of foliage and fruit, and stunting of plants. Many viruses can be prevented through the use of resistant varieties. Another strategy is to reduce their insect vectors. This is done by removing weed hosts, spraying with organic pesticides, and using mesh netting as natural barriers.

Symptoms of virus attack

Fig.1,2,3: Symptoms of Cucumber mosaic virus

Fig. 4: Potato virus

Fig. 5: Tomato etch virus

Fig. 6: Pepper mottle virus

Fig.7: Fruit mosaic

Fig. 8: Tomato Spotted virus.

Cercospora Leaf Spot causes “frog-eyes” to appear on foliage. This fungus is found during rainy weather and when plants are spaced close together. Organic Fungicides can be used to control this disease.

Cercospora leaf spot

Fusarium stem and fruit rot

Photo: wilted pepper plant

The causal agent of a stem and fruit rot disease of greenhouse sweet peppers was found to be Nectria haematococca (anamorph Fusarium solani). It infected wounds caused by salt damage at the stem base and scars left by careless leaf removal and fruit picking.

Symptoms

Soft, dark brown or black cankers are formed on the stem, usually at nodes or wound sites. These may girdle the stem in later stages of disease development. There is a dark brown discolouration of the internal portion of the stem that may extend a considerable distance. The lesions may eventually develop cinnamon or light orange-coloured, very small (<1 mm diameter), flask-shaped fruiting structures known as perithecia, which are the fruiting bodies of the fungus

Photo: Black cankers on the pepper stem            Black lesion around the calyx of pepper fruit

due to Fusarium solani.

Control

• Plant resistant varieties when available.
• Remove stricken growth from the garden and sterilize pruning clippers (one part bleach to 4 parts water) between cuts.
• Use insecticide to control many garden insects, like cucumber beetles, which are known to spread the disease.
• High nitrogen fertilizers may increase susceptibility to the disease. Test your soil and use a slow-release, organic fertilizer in the vegetable garden.
• Hand pull or spot treat weeds— many weed species host the disease pathogen.

Blossom end rot

Blossom-end rot can cause significant crop losses in peppers, especially early in the season. A serious disorder of tomato, pepper, cucumber and eggplant, blossom end rot is an environmental problem (not fungal) most often caused by uneven watering or by calcium deficiency. (These can be related; uneven watering can interfere with the uptake of calcium.) This common garden “disease” is often brought on by rapid growth from too much fertilizer, high salt levels or drought.

Symptoms: Blossom-end rot (BER) is a physiological disorder which causes a dark, sunken area on the lower (blossom) end of tomato, pepper, and eggplant fruits. On peppers, it may also occur on the sides of the fruit, near the blossom-end. The discoloration is usually tan, brown, or black and should not be confused with sunscald, which causes a whitish or translucent discoloration.  Secondary pathogens may infect the BER-affected area, causing overall fruit rot.

Photo: pepper blossom end rot

Treatment

Since this plant problem is physiological in nature, fungicides will not work as a control measure. We recommend the following:

• Choose resistant vegetable varieties whenever possible;
• Prevent problems by keeping soil evenly moist and by foliar spraying plants with a calcium solution;
• Adding high levels of calcium — bone meal, oyster shell or gypsum to the soil at planting time usually prevents this problem from developing.
• A layer of mulch (straw, compost, grass ) will help conserve soil moisture during the hot, dry days of July and August and provide a more uniform water supply..
• Foliar applications of liquid calcium 5% (1-2 Tbsp/ gallon of water) can be used to correct or prevent deficiencies of this essential nutrient.
• Avoid using high nitrogen fertilizers which accelerate vegetative growth and reduce the uptake of calcium by plants.

Pepper (Capsicum spp.)–Gray Mold

Cause: The fungus, Botrytis cinerea (teleomorph: Botryotinia fuckeliana), is an opportunistic pathogen that easily invades weak, damaged, or senescing tissue. Usually, it is more of a problem on seedlings in greenhouses but can be a problem in the field. All aboveground portions of the pepper plant can be attacked but often disease starts on senescing flowers or fruit damaged by sun scald. Spores (conidia) are produced throughout the growing season under a wide range of temperatures and humidity. Cool temperatures (68°F is optimal but the fungus can grow between 50° and 80°F), high humidity, and free water on plant surfaces favor the disease, as do close plant spacing and irrigation practices that keep plants wet for a longer time.

Papper fruit with gray mold- powdery gray                    Fruit can abort due to gray mold infection, as seen above, Cynthia M. Ocamb, 2012.                                               fungus on the fruit shoulders. Cynthia M. Ocamb, 2012.

Symptoms: the symptoms first appear on petals, injured fruit, or senescing leaves and is initially a dark, water-soaked, slimy lesion and then the affected areas turn brownish-gray and powdery-looking as sporulation develops.

Cultural control

• Rotate out of pepper and beans to cereals and corn for at least 2 years.
• Thoroughly incorporate green manures or cover crops and allow debris to decompose before establishing a new crop.
• Limit irrigation during and after bloom. Irrigate in the morning so plants do not stay wet more than 12 hours. In some areas, growers may be able to irrigate heavily before bloom and as little as possible thereafter.
• Avoid over-fertilization with nitrogen.

Chemical control

• Use appropriate fungicides (Carboxamide (Group 7), Endura  at 3.5 oz/A, Fontelis at 10 to 24 fl oz/A ….)

Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew can cause significant yield reductions in peppers. The fungal pathogen has a wide host range and is spread by wind-blown spores. A variety of methods are available to manage powdery mildew on peppers.

Symptoms

The initial symptoms of powdery mildew on peppers are a powdery-white fungal growth on the undersides of leaves with light-green to yellow blotches on the upper leaf surfaces (Figure 1). These areas turn brown with time, and the affected areas coalesce, causing a general yellowing of the entire leaf. The outer edges of leaves may curl upward. The older leaves lower in the canopy are usually infected first and show symptoms before the younger leaves. Infected leaves drop from the plant prematurely. This loss of photosynthetic leaf area slows plant growth and fruit development. The defoliation also exposes fruit to direct sunlight, which can lead to sunscalding of the fruit.

Photo: powdery mildew on a green pepper leaf

Management

Low light and high humidity favor the development of powdery mildew on peppers, so cultural practices that minimize these conditions can help lower disease severity. Select sites with well-drained soils and good air circulation. Adjust planting densities and row orientations to promote good air circulation and light penetration into the canopy. Avoid excessive fertilization that would result in overly dense canopies. In greenhouse production, increasing the temperature in the greenhouse can lower humidity levels and slow disease development.

A second control method for powdery mildew on peppers is the application of fungicides. Several fungicides are available for controlling powdery mildew on peppers. However, products vary in their required pre-harvest interval (PHI), and some have crop rotation plant-back restrictions. Appropriate fungicide resistance management strategies should be used to prevent the development of fungicide-resistant strains of the pathogen.

The effectiveness of the applications will depend on early detection and thorough coverage of the leaves. Applications should begin before symptoms appear, as the disease is difficult to control once it develops. The initial application should be based on when the disease typically shows up in the region. Spray volumes and pressure, in accordance with the label, must be sufficient to reach the lower leaves, including the undersides of leaves where infection occurs.

Damping off

Damping-off is primarily caused by Pythium spp. Seedlings affected by damping-off fail to emerge or fall over and die soon after emergence. Stems usually have a dark, shriveled portion at the soil line. Damping-off is generally limited to areas where drainage is poor or where soil is compacted, but whole fields can be affected, especially in early plantings exposed to rain.

Photo:Damping off of                                    Photo: Damping off of pepper transplants

Pepper seedlings

Symptoms on affected pepper plants include rapid wilting and death of pepper plants. Close examination of the roots and stems is necessary to confirm the cause of disease. The disease can develop at any stage of pepper plant growth. Taproots and smaller lateral roots show water-soaked, very dark brown discoloration of surface, cortical, and vascular tissues.

Management

Factors that influence the development of damping-off and root and crown rot diseases in peppers in a given season include varietal susceptibility, amount and frequency of irrigation, and soil compaction and drainage. Crop rotation, proper irrigation, and clean transplants are critical in managing this disease. Fields that have a history of root and crown rots may need fungicide treatments at planting.

The disease can be effectively prevented by:

• Using resistant varieties
• Using clean transplants
• Proper field and seedbed preparation
• Good water management
• Employing a 2-year crop rotation that exclude susceptible plants
• Using appropriate fungicides.

Harvesting of Green Pepper

Harvesting

Sweet pepper fruits should be harvested when they reach full size and firmness. They are usually harvested before they begin changing color (reddening or yellowing), unless they are intended for other purposes. Stems of pepper plants are very fragile so use a knife when harvesting. Be careful not to damage the plants. Most sweet pepper plants produce for 6-8 weeks until they lose vigor.

Maturity period

Sweet pepper is harvested 3-4 months after planting by hand cutting off ripe lower mature fruits.

Post harvest handling of green pepper

Sweet pepper can be stored by hanging them up in a shade or in a well ventilated store to dry them ready for grinding to a fine powder. 54For some large scale pepper producers, fresh fruits can be ground to make a liquid or fine powder pepper product. In this case, testing, labeling, packaging and storage facilities are essential to make this vegetable commercially sell and possible exportation achieved

 Markets and marketing

This greatly varies with the levels of production. Subsistence farmers rarely benefit economically from this vegetable due to low supplies to potential markets. However, large scale sweet pepper producers easily find market for this crop in processors who have ability to transform the utility product store it and later export it for a sizable income.

 Records and record keeping

Importance of crop records

• Used as a planning and budgeting tool.
• Accurately reflect profit or loss encountered during farming
• Can be used to access financial credit
• Important dates like planting, weeding and harvesting are recorded and followed in future
• Keeps a correct history of the farm

Crop record includes:

•  Total crop area grown
•  Quantity of inputs used e.g seeds, fertilizers etc
• Weeding, pruning, and other operations carried out
• Time spent on various activities-planting, weeding, harvesting in man hours
• Total crop yield together with selling value
• Pest/disease attack frequencies and their control costs

 Water-Use and management

As stated above peppers do not tolerate drought mainly because they have a very shallow root system. It is therefore essential to ensure plant water supply particularly at critical stages of the plant growth.

On-farm water conservation

There are two kinds of water available to a farmer -Surface water and underground water.

Water harvesting

• roof harvesting
• irrigation
• digging deep trenches and siphoning water to the surface
• water catchments-trapping

Soil erosion control

Through-mulching, contour ploughing, cut-off-drains, radical terracing, crop rotation etc

Designing simple irrigation techniques

• This can be done by using a supply from domestic water wash to the kitchen garden
• Also be done using simple plastic water 15 litre buckets suspending them over a vegetable garden with a supply of plastic pipes equipped with nozzles to allow continuous drip
• Digging trenches from the nearest swamp/river area to nearby vegetable field-surface irrigation
• A supply from the main farm reservoir tank collecting from roof harvesting to lower gradient gardens