ASSIGNMENT ON

Protected cultivation of Capsicum

VISVA BHARATI
UNIVERSITY,
SANTINIKETAN.

PRESENTED BY - SUBMITTED TO-

Sl. No. Topics Page No.

1. Introduction 1
2. Varieties 1
3. Nursery Raising 2
4. Bed preparation 2-3
5. Fertilizer application 3
6. Laying of drip line 3
7. Mulching 3
8. Spacing 3
9. Transplanting 4
10. Irrigation 4
11. Fertigation 4
12. Intercultural operation 5
13. Harvesting and yield 5
14. Plant protection 5-6
15. Conclusion 6
Introduction

Capsicum is one of the leading vegetable grown in protected condition. Indeterminate cultivars
of capsicum is being grown commercially in greenhouse condition throughout the year. Different
attractive coloured fruits such as red, green, yellow, orange and black are commercially produced
in greenhouse. Currently India ranks fourth in capsicum production and export market of
capsicum is also very high, so that greenhouse production of good size attractive capsicum
production can meet that demand.

Varieties

Selection of Varieties

Indeterminate hybrid varieties are suitable for cultivation in green house condition. Hybrid
varieties should grow up to a height of 2m having yield potential up to 100 t/ha. Selected
varieties should have growing period of 8-10 month and attractive in colour. Thick fleshed
variety are suitable for roasting and cooking. Green coloured varieties are having strong flavour
and yellow, red and orange are mild and sweeter.

Green coloured varieties

1) Arka Gaurav 4) Bharat 5) Indra

Red coloured varieties

1) Heera 2) Flavio 3) NS-280

Yellow coloured varieties

1) Yellow wonder 2) NS-281 3) Orobelle

Climate inside greenhouse

Optimum temperature for growing capsicum in green house is 25-30 ˚C during day and 18-20 ˚C
during night. Minimum humidity of greenhouse should be around 65 % and to control it, misters
are sprayed inside greenhouse.

1
Nursery raising

 Capsicum seedlings are raised in 98 cell pro trays having drainage holes at the bottom.
 The growing media includes vermicompost + sand + sterilized cocopeat (1:1:1).
 Shallow depressions of 5 mm depth are made in each cell and seed treated with Captan
(0.2g /100 seed) are sown one per cell. After sowing it is covered with a thin layer of
above growing medium and watered lightly with rose can.
 The emerging seedlings are drenched with Copper-oxychloride solution @ 3 g/ lit.
 Seeds germinate 3-4 days after sowing and trays are covered with a plastic sheet soon
after germination. Trays are watered twice a day to maintain proper moisture.
 The seedlings are provided nutrition by drenching them with 0.2 per cent, 19:19:19 (N: P:
K) plus trace elements at 15 days after germination.
 To prevent thrips infestation, the seedlings are sprayed using Acephate (0.75g/lit).
 The seedlings are hardened by gradually reducing the frequency of irrigation and
exposing them to sunlight.
 The seedlings are ready for planting within 35-40 days of sowing when they attain a
height of 15- 20 cm with 5-6 leaves.
 About 16,000 to 20,000 seedlings are required to plant one acre for which 160-200 g of
seeds are required.

Bed Preparation

Land should be ploughed thoroughly, soil clods are broken & soil is brought to a fine tilth. Well
decomposed organic manure at the rate of 10-15 kg per square meter is mixed in the bed and
levelling is done. Beds of 100 cm width and 15-20 cm height are prepared leaving 50 cm
footpath between the beds. In heavy soils mixing sand or decomposed rice husk up to 25% of
volume is required to provide proper aeration in the root zone.

Soil solarization of growing beds

Disinfection of growing bed is done after soil preparation and application of organic manure.
During the process, temperature rises up to 60-70 ˚C which helps in killing of weeds, harmful
organisms, fungal spores, bacteria and nematodes. In June-July the beds drenched using 4 per
cent formaldehyde @ 4 liters/ m² and the beds are covered with white transparent 100 micron

2
thickness polyethylene (400 gauge) sheet. All the doors and ventilators are closed. After four
days of formaldehyde treatment, the polyethylene cover is removed and the ventilators and the
doors are opened. The beds are hoed repeatedly every day to remove the trapped formaldehyde
fumes completely before transplanting.

Fertilizer application

Commercial fertilizers containing 19:19:19, N: P2O5: K2O are applied @ 7 g per sqm to the
growing beds after fumigation. Two furrows 10 cm deep are made adjacent to the planting rows
in the growing bed, the fertilizer mixture is applied and the furrows are closed.

Laying of drip line

One inline drip lateral with 30 cm inter emmiter distance, having a discharge of 2 LPH is placed
at each planting row on the bed prior to planting. The distance of the drip lines is adjusted
according to the planting distance. The emmiters in the adjacent rows in a bed should be adjusted
so that they are not in front of each other (in triangular fashion). Before planting, the drip system
is run to check uniform discharge of water from the emitters.

Mulching

Black / silver polyethylene mulch film 100 micron (400 gauge) thickness having 1.2 m width is
used to cover the planting beds and securing the edges of the sheet by burying in the soil. 5 cm
diameter holes are made on the mulch film using a sharp pipe at recommended crop spacing (45
x 30 cm).

Spacing

Capsicum seedlings are planted in two rows per bed with spacing of 45 cm x 30 cm in a
triangular fashion.

3
Transplanting

 For better establishment of seedlings, irrigating the beds to field capacity is required
before transplanting.
 30-35 days old, vigorous & uniform in size 15-20 cm in height seedlings are selected for
transplanting.
 The seedling are sprayed with Imidacloprid (0.03 ml/lit) solution one day before
transplanting.
 Drenching the seedlings with Carbendazim (0.1%) solution on the day of planting is
required for avoiding damping off and better establishment.
 The seedlings are removed from the trays by applying slight pressure on the bottom of
the individual cells.
 Seedlings are planted in the center of the holes made in the polythene mulch film so that
the seedlings do not touch the mulch film. Transplanting generally done in evening hour.
 Beds are irrigated daily with a rose-can till the seedling establishment.
 If the humidity is low, the foggers are run to increase the RH level.
 The beds are drenched with copper oxy chloride (@ 3 g/lit) if seedling mortality due to
damping off is observed.

Irrigation

Drip irrigation is started 10 days after transplanting. Drip irrigation is provided daily to supply 2
to 3 liters of water /m² / day depending on crop requirement and weather conditions.

Fertigation

Water soluble fertilizers are given through fertigation for entire crop growth period, starting from
third week after transplanting. Fertigation is to be given twice a week as recommended in the
table below

 Fertigation is applicable after three weeks of vegetation phase N: P: K @ 19: 19: 19 at 0.4
g / m² during the vegetation phase twice in a week.
 Recommended dose: 250:150:150 kg / ha.

4
Intercultural operation

Training

The main stem of plant is tied with four plastic twine to train along and tied to GI wire grid
provided on the top of the plants. This is practiced after four weeks of transplanting. The new
branches and plants are trained along the plastic twines.

Pruning

Capsicum plants are pruned to retain four stems. The tip of the plant splits into two at 5th or 6th
node and are left to grow. These two branches again split in to two giving rise to four branches.
At every node the tip splits into two giving rise to one strong branch and one week branch. The
pruning is done after 30 days of transplanting at an interval of 8 to 10 days, resulting in bigger
fruits with better quality and high productivity. The capsicum plants can also be pruned to two
stems and same level of yield can be maintained.

Harvesting and Yield

Early morning hours are best suited for capsicum harvest. Green capsicum can be harvested at 55
to 60 days after transplanting, yellow capsicum at 70-75 days whereas red capsicum at 80-90
days. Fruits can be harvested once in 3 to 4 days. Yellow and red fruits can be harvested when
they have gained 50-80 per cent of the colour development. After harvest fruits should be kept in
cool place and avoid direct exposure to sunlight. The fruits should be handled carefully by
adopting clip harvest technique and scuffing should be minimized. The average yield of
capsicum is 80-100 t/ha.

Plant Protection

Capsicum being relatively long duration (9-10 months) crop in polyhouse, the plant parts
(vegetative, floral & fruit) are more exposed to adverse effect on the yield, quality and market
value of the produce. Hence their identification and management at right stage of the crop should
be given importance. The major focus has been given on adoption of integrated approach in
managing pests and diseases, that help to reduce the pesticide load, cost of chemicals and avoid
the resurgence of pests and diseases.

5
Pests

Capsicum are being attacked by different pests like white flies, mites, thrips, leaf miners and
fruit borers in green house conditions. To control white flies, thrips, aphids and other insects,
Insect proof nylon net (antivirus nets) of 40 to 50 mesh is used. Yellow and blue trappers are
used for trapping white flies and thrips. For control of mites, dicofol @ 2.0 ml/liter of water can
be sprayed. Root knot nematode can be controlled by soil sterilization with formaldehyde 37%,
one month before transplanting. Spray Monocrotophos (1.5 ml/L) Dicofol (1.5ml/L) wettable
sulphur (3g/L) to control white flies, leaf minor, fruit borer, thrips, and mites, respectively
whenever their infestation is noticed under greenhouse.

Diseases

Diseases like Powdery mil dew, early blight, bacterial wilt and fusarium wilt are most common
in greenhouse condition. bleaching powder @ 20 kg/ha can be applied to the soil about 10 days
before transplanting the seedlings to prevent bacterial wilt. Drenching the seed beds with
bavistine (0.1%)/Captan (0.2%)/Chlorothalonil (Kovach) (0.2%) helps in controlling soil borne
diseases like fusarium wilt, collar rot and damping off.

Conclusion

Colored capsicums are in great demand in urban markets. The demand is mostly driven by hotel
and catering industry. The export market of capsicum is very high which demands fruits with
attractive colour, good fruit size and longer shelf life. The supply of capsicum to export market is
inadequate in open conditions due to low productivity so that greenhouse cultivation could be
solve the problem with quality fruits and high productivity.