Detailed Explanation of the Latest Scientific Cultivation Techniques for Greenhouse Chili Peppers
1. Raising seedlings
1.1 Seedbed preparation: For raising seedlings, methods such as cold frames, greenhouses and small arch sheds, or solar greenhouses may be used. The seedbed area should preferably be 25-30 sq m per mu (two beds 12-15 m long and 1.2 m wide). The seedbed preparation and nutrient soil mixing are the opposite of the flue-cured tobacco seedling method: sheep manure, human excrement and urine, and uncomposted barnyard manure must not be used for raising seedlings. Block seedlings are commonly used, and plastic nutrient pots are the best choice. The specification for block seedlings is 7-8 cm long and wide (160-200 blocks per sq m), with 2 strong seedlings kept per block, and a bed soil thickness of 10 cm. Use 50% carbendazim or 70% thiophanate-methyl at 50-75 g diluted in water to irrigate the seedbed and disinfect the bed soil. Use 50% isofenphos-methyl or 90% trichlorfon crystal at 100 g diluted in water and sprinkled on the seedbed to prevent damage from underground insects. Irrigate each bed with 4-5 gasoline drums of water, in two applications, with the final watering on the day of harvest.
1.2 Seed treatment: When growing by the seedling transplanting method, 100-150 g of pepper seed is needed per mu. Before sowing, soak the seeds in warm water at 50-54°C (two parts boiling water to one part cold water) for 10-15 minutes, or soak them in a 1% copper sulfate solution for 5 minutes, then rinse them clean with water, and place them in a 25-30°C environment to germinate for 3-5 days. Sowing may only begin after 40% of the seeds have "broken white" (sprouted).
1.3 Sowing: The pepper seedling stage generally takes 60-80 days. The best seedling-raising period in our city is from the end of February to early March, and no later than March 10. Use block seedling raising with precision dibbling, then cover with 1 cm of soil, and promptly cover with film to keep warm. The sown seeds must meet the seed treatment standard; it is absolutely not allowed to sow after soaking only, or after soaking without germination, or with less than 40% germination. Dibbling is best done at noon on clear days, avoiding rainy and snowy weather.
1.4 Seedbed management: After emergence, the temperature in the seedbed should be 23-27°C during the day and 14-15°C at night. For block seedling raising and nutrient pot seedling raising, keep 2 strong seedlings per block (pot). When the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves, spray with thiophanate-methyl 1000x solution or iprodione 800-1000x solution, or propamocarb 400-600x solution, to prevent the spread of pepper blight and other diseases. After the seedlings recover from transplanting, control the daytime temperature at 23-27°C and the nighttime temperature at 14-15°C. Reduce the temperature appropriately and restrict water to harden the seedlings 15 days before planting.
2. Field planting
2.1 Fertilization and land preparation: For pepper land, continuous cropping plots should be avoided as much as possible. Plow deeply before winter, and harrow and roll in early spring to conserve soil moisture. In combination with spring plowing, apply per mu 25-50 kg of superphosphate, 5-10 kg of potassium sulfate, or 15-20 kg of diammonium phosphate, plus 5000 kg of fully decomposed farmyard manure, in holes or furrows. Form ridges with a ridge width of 1.1 m, a ridge height of 10-15 cm, and a ridge surface width of 60 cm.
2.2 Timely field planting: For open-field cultivation with plastic film mulching, field planting should be carried out from late April to early May after the last frost. Plant in double rows with a wide row spacing of 60 cm, a narrow row spacing of 50 cm, and a hole spacing of 30 cm, with 2 plants per hole arranged in a “pin” shape, giving about 8000 plants per mu. If drought occurs at planting, transplant with water to improve the survival rate. Before transplanting, spray thiophanate-methyl or propamocarb and other treatments to prevent the spread of disease.
3. Field management
After field planting, promptly remove weeds in the field and strengthen fertilizer and water management and pest and disease control. Apply less nitrogen fertilizer at the seedling stage; at the bud stage, appropriately increase the amount of fertilizer, but nitrogen fertilizer should not be excessive or too rapid, to prevent lodging, flower drop, and late-season excessive vegetative growth; during the fruiting stage, apply a small amount of topdressing. Generally, after each harvest, apply one topdressing. The specific method is to mix 10 kg of urea and 20 kg of superphosphate extract per mu with 40-50 kg of water, and inject it into holes 20 cm from the plants; or use 0.2 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate with 20-30 kg of water for foliar spraying, to promote early reflowering, early fruit set, and early red ripening.
4. Pest and disease control
The main diseases of pepper are: viral disease, phytophthora blight, anthracnose, damping-off, and lush growth disease. The main insect pests are: aphids, boring worms, and others. 1. Aphids: spray with trisodium phosphate plus washing powder 500x solution; or spray with 2.5% cyhalothrin EC 2000-4000x solution; 2. Phytophthora blight and anthracnose: spray with 65% zineb wettable powder 500x solution, 70% thiophanate-methyl 1000x solution, or irrigate with 50% carbendazim 800x solution; 3. If severely diseased plants appear in the field, use 50% metalaxyl wettable powder 250x solution or 0.3% copper sulfate to drench the roots and block the disease focus.
5. Pepper harvesting
Because the ways of eating peppers differ, the harvesting standards also differ. Fresh-eating green peppers should be harvested when the fruit is fully swollen and has set its shape; red peppers for pickling or drying should be harvested when the fruit is 70% ripe. Methods for drying peppers include: natural drying, that is, harvesting while tying them into strings, and putting them on racks to air-dry naturally.
Use manual picking. During harvesting, the tools used and the containers and packaging materials must be clean and hygienic, and must not contaminate organic peppers; store them separately from other vegetables, and achieve separate harvesting, separate transport, and separate storage to prevent mixing; peppers for market must be fresh, clean, and free of insect spots and disease spots.