Are Goat Horn Peppers Sweet or Spicy? The King of Vitamin C: Varieties and Growing Methods

The goat horn pepper is a type of chili pepper shaped like a goat's horn, with thick flesh, a spicy taste and bright color; it can be eaten as food and also used to extract pigments. Because of its wide range of uses, high output value and good market demand, it is highly favored by farmers. So is the goat horn pepper sweet or spicy? Which varieties are good to grow? How do you grow it?

I. Is the goat horn pepper sweet or spicy?

The goat horn pepper, also known as Jize chili, has a moderate level of spiciness and gets its name from its smooth purple-red color, slender shape and hooked, goat-horn-like tip. Its characteristics are: thin skin, thick flesh, bright color and fragrant taste, and its content of capsaicin and vitamin C ranks first among chili products nationwide.

II. How do you grow goat horn peppers for high yield?

1. Choose good varieties

Choose varieties with purple-red fruit color, long fruit stalks, a compact plant type, many fruits, concentrated fruit set, uniform red ripening of the fruit, low moisture content in the flesh, a high rate of dried peppers and rich lycopene content, such as Honglong No. 3, Honglong No. 1 and Lufeng No. 3.

2. Fine land preparation

For land selection, loam or sandy loam with high, dry terrain, good drainage and fertile, deep soil is best; avoid choosing low-lying land where water accumulates, and do not grow it in succession with Solanaceae crops. Land preparation should meet the standard of “level ground, fine soil, sufficient soil moisture and neat edges.” Build ridges and lay film. The ridge surface is 65 cm wide, the ditch is 50 cm wide and the ditch is 25 cm deep, and the height difference must not exceed 5 cm. Film-laying quality requirements: straight and even rows, flat film surface, good light exposure and tight soil covering.

3. Sow early at the right time

Sow when the soil temperature at 5 cm under the film steadily passes above 15°C. Make holes by hand and sow the seeds. Requirements: sowing depth 1.5-2.0 cm, soil covering thickness 1.0-1.5 cm, no fewer than 10 seeds per hole, and an empty-hole rate of no more than 2%. Use a 1:2:1 seedling-thinning ratio, and leaving 10000-12000 plants per mu is suitable.

4. Strengthen field management

Chili peppers like warmth, fertilizer and water, but at the same time they cannot tolerate high temperatures, cannot tolerate concentrated fertilizer and are most averse to waterlogging. Based on these characteristics, careful field management is required: promote root growth and seedling development in the early stage, promote seedling growth and fruit set in the middle stage, and protect the seedlings to increase income in the late stage.

(1) Fertilizer management: in the large-seedling stage, apply organic fertilizer once together with watering; at this stage, focus on promoting growth and restrain the seedlings appropriately; during full bloom, apply less nitrogen fertilizer to avoid excessive vegetative growth causing flower drop; when the first pepper has grown to a certain size and the pepper plants have entered the stage where vegetative growth and reproductive growth proceed together, combine seedling restraint with fertilizer and water; during the full fruit stage, topdress and water in time (apply 15-18 kg diammonium phosphate, 10-15 kg urea and 2-3 kg potassium fertilizer per mu, with a total fertilizer input of 40-45 kg per mu).

When topdressing, pay attention to three points: first, grasp “early” and topdress before the pepper-flowering stage arrives; second, avoid damaging the roots; third, prevent loss of fertilizer effectiveness, and after topdressing, seal the fertilizer tightly with soil in time.

(2) Water management: the first watering is generally carried out in early June, and the second watering should follow closely after the first. Before ridge closure, earth up to protect the roots and prevent lodging. After entering the peak stage of flowering and pepper setting, keep the soil moist frequently to promote plant growth and protect the fruit, and prevent excessive plant growth and premature aging. To lower the node position of fruit-bearing branches, the fourth watering can be appropriately delayed. Irrigate 5-6 times during the whole growth period. After the fruit turns red and ripe, control watering to promote red ripening of the fruit, and avoid the plants staying green too long, which lowers yield.

(3) Prevent flower drop, fruit drop and leaf drop: the “three drops” are an important problem in goat horn pepper production and have a huge impact on yield. The fundamental measures to prevent the “three drops” are to cultivate strong seedlings, strengthen fertilizer and water management, and enhance plant resistance. Especially in summer high temperatures, topdress, irrigate and drain waterlogging in time. During management, management techniques centered on “promoting roots, protecting roots, growing roots and strengthening roots” must be adopted. For flower drop caused by excessively high or low temperatures, spraying flowers with 20-30 mg/kg p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (PCPA) at the flowering stage can have a certain effect.

5. Pest and disease control

(1) Agricultural control: choose disease-resistant varieties; carry out rational crop rotation; change flat cultivation to ridge cultivation; cultivate strong seedlings; do a good job of spring plowing, summer weed control, autumn garden cleanup and winter irrigation; and carry out careful field management.

(2) Chemical control: for viral disease, use 30 g/mu fenvalerate or 100 g/mu monocrotophos, and at the same time spray with 1.5% plant virus inhibitor emulsifiable concentrate at 1:500 or 20% virus A at 1:500 for control, spraying once every 7-10 days for 2-3 consecutive sprays; adding a highly toxic passivator gives better results. For Phytophthora disease, use 72% metalaxyl-mancozeb or 70% thiophanate-methyl at 1:600, 30 kg of liquid per mu, spraying once every 7 days for 2-3 consecutive sprays. Pests are mainly aphids, tobacco budworms and diamondback moths, which can be controlled with 1000-2000 times liquid of imidacloprid or pyrethroid high-efficiency insecticides. Note to rotate and alternate the pesticides.

6. Harvest

Harvest when the fruit is fully red and ripe and the red fruit rate reaches 90%. Stop watering 1 week before harvest. Avoid harvesting white-skinned or flowering fruit, and avoid squeezing the peppers and damaging the waxy layer on the skin.