How to grow pepper well? A detailed guide to the latest cultivation techniques
In recent years the market for pepper has been very good. Although it is only used as a seasoning, it can be used in many ways. Adding a little pepper powder, pepper sauce or pepper oil to many dishes makes them even more delicious, and now pepper is available in an increasingly wide range of forms on the market and is also loved by a large number of food lovers. So today let us learn how pepper is grown, and what should be done to grow it better? Let us take a look below.
1. Choosing and preparing the land
For pepper cultivation we need to choose land twice: the first time is the seedbed land, and the second time is the planting land. For the seedbed land we should choose level ground with relatively little wind, sufficient water, good drainage and irrigation, and sufficient soil fertility; while the planting land only needs soil with good drainage and relatively sufficient fertility. The soil of the seedbed land should be broken up finely, and at the same time stones and other materials in the soil should be cleared out, then an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer or plant ash should be spread on, and finally drainage ditches should be opened. As for preparing the planting land, either full reclamation or hole reclamation can be used for planting, but note that the planting land had better have a certain slope, and drainage ditches should be made properly, which makes drainage convenient.
2. Scientific sowing
There are mainly two ways to sow pepper: cutting propagation and seed raising. Seed raising has a longer growth cycle, while cutting propagation has a relatively faster growth cycle. Seed raising mainly means evenly scattering the seeds on the prepared seedbed, watering an appropriate amount, and then covering with film to force the seedlings; while cutting propagation can be done directly in the planting land, but if conditions allow, it is still best to first raise seedlings in the seedbed and then transplant them. For pepper seeds, plump, glossy, pest-free superior seeds should be chosen for planting, while for cutting propagation only undamaged seedlings about twenty cm long are needed for cuttings.
3. Reasonable close planting
When the pepper seedlings grow to about forty cm, we can transplant them. When transplanting, we should keep as much of the seedbed soil on the seedlings as possible. When digging up the seedlings, be very careful not to damage the roots of the pepper seedlings, as this will lower their survival rate. Finally, plant them at a spacing of three meters between rows and about two meters between plants. After planting, water promptly to ensure the survival rate of the pepper seedlings.
4. Field management
About ten to fifteen days after planting, we fertilize reasonably at a rate of thirty jin per plant, pull out the weeds in the field, and do this together with intertillage. This can improve the permeability of the soil, thereby promoting the absorption of nutrients and the growth of the pepper seedlings. Pepper is a perennial plant, so its field management needs to be carried out according to the specific growth conditions and growth cycle. For example, a three-year-old pepper tree mainly needs potassium fertilizer and phosphorus fertilizer during the fruiting period, along with an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer; while for pepper trees after five years, more attention should be paid to winter maintenance fertilizer.
5. Pruning and shaping
The branches and leaves of the pepper tree grow and develop quickly, so during its growth we need to carry out reasonable pruning and shaping. First, during the growing period of the pepper, we need to prune away the impurities at the bottom cleanly. When it grows to a certain height, cut off the tip branches and leaves so that it grows horizontally as much as possible. When it reaches the fruiting period, in order to increase pepper yield, we need to prune the relatively dense branches and leaves according to the principle of keeping the large and removing the small, and keeping the strong and removing the weak. After the pepper is harvested, we need to cut off the diseased branches, insect-damaged branches and weak branches of the pepper tree, so as to ensure next year's yield.