Biodiversity-based prevention and control technology for sweet pepper pests and diseases
In sweet pepper cultivation, some vegetable growers have insufficient knowledge of pests and diseases and use unreasonable planting methods, resulting in relatively severe pest and disease occurrences. The long-term use of unreasonable plant protection and control techniques has caused the ecological environment to deteriorate progressively, increasing the likelihood of major pest and disease outbreaks. The biodiversity-based prevention and control technology for sweet pepper pests and diseases involves intercropping sweet pepper with crops such as corn, peanut and facing heaven pepper (Capsicum annuum), and introducing a new cultivation model (ridge cultivation), to achieve the goal of high-quality, high-yield and pollution-free production.
The principle of biodiversity-based prevention and control technology for sweet pepper pests and diseases: intercropping changes the spatial distribution of compatible hosts, thereby affecting the spread and infection of diseases (dilution effect); differences in plant height among different crops during growth and maturity create an undulating surface in intercropped fields that is unfavorable to disease occurrence (barrier effect); increases in beneficial microorganisms and protozoa in intercropped soil suppress harmful pathogens (antagonistic or predatory effects). In addition, when sweet pepper is intercropped with different crops, the other crops promote the growth of sweet pepper, which can improve the nutrient utilization rate of pepper leaves and enhance disease resistance.
Technical key points：
(1) Sweet pepper-peanut intercropping model. Sweet pepper is grown on ridges and transplanted as seedlings. Large ridges with double rows, ridge width 50 cm, ridge height 20 cm, furrow width 30 cm, sweet pepper row spacing 40 cm and plant spacing 40 cm. Peanut is not grown on ridges, peanut row spacing 20 cm and plant spacing 20 cm, and the spacing between sweet pepper rows and peanut rows is 25 cm. 8 large double-row ridges (16 rows of sweet pepper in total) are intercropped with 5 rows of peanut.
(2) Sweet pepper-corn intercropping model. Sweet pepper is grown on ridges and transplanted as seedlings. Large ridges with double rows, ridge width 50 cm, ridge height 20 cm, furrow width 30 cm, sweet pepper row spacing 40 cm and plant spacing 40 cm. Corn is not grown on ridges, corn row spacing 50 cm and plant spacing 50 cm; the spacing between sweet pepper rows and corn rows is 24 cm. 5 large double-row ridges of sweet pepper (10 rows of sweet pepper in total) are intercropped with 2 rows of corn.
(3) Sweet pepper-garlic intercropping model. Sweet pepper is grown on ridges and transplanted as seedlings. Large ridges with double rows, ridge width 50 cm, ridge height 20 cm, furrow width 50 cm, sweet pepper row spacing 40 cm and plant spacing 40 cm. 3 rows of garlic are planted in the middle of the furrow, garlic row spacing 15 cm and plant spacing 8 cm; the spacing between sweet pepper rows and garlic rows is 15 cm. 1 large double-row ridge of sweet pepper (2 rows of sweet pepper in total) is intercropped with 3 rows of garlic.
(4) Sweet pepper-facing heaven pepper mixed planting model. Sweet pepper and facing heaven pepper are grown on ridges and transplanted as seedlings. Large ridges with double rows, ridge width 50 cm, ridge height 20 cm, furrow width 30 cm, sweet pepper and facing heaven pepper row spacing 40 cm and plant spacing 40 cm. 5 large double-row ridges of sweet pepper (10 rows of sweet pepper in total) are intercropped with 1 large ridge of facing heaven pepper (2 rows of facing heaven pepper in total).