Introduction to the cultivation methods and technical key points of pepper

Climate and soil: It prefers a high-temperature, humid, wind-sheltered environment. It can grow normally and flower and fruit in places with an annual average temperature of 19.5-26°C. It grows fastest at 24-28°C, stops growing at 15°C, and suffers severe cold damage at around 2°C. An annual rainfall of 1500-2000 mm with even distribution is suitable. Too much rain or overly concentrated rainfall can cause outbreaks of wilt disease and water damage. It is best to choose a well-structured, easily drained, deep, relatively fertile, slightly acidic or neutral sandy loam for planting.

Land preparation: Choose a wind-sheltered, flat location, clear and deep plow the entire area, make the nursery land into flat beds, and in the main field dig holes 40-60 cm deep at a spacing of 2 m, apply sufficient decomposed base fertilizer, then cover with 3-4 cm of soil and wait for planting.

Planting (1) Propagation methods: There are cutting propagation and seed propagation. Cutting propagation is mostly used in production. Select strong main vines from excellent 1-3 year old mother plants as seedlings, insert them into the seedbed by conventional methods, and generally after rooting in 20 days they can be lifted from the nursery and planted out. (2) Field planting: Carry out in spring and autumn. At the time of planting, stone pillars are also erected as climbing supports.

Field management (1) Pruning and shaping: Generally adopt the shaping method of retaining 4-6 vines and pruning the vines 4-5 times. (2) Tying vines, removing flowers, and removing leaves to promote robust plant growth. (3) Fertilization: For plants before fruiting, apply slow-release organic fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer in spring; during normal growth, apply water-soluble fertilizer frequently, and increase potassium fertilizer application in winter. For plants during fruiting, apply supplementary flower-promoting fertilizer at the bud stage, fruit-promoting fertilizer at the early stage of fruit growth, fruit-nourishing fertilizer during fruit development, and flower-promoting fertilizer after fruit harvest. (4) Reasonable irrigation and drainage, loosening soil, earthing up, and weeding.

Pest and disease control: In particular, pay attention to pepper wilt disease, bacterial leaf spot, mosaic disease, and root disease. Once found, control them with copper sulfate solution, Bordeaux mixture, and Dexon respectively. Common insect pests include scale insects, aphids, and nematodes, which can be controlled by spraying dimethoate, dichlorvos, malathion, and others.