High-yield Cultivation Techniques for Line Pepper Hong'an No. 6 and Mexican Iron Pepper

I. Line Pepper Hong'an No. 6

1. Growth Characteristics

This variety is a short-statured self-topping type, with a plant height of about 60 cm and a plant spread of 20-30 cm. It has strong lateral branching ability. The first flower is borne at the 12th-13th node. It sets fruit in a concentrated manner with strong fruit-setting ability. The fruits are mostly clustered, with a fruit length of 15-17 cm and a fruit diameter of about 1.4 cm. Each plant sets 30-40 fruits. The surface fruit is green and straight, and the mature fruit is dark red, easy to sun-dry, with a high rate of marketable fruit.

This variety is early-maturing, with a growth period of about 140 days, which is 15-20 days earlier in red maturity than Line Pepper 8819 and 2001. Through trial planting, this variety has strong adaptability and shows strong resistance to viruses and Phytophthora blight in production. The seedlings are relatively weak in the early stage, but after entering the flowering and fruit-setting stage, they grow rapidly, set fruit in a concentrated manner, and the fruits expand quickly with strong stress resistance. Per 667 sq m, the yield of dried peppers is over 350-450 kg.

2. Cultivation Techniques

① Soil selection and sowing requirements: Select level land with deep soil layers and good permeability, loam soil, avoiding sugar beet and Solanaceae crop rotation. Land preparation quality should meet the six-character standard of neat, level, loose, crumbly, clean, and moist. There should be no residual branches, residual film, or debris in the field. Prepare the land at suitable moisture without losing moisture. When the ground temperature under the film at 5 cm is stable at 15°C, sowing can begin. For manual sowing, the hole depth should be 2-2.5 cm, hole diameter 4 cm, with 8-10 seeds per hole, and soil coverage thickness of 1.5-2 cm. Use mechanical ditching, film laying, and hole sowing combined operations, requiring uniform seeding, with an empty hole rate of less than 2%, and a seeding rate of 650-700 g per 667 sq m. Sow early at the appropriate time, with the latest sowing date not exceeding April 5. For seed fertilizer, combined with ditching, apply 10 kg of triple superphosphate, 7 kg of diammonium phosphate, 2-3 kg of potassium sulfate, and 1.5-2 kg of zinc sulfate per 667 sq m. Mix evenly and apply 5-7 cm from the seed band at a depth of 8-10 cm.

② Field management: After pepper seedlings emerge, promptly check seedlings, reseed, and transplant seedlings to ensure full stands. When two true leaves appear, thin seedlings promptly, leaving 3-4 plants per hole. When 4-5 true leaves appear, finish final thinning. While final thinning, enlarge the film holes and earth up around the seedling roots. Apply pesticide control once before final thinning. Keep seedlings in a 1-2-1 or 2-1-2 pattern. Plant spacing configuration: furrow center distance 110 cm, plant spacing 9 cm, theoretical plant number per 667 sq m about 20,000 plants. According to land conditions, carry out timely intertillage after sowing, with no fewer than 3 intertillages throughout the period, with a depth of over 28 cm, achieving early intertillage, deep intertillage, and frequent intertillage. Film removal should be done between the 2nd and 3rd irrigation when plants are flowering. Before film removal, irrigate and apply pesticide control once to prevent disease caused by human damage to branches and leaves during film removal or by loss of moisture after film removal causing impaired branch and leaf function. You can choose 70% mancozeb 700x solution plus potassium dihydrogen phosphate or high-efficiency active compound micro-fertilizer for spraying. After film removal, irrigate promptly, and use 58% metalaxyl-mancozeb 500x solution plus micro-fertilizer for another spraying to prevent premature aging of plants. At the same time, earth up around the plant roots again to promote root development and strengthen roots.

③ Fertilizer and water management: Determine the total fertilizer application amount for the whole period based on the target yield of the field, that is, 17-20 kg of natural fertilizer per 100 kg of dried pepper, with a nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio of 1:0.8-0.9:0.5. For ridge-planted peppers, combined with winter plowing, apply 15 kg of urea and 10 kg of triple superphosphate per 667 sq m as base fertilizer. For seed fertilizer, combined with ditching, apply 10 kg of triple superphosphate, 3 kg of potassium sulfate per 667 sq m, and additionally apply 1.5 kg of zinc sulfate. The remaining 11.1 kg of urea and 6.1 kg of potassium sulfate are used as topdressing. Respectively, at the 3rd intertillage, apply 6 kg of urea, 2 kg of diammonium phosphate, and 7 kg of potassium sulfate per 667 sq m. When the pepper fruit diameter is 1 cm, apply 5.1 kg of urea and 4 kg of potassium sulfate per 667 sq m. For drip-irrigated peppers, combined with autumn base fertilizer application, apply 15 kg of urea and 10 kg of triple superphosphate per 667 sq m. The remaining urea is used as topdressing applied with drip irrigation. Triple superphosphate and potassium sulfate are applied as seed fertilizer and during intertillage. At the same time, foliar topdressing can be carried out. You can choose Pepper King, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and high-efficiency active compound micro-fertilizer used alternately, spraying once every 10-15 days. When entering the flowering stage, you can choose flower and fruit preservation regulators for spraying, mix pesticides reasonably, and spray in the afternoon, avoiding high temperatures. Irrigation management should be determined according to soil moisture. The first irrigation is in mid-May, the 2nd in early June, the 3rd in late June before flowering, the 4th in early July during fruit expansion, the 5th in early August, and the 6th in mid-to-late August. Use small water immersion irrigation, strictly prohibit large water flooding irrigation. Generally, the irrigation furrow depth of 80% is appropriate. In the mid-to-late period, irrigation should maintain field moisture, avoiding alternating drought and wetness.

For drip-irrigated fields, the drip timing should be determined throughout the period according to plant growth, climate, and soil conditions, and soil moisture and plant root systems should be investigated to determine drip timing and irrigation amount. Drip irrigation is applied 12-14 times throughout the period, with an interval of about 10-12 days.

④ Pest and disease control: First treat seeds. Generally, soak seeds in 0.1% potassium permanganate or 10% sodium phosphate solution for 15-20 minutes, remove, rinse clean with water, and wait for sowing. Hong'an No. 6 has strong resistance to pests and diseases. If the soil is compacted during the seedling stage, low temperatures can easily cause damping-off disease. Frequent and early intertillage can alleviate it; or spray with damping-off net, potassium permanganate 1000x solution, or 1% calcium superphosphate extract to improve resistance. The main pests are aphids, cutworms, and tobacco budworms. You can choose aphid-mite net or pyrethroid high-efficiency insecticides at 1000-2000x solution for control; or use measures such as planting corn trap strips and yellow board trapping for control.

⑤ Harvest: In late September, cut down the line peppers with stalks, sun-dry for about 7 days for after-ripening, and pick manually. After picking, transport the fruit peppers to the drying yard for sun-drying, then grade and bag them.

II. Mexican Iron Pepper

1. Growth Characteristics

It is a medium-maturing variety with robust plant growth and strong fruit-setting ability. The fruit is long goat-horn shaped, with a smooth surface and thick skin. The fruit skin is dark red, with a fruit length of 15-20 cm and a fruit diameter of about 5-6 cm. The dried pepper weight is 8-9 g, with 10-12 marketable fruits per plant, and a yield of 350-450 kg per 667 sq m.

2. Cultivation Techniques

① Soil selection: Iron pepper has strong growth vigor, large growth volume, and high economic benefits, so it has relatively high land requirements. You should choose level, fertile loam and sandy soil with low salt content. The previous crop should preferably be wheat or seed melon. Avoid continuous cropping, successive cropping, or previous Solanaceae crops. The field should have good shelterbelts around it. Combined with the previous year's winter plowing, carry out full-layer fertilization. Land preparation quality should meet the six-character standard of neat, level, loose, crumbly, clean, and moist. The edges and corners should be neat and straight, and there should be no residual branches, residual film, or other debris in the field.

② Planting method: Use ridge planting, with a furrow center distance of 1.2 m and plant spacing of 24 cm. When the surface thaws 20-25 cm, promptly ditch and lay film. When the 5 cm ground temperature is 15°C, sow promptly. Sowing depth is 1.5-2 cm, with uniform seeding, 4-6 seeds per hole, and a seeding rate of 200-250 g per 667 sq m. Use single-plant seedling retention, with a theoretical plant number of 4,600 plants per 667 sq m.

③ Field management: After pepper seedlings emerge, carry out timely early intertillage, deep intertillage, and frequent intertillage. When two true leaves appear, thin seedlings promptly, leaving 3-4 plants per hole. When 4-5 true leaves appear, finish final thinning. While final thinning, earth up around the seedling roots. The total fertilizer application throughout the growth period is 75-80 kg, with a nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio of 1:0.9:0.5. Generally, fertilizer demand is low at the seedling stage, so seedlings should be properly hardened.

During the full flowering stage, apply less nitrogen fertilizer to avoid excessive vegetative growth causing flower drop. When pepper plants enter the stage of simultaneous vegetative and reproductive growth, topdress promptly, and according to plant growth, spray foliar micro-fertilizer or spray flower and fruit preservation regulators. Iron pepper has relatively high irrigation requirements. You should use small water immersion irrigation, small amounts and multiple times, avoid irrigating during high-temperature weather, avoid water flooding the root crown, and prevent water accumulation. In the mid-to-late period, irrigation should maintain field moisture, avoiding alternating drought and wetness, which can cause blossom-end rot. Foliar micro-fertilizer should mainly be potassium dihydrogen phosphate, reducing urea usage, and properly adjusting the nitrogen-phosphorus ratio. In the late fruit maturation stage, control irrigation to promote fruit maturation and avoid plants remaining green, which reduces the yield of red-ripe fruits. Before ridge closing, earth up around the root crown to prevent lodging. For drip irrigation fertilization, grasp the principle of less in the early stage (seedling to flowering stage), higher in the middle (fruit stage), and supplementary later (maturation stage), shaping an ideal high-yield framework.

④ Chemical regulation measures: Requirements are to grasp the principles of early, frequent, and light. In early June, when plants have 6-8 leaves and a plant height of 18-20 cm, use 50-80 g of chlormequat and 2-3 g of mepiquat chloride for the 1st chemical regulation. The 2nd chemical regulation is carried out when the first pepper buds appear but have not yet flowered, around June 20-25, using 100-130 g of chlormequat and 5-8 g of mepiquat chloride, with an interval of 10-15 days from the 1st. The 3rd chemical regulation is in early July, mainly targeting the Starry Sky node position, using 100-150 g of chlormequat and 5-8 g of mepiquat chloride. 10-15 days before harvesting Iron pepper, spray with 200-1000 mL/L ethephon to promote green fruits turning red and allow earlier harvest.

⑤ Pest and disease control: The main pests and diseases harming Iron pepper include viral disease, blossom-end rot, sunscald, aphids, and cutworms.

Viral disease: Soak seeds in 10% trisodium phosphate or potassium permanganate solution for 30 minutes, then rinse clean with water before sowing. During the seedling stage, spray potassium permanganate 1000x solution or 1% calcium superphosphate extract to improve resistance. During farming operations, prevent human transmission of the virus. In the early stage of disease occurrence, do a good job of early aphid control to prevent aphids from spreading the virus. Aphid control agents include 50% pirimicarb 2500x solution, 10% imidacloprid wettable powder 5000x solution, and 2.5% deltamethrin 3000x solution. Use the yellow-tropism habit of aphids for yellow board trapping, which can achieve aphid elimination and disease prevention effects.

Phytophthora blight: Choose high-quality, high-yield, disease-resistant varieties. First pre-soak seeds in clean water for 10 hours, then soak in 1% copper sulfate solution for 5 minutes. You can also soak seeds in 20% tolclofos-methyl EC 1000x solution for 12 hours, remove, rinse, and sow. Implement crop rotation. Diseased fields should not be continuously cropped with cucurbit or Solanaceae vegetables. You can choose 58% metalaxyl-mancozeb 700x solution, 64% oxadixyl-mancozeb wettable powder 500x solution, and 72.2% propamocarb aqueous solution 600x solution used alternately, focusing on controlling central plants.

Blossom-end rot: Prevent drought, irrigate promptly, and maintain certain soil moisture. Spray calcium supplements on leaves from seedling stage to fruit stage. Choose Golden Calcium 500-800x solution, Calbok 1000-1200x solution, 0.2%-0.3% calcium chloride solution, and 1% calcium superphosphate solution, spraying once every 10 days for 3-4 consecutive sprays.

Sunscald: Prevent leaf drop caused by field pests and diseases, reduce exposure of green fruits, irrigate promptly, preserve moisture, and prevent leaf wilting.

Cutworms: Choose 2.5% trichlorfon powder. Use 1.5-2 kg of powder per 667 sq m, add 10 kg of fine soil to make poisonous soil, mix evenly, and scatter around plants. During the seedling stage, you can choose deltamethrin or fenvalerate 3000x solution, or 90% trichlorfon crystal 1000x solution. When the insect age is larger, choose 80% dichlorvos or 48% chlorpyrifos 1000x solution for root irrigation.

⑥ Picking and sun-drying: Pick all at once when the fruits are fully red-ripe and the red fruit rate is above 90%. When harvesting, first cut down the plants with stalks, evenly place them on the beds, sun-dry for about 7 days, then pick manually. Avoid squeezing the peppers and damaging the waxy layer. Strictly prohibit using sharp tools for loading, unloading, or turning. The spread thickness for sun-drying should not be too thick, and turn frequently. After reaching the sun-drying standard, cover and allow moisture to return, then grade and bag.