Capsicum (Sweet pepper / Bell pepper)
Capsicum annuum ; Solanaceae

Varieties Arka Basant, Arka Gaurav, Arka Mohini, Green Gold, Bharath. Soil Well drained loamy soil rich in organic matter. Season of sowing September - February Seed rate Varieties : 1.25 kg/ha Hybrids : 200 g / ha

Nursery : 3 cents /ha
Treat the seeds with of Carbendazim @ 2 g /kg of seed and sow in lines across the bed at a spacing of 2.5 cm and then cover with top soil and then paddy straw. Watering with rose can has to be done daily. On 20th day of sowing, 300g of carbofuran 3G granules have to be applied in between the seedling lines across the bed, the soil has to be stirred and then the beds are irrigated.

Protected nursery

• Prepare the nursery area of 3 cents with slanting slope of 2 % for the seedling production to cover 1 ha.
• Cover the nursery area with 50 % shade net and cover the sides using 40/50 mesh insect proof nylon net.
• Form raised beds of 1 m width and convenient length and place HDPV pipes at 2m interval for further protection with polythene sheets during rainy months.
• Mix sterilized cocopeat @ 300 kg with 5 kg neem cake along with Azospirillum and phosphobacteria each @ 1 kg. Approximately 1.2 kg of cocopeat is required for filling one protray. 238 protrays (98 cells) are required for the production of 23,334 seedlings, which are required for one hectare adopting a spacing of 90 x 60 x 60 cm in a paired row system.
• Sow the treated seed in protrays @ 1 seed per cell.
• Cover the seed with cocopeat and keep the trays one above the other and cover with a polythene sheet till germination starts.
• After 6 days, place the protrays with germinated seeds individually on the raised beds inside the shade net.
• Water with rose-can everyday and drench with 19:19:19 @ 0.5% (5g/l) at 18 days after sowing.

Preparation of field
Plough the field to a fine tilth. Form ridges and furrows 45 or 60 cm apart. Transplant 40-45 days old seedlings at 30 cm spacing.

Irrigation
Irrigation at weekly or 10 days interval.

Layout and planting for drip irrigation and fertigation

• Apply FYM @ 25 t / ha as basal before last ploughing.
• Apply 2 kg/ha of Azospirillum and 2 kg/ha of Phosphobacteria by mixing with 20 kg of FYM.
• Apply 75 % total recommended dose of super phosphate ie 703 kg / ha as basal.
• Install the drip irrigation with main and sub main pipes and place lateral tubes at an interval of 1.5 m.
• Place the drippers in lateral tubes at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with 4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.
• Form raised beds of 120 cm width at an interval of 30 cm and place the laterals at the centre of the each bed.
• Before planting, wet the beds using drip system for 8-12 hrs.
• Planting to be done at a spacing of 90 x 60 x 60 cm in the paired row system, using ropes marked at 60 cm spacing.
• Spray Pendimethalin 1.0 kg a.i. /ha or Fluchloralin 1.0 kg a.i/ha as pre-emergence herbicide at 3rd day after planting.
• Gap filling to be done at 7th day after transplanting.

Application of fertilizers
Apply FYM 25 t/ha and NPK 40:60:30 kg /ha as basal and 40 kg N/ha each on 30, 60 and 90 days of planting as top dressing.

Fertigation schedule for capsicum F1 Hybrid
Recommended dose: 250:150:150 kg / ha

75% RD of Phosphorous applied as super phosphate = 703 kg / ha
1. 19:19:19 = 79 kg /ha
2. 13:0:45 = 300 kg /ha
3. 12:61:0 = 37 kg /ha
4 Urea = 416 kg /ha

Weed control
On 30th day, hoeing and weeding has to be done once and the plants are earthed up.

Growth regulator
Spray 1.25 ppm Triacontanol (12.5 mg /10 l of water) on 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th day after transplanting. Spray NAA 10 ppm (10 mg/l of water) on 60 and 90 days after planting.

Diseases

Powdery mildew: Spray wettable sulphur @ 2g /l

Dieback and fruit rot: Spray Mancozeb @ 2g /l

Harvest and yield
Harvest fully matured green fruits before ripening. Yield: 15 tonnes/ha in 150-160 days.