Green Chili Cultivation

Green chili is one of the top farmed spice that is found as an ingredient in some of the food products like  chili souse, spices, medicines, etc. Green chili is farmed across the world mainly in south and north America, Asia and some Africa regions. Green chili has got a scientific name “Capsicum annuum” and offer nutritional, healthy and also financial benefits. By reading this article you can learn some important factors and procedures one for successful cultivation of green chili. 

The health benefits of chilli

Chillies are one of the most popular spice in Asian countries which contains vitamin B6. Chilli is a rich source of potassium, copper, iron and carbohydrates. So by adding chili to your diet, you can get the following health benefits.

•       Protects cells from damaging due to their strong antioxidant properties.
•          Facilitates respiratory function.
•          Boost the immunity
•          Improves vision
•          Supports digestion.

Healthy Green Chili Field

Land preparation and environmental conditions

Chilies do prefer areas that are warmer and with adequate supply or access to water. The optimal field capacity of moisture content must be 60%. The fields should not lead to water logging because chili plants do not grow well in water logging areas since it may lead to many issues.

Regarding the alkalinity of the soil, it is recommended to maintain the pH scale range between 6-7. Also Optimum temperatures range  for chili cultivation is between 20°C - 27°C. In colder environments where the temperature is below 10°C, there is a tendency of ceasing to grow. Temperatures higher than 30C enhances the crops metabolic reactions and  therefore it may causes  flower abortion.

If the land is too dry, pre-irrigation is needed for the soil in order to form a fine moisturized soil which is important for the plantation and growth. The planting season is throughout the year. Therefore farmers from different regions have their own schedules depending on their weather patterns. Ridging the land is advisable to avoid water logging and normal spacing is 45cm between and for walkways, about 50cm  gaps are maintained.  

Farmers can use drip irrigation system or a sprinkler system to use water in efficient way, specially in dry areas. 

Chili Cultivation in a Coconut State

Fertilisation

Same as other plantations, chili crops need nutrients to healthily grow and produce better yield. Nitrogen compound of 180kg per hectare can adequately provide the solution to plants. Also phosphorus 180kg per hectare and potassium 200kg per  hectare are recommended.

Ammonium nitrate to be applied at the initial stage to germinating plants. Alternately some farmers apply potassium sulphate fertilizer to ensure the plant health and to boost up the flowering of the plants.

Pests, insects and treatment

Chili plants can easily expose to diseases and pests attacks. Therefore it is important to know about different diseases, pests and insects that affect to the chili plantation. 

you can use home made organic insecticides to control insects. however, following table will give an idea on insects and pests that attack to the chili plants and recommended treatments or chemicals for each problem.

Insects /pests	Area of attack	Chemicals/ treatment
Thrips	Causes leaf curling & drooping of premature flowers	Crop rotation, weed control, seed treatment with imidacloprid 70% @ 10 to 15 gm/kg of seeds. Also, give phorate 10% G @ 12 kg/ha to control effectively, Use insecticidal soap
Mealybug	Leaves start falling off, mainly spread due to aphids & thrips	Control Thrips & Aphids.
Aphids	Attack leaves mostly.	Dimethoate, Orthene
Bollworms.	Bores the fruits, causes premature ripening	Dimethoate, Thionex, Orthene
Cutworms	Eat the stems starting from the roots	Orthene, Tamaron, Karate

Green Chili Cultivation 2