greenhouses I shade net I hydroponics I aquaponics
Greenhouse peppers can be a challenging crop to grow. Once the plants establish a pattern of growth it can be different to manage them in another direction. For example, if the plants are strongly vegetative, it can take some time to direct the plants to be more generative and vice versa.
Growing peppers in a hydroponics system
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reenhouse pepper production is based on a full year cycle. The transplants go into the production greenhouse in approximately mid December. Pepper seeds germinate slowly, take 10-16 days and plants are ready to transplant at 6-7 weeks. The first pick of fruit begins in about late March, early April and continues to the following December. Plants also grow slowly from transplanting to harvest almost 80-90 days.
Spacing Use double rows spacing when planting in tunnels. In summer put 2.5 or 2 plants per square meter and in winter put 2.1 plants per square meter. Producers also claim that the higher the population of the plants the smaller the fruits; but then denser leaves protect the fruit better against sunburn. Cultivars Selection of greenhouse pepper cultivars depends on colour, disease resistance, performance and yield. It is important to
10 Undercover farming I
May/June 2021
I Volume 18 No 3
choose the right cultivars; some cultivars as the root system is fairly small and have long internodes and can be grown does not need a lot of growing space. for a period of six months because of The growing media should be wetted the high growing for 24 hour before the Selection of greenhouse habit. Fruit sizes plants are set onto the differ between the pepper cultivars depends on media. cultivars. It is also important to colour, disease resistance, There are six performance and yield. It is ensure that the media different fruit important to choose the right is at 20°C for the entire colours available growing season. For cultivars; some cultivars and can be used the first week in the have long internodes and in different greenhouse the day/ combinations night temperature can be grown for a period for packaging of six months because of the should be maintained purposes. at a constant 20-21°C high growing habit. Fruit Remember that and target a relative sizes differ between the all the fruits of humidity of 70-80 %. cultivars. different cultivars Trellising and are green during Pruning the young stage and will colour usually at 2-3 weeks later than the fully developed Pepper plants are indeterminate; that is, they continually grow new stems and green fruits. Because of that, coloured leaves. For this reason the plants have to peppers are more expensive than the be pruned and trained on a regular basis green ones. in order to ensure a balanced growth Seedling transplant for maximum fruit production. Pepper Transplant the seedling into 10 liter bags plants are managed with 11
