Growing peppers in a hydroponics system

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.

Greenhouse 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 choose the right cultivars; some cultivars have long internodes and can be grown for a period of six months because of the high growing habit. Fruit sizes differ between the cultivars. There are six different fruit colours available and can be used in different combinations for packaging purposes. Remember that all the fruits of different cultivars are green during the young stage and will colour usually at 2-3 weeks later than the fully developed green fruits. Because of that, coloured peppers are more expensive than the green ones.

SEEDLING TRANSPLANT

Transplant the seedling into 10 liter bags as the root system is fairly small and does not need a lot of growing space. The growing media should be wetted for 24 hour before the plants are set onto the media. It is also important to ensure that the media is at 20°C for the entire growing season. For the first week in the greenhouse the day/ night temperature should be maintained at a constant 20-21°C and target a relative humidity of 70-80 %.

TRELLISING AND PRUNING

Pepper plants are indeterminate; that is, they continually grow new stems and leaves. For this reason the plants have to be pruned and trained on a regular basis in order to ensure a balanced growth for maximum fruit production. Pepper plants are managed with

selection of greenhouse pepper cultivars depends on colour, disease resistance, performance and yield. it is important to choose the right cultivars; some cultivars have long internodes and can be grown for a period of six months because of the high growing habit. Fruit sizes differ between the cultivars. 11

GREENHoUSES I SHaDE NET I HYDRoPoNICS I aQUaPoNICS

GRoWING PEPPERS IN a HYDRoPoNICS SYSTEM 10

two main stems per plant, resulting in a density of 6 stems /m2 from an initial planting density of 2.5 to 3 plants/ m2 . Most of the producers select the two strongest stems and tie them separately to the horizontal cable (in V-shape). Remove all additional side shoots as soon as they developed. When using three stems the fruit sizes may decline. As the plants develops and grow taller, twist the main stems around the vertical string. The vertical strings are to support the plants and to keep them upright. Three to four flowers are removed at the bottom of the plant stems therefore giving the roots a chance to develop as the first fruits take up a lot of energy. Under developed and malformed fruits that are squeezed between the stems should be removed as soon as they appear.

IRRIGATION

Pepper plants can take up to 3.5 to 4.0 liters of water a day during the summer. Night watering may be considered during summer.

HARVESTING AND GRADING

It takes between 7 and 9 weeks from fruit set to harvest, taking longer during the low light periods of the year. The plant is harvested at 85-90 % colour and a disinfected, sharp knife is used to make clean cuts on the peduncle (fruit stem). Care must be taken not to cut into an adjacent fruit or stem. Fruit are graded according to size and the larger sized peppers usually obtain a higher price. The size potential of pepper fruit is determined by the cultivar, but the management of the crop determines whether or not the maximum size potential is met for the maximum number of fruit picked. Source: GDAC

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