Capsicum is also known as “Sweet pepper” or “bell pepper”. It is rich source of minerals and Vitamins A and C. Also it contained antioxidant that helps to fight against cancer. It is a perennial herbaceous plant which belongs to the family of Solanaceae. Punjab, Bangalore, Pune and Karnataka are the major areas growing capsicums in green houses. Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are the states which do small scale production of capsicums.

In India, near about 4790 hectare area is under capsicum cultivation. Pune, Nashik, Satara are major capsicum growing areas of Maharashtra.

It requires an ideal soil temperature between 18-35^oC.It is grown in all type of soils ranging from clayey to loamy soil. It can also withstand in acidic soil to some extent. It gives best result when grown under sandy loam soil having high fertility and good drainage system. It requires pH ranging from 6-7 is best for sweet potato cultivation.

California Wonder: It is a medium heighted variety with broad leaves and deep green color fruits. First harvesting is done after 75 days of sowing. It gives an average yield of 52-62qtl/acre.

Yellow Wonder: It is a medium height plant, broad leaves and deep green color fruits. The variety gets mature in 70 days. It gives an average yield of 50-58qtl/acre.

Bharat: Medium plant height, shiny green color fruits. The variety gets mature in 80 days and gives 52-80qtl/acre of yield.

Bomby (red color): It is an early maturing variety. This variety has tall and strong plant having good branching. It requires adequate shelter for fruit development. It contains dark green color fruits which become red at the time of maturity having an average weight of 130-150gm. It has longer shelf life and can be ideal for long distance transportation.

Orobelle (yellow color): It is grown in mainly cold climate. The fruits are almost square in shape having medium-thick wall. The fruits become yellow at the time of maturity having an average weight of 150gm. It is disease resistant variety which can be grown in open field and in greenhouses.

Indra (green): This variety has tall and bushy appearance. It has dark green color leaves having dense foliage. Fruits are dark green in color with an average weight of 170gm. Fruit development starts after 50-55 days of harvesting. It is ideal for long distance transportation and has longer shelf life.

Arka Mohini: Variety having big, dark green color and round fruits. Gives average yield of 80-100qtl/acre. 

Other state variety:

Chinese Giant, World Beater, Yolo Wonder Bharat, Arka Mohini, Arka Gaurav, Arka Basant, Early Giant. Bullnose, King of North, Ruby King, etc. are the important varieties of capsicum grown in India.

For capsicum plantation, fields should be well prepared. To bring the soil to fine tilth, five – six ploughings followed by planking’s must be done. At the time of land preparation FYM (Farm Yard Manure) or compost is mixed with the soil.

Time of sowing:

Optimum time for capsicum cultivation is August – September month.

Spacing:

Use row to row spacing of 60cm and plant to plant spacing of 45cm.

Sowing depth: 

Depth should be 2-4 cm.

Method of sowing:

• Low tunnel technology: This technology is used to produce early yield of capsicum in early summer. It helps to protect the crop from cold season i.e. in the month of December to mid-February. Beds of 2.5m width are sown in the month of December. Use row to row spacing of 130cm and line to line spacing of 30cm for seedling sowing. Before sowing supportive rods of 45-60cm length are fixed in the soil. Cover the field with plastic sheet (100 gauge thickness) with the help of support rods. Plastic sheet should be removed mainly in the month of February when temperature is suitable outside.
• Dibbling method

Seed rate:

For one acre land, seed rate of 1.2kg /acre is required.

Seed treatment: 

Soak the seeds in Thiram or Captan, Ceresan etc. @2gm/kg of seeds before sowing to prevent the crops from seed borne diseases.

Seeds are sown on raised beds and after sowing cover the nursery beds with thin layer of soil manure. Apply light irrigation after seed sowing. It will help in good and quick germination of seeds.

Transplanting is done when seedlings attain 4-5 leaves. Carry out transplantation in evening during cloudy weather. Apply water to the nursery beds before uprooting so that seedling can be easily uprooted.

 Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

At the time of land preparation, mixed FYM or well decomposed cowdung@60-80qtl/acre in the soil. Along with FYM, apply fertilizer dose of Nitrogen @60kg/acre in the form of Urea @130kg/acre, Phosphorus @60kg/acre in the form of super phosphate@375kg/acre and Potassium@80kg/acre in the form of Muriate of Potash@135kg/acre.

Full dose of Potassium, phosphorus and half dose of Nitrogen is mixed in rows just before transplanting and the rest of the nitrogen dose is given in two equal splits i.e. one month after transplanting and second after two months of transplanting.

Light irrigation is given immediately after seed sowing. Then next irrigation is given immediately after transplanting, and then later irrigation is given when requires. In arid and semi-arid regions irrigation is required at proper intervals. 

For good yield of crop, weeding must be done at proper intervals. Earthingup after 2-3 weeks of transplanting will help to remove weeds from the fields.

For weed control take spray with Pendimethalin@1.3Ltr/acre, by mixing in 200Ltr water within 1-2days of sowing at proper soil moisture.

First weeding is done after 30 days of transplanting then second weeding is done after 60 days of transplanting. 

• Diseases and their control:

Damping off: It is a fungal disease which affects the young seedlings. The symptoms are patches shown on the stem which ultimately shrivel and then die. They affect the whole crop within 4-5 days. The diseases mainly occur when crop is grown in poor drained soils.

Treatment: Spraying of Bordeaux mixture @0.5-1.0% or any copper oxychloride mixture such as Blitox or Fytolan will help to get rid of damping off.

Anthracnose: It is a fungal disease which affects the stem, leaves and fruits of the crop.  The symptoms are dark and round spots on fruits and black color minute spots are seen on the seeds. After some time the infected fruits will drop prematurely. The disease is mostly infected in high humidity.

Treatment: Seed treatment is must before sowing the seeds. Seeds are treated with Thiram @0.2% or Brassico @0.2% to prevent from anthracnose disease. If disease occurs then spray of Dithane(M-45) or Blitox @0.4% or Difoltan @0.2% is done at the interval of 15 days.

Powdery mildew: The disease mainly occurs in summers. The symptoms are white talcum powder like growth is seen on the leaf, stunted growth and leaves get shed.

Treatment: Spraying of Sulfex @0.2% or Tridemorph@0.2% is done at the interval of 15 days is done to get rid of powdery mildew.

Bacterial wilt: The symptoms are rapid growth of wilting on leaves as well as on fruits.

Treatment: Application of bleaching powder @15kg before will help to prevent bacterial wilt. Use of resistant varieties such as “Arka Gaurav” will help to prevent disease.

Leaf curl disease: The symptoms are leaf curling, blistering of interveinal areas and thickening of mid vein of leaves.

Treatment: The plants showing this should be uprooted to prevent further infection.

• Pests and their control:

Thrips: The symptoms are white blotches seen on leaves and stunted growth.

Treatment: Spraying of Malathion(Cythion 50 EC @1.5ml/ltr of water) or Dimethoate (Rogor 30 EC @ 2ml/ltr of water). The pest can also be controlled by spraying of Nicotine sulphate @0.25%.

Aphids: They destroy the plant by feeding themselves on cell sap of leaves.

Treatment: Application of Monocrotophos @0.05-0.01% or Demeton methyl @0.05-0.02% will help to get rid from aphids.

Mites: They are tiny spider like creatures which feed in leaves of capsicum.

Treatment: Spraying of cypermethrin 5 EC @3ml/ltr will help to control mites. Spraying of Dimethoate (Rogor @2ml/ltr) or Dicofol (Kelthane @1.5ml/ltr of water) is also effective to control mites.

Green fruits which are immature are ready for harvesting. Immature fruits are soft and crispy which is good for harvesting. Capsicum farming mainly gives an average yield of 40-50 qtl/acre.