Description

Capsicum is a medium-sized member of the chili pepper family that has a mild, tangy taste. They typically change color from green to yellow, red, or orange as they ripen. Their culinary uses include pickling and stuffing.

Planting requirements

Planting season: Recommended seasons are April to May and November to December. However, it can be cultivated throughout the year under supplementary irrigation and also under rain shelters or greenhouses

Planting conditions:

Growing conditions:

Harvesting

First harvesting can be done 75 days after nursery sowing and at 5-7 day intervals. Practice harvesting in dry weather conditions.

Curing

Capsicum does not require a curing stage.

Storage

Capsicum should be kept in a cool environment. Properly stored in the fridge, they last about one week.

Protecting your plants

Pest control

Pest type:

• Leaf beetles
• Caterpillars
• White flies

Symptoms:

• Leaf beetles:
  Feeding Damage: Adult leaf beetles create small, irregular holes in the leaves, leading to a ragged appearance. Heavy infestations can result in wilting or stunted growth of the plants125.
  Fecal Matter: Infested leaves often have dark feces left by the beetles, indicating their presence

• Caterpillars:
  Leaf Damage: Caterpillars typically feed on the foliage, causing significant defoliation. They may also create holes in the leaves or consume entire leaves, leading to reduced photosynthesis and overall plant health34.
  Presence of Frass: Caterpillar droppings (frass) can often be found on or near infested plants, signaling their activity.

• White flies:
  Leaf Discoloration: Whiteflies cause yellowing of leaves due to their feeding habits. Infested plants may also exhibit stunted growth and leaf drop36.
  Honeydew Production: The excretion of honeydew by whiteflies can lead to sooty mold growth on leaves, further reducing photosynthesis and plant vigor.

Control method:

• Leaf beetles:
  Cultural Practices: Maintain good growing conditions to enhance plant vigor, making them more resilient to pest damage. This includes proper irrigation and soil management5.
  Weed Management: Keep the area around the plants free from weeds that may harbor beetles25.
  Insecticides: Use insecticidal soaps or pyrethrins for direct control of adult beetles

• Caterpillars:
  Handpicking: For smaller infestations, manually removing caterpillars can be effective.
  Biological Control: Introduce natural predators such as parasitic wasps or beneficial insects that feed on caterpillars.
  Insecticides: Apply targeted insecticides that are effective against caterpillars while minimizing harm to beneficial insects.

• White flies:
  Sticky Traps: Use yellow sticky traps to monitor and reduce whitefly populations.
  Natural Predators: Encourage beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings that prey on whiteflies.
  Insecticidal Soap or Oils: Apply these treatments to manage whitefly populations effectively without harming beneficial insects.

Disease Control

Disease type:

• Damping off (Fusarium spp., Pythium spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Sclerotium spp.)
• Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp)
• Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum)
• Leaf curl virus disease
• Leaf spot disease (Cercospora capsici.)
• Powdery mildew
• Choanephora blight

Symptoms:

• Damping off:
  • Seedlings may rot and die before they emerge from the soil or collapse after coming up, with soft, wet roots and dead plants scattered around.
• Anthracnose:
  • Leaves, stems, and flowers get discolored, flowers and pods fall, and small, round spots form on pods, leading to rot.
  • Severe cases cause plants to wither and die.
• Bacterial wilt:
  • Plants wilt in the heat, their leaves shred and fall, and they die quickly.
  • You can check for the disease by cutting a stem and seeing if it oozes bacteria in water.
• Leaf curl virus:
  • Leaves turn yellow with visible veins, the plant becomes stunted with small, curled leaves and small pods.
• Leaf spot disease:
  • Brown spots with yellow edges appear on leaves, which later turn yellow and drop.
  • It starts on older leaves and can spread to younger ones, especially in warm, humid conditions.
• Powdery mildew:
  • Pale yellow spots form on upper leaves.
  • Followed by white, powdery patches on the lower leaves that spread, causing the leaves to yellow and fall.
• Choanephora blight:
  • Dark spots appear on flowers and the tops of plants, spreading quickly and causing die-off and wet rot.
  • The infected areas turn grayish due to visible spores, and fruits often get infected near the calyx.

Management:

• Damping off:
  • Nurseries should be set up in well-drained areas where tomatoes, brinjals, and chillies haven’t been grown before.
  • Rotate crops with non-host plants, sterilize nursery beds (e.g., by burning or solarization)
  • Avoid overcrowding seeds (40g per 3m x 1m bed).
  • Remove and destroy diseased plants along with the surrounding soil.
• Anthracnose:
  • Use resistant plant varieties and healthy seeds.
  • Keep fields clean by destroying crop residues and removing diseased plant parts.
  • Rotate crops with non-host plants every 2-3 years, improve field drainage, and maintain proper plant spacing.
  • Apply beneficial organisms like Trichoderma spp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens.
• Bacterial wilt:
  • Rotate crops with non-host plants, use wilt-resistant varieties, and remove and destroy infected roots, weeds, and plants along with the surrounding soil.
  • Avoid using water from infected fields for healthy ones, and improve field drainage.
• Leaf curl virus:
  • Ensure timely cultivation, set up wind barriers like maize, and destroy alternative host plants such as weeds.
• Leaf spot disease:
  • Collect and destroy all infected leaves for proper field sanitation.
  • To reduce high humidity, use recommended plant spacing and ensure good drainage.
  • Apply the recommended amount of organic fertilizers.
• Powdery mildew:
  • Maintain field sanitation
  • Use resistant varieties
  • Ensure good air circulation with proper spacing and weed control
  • Apply Trichoderma spp. to support plant health.
• Choanephora blight:
  • Maintain the recommended plant spacing
  • Promptly remove and destroy diseased shoots when symptoms appear.

The diseased parts/plants should be removed and destroyed.

Sources

In addition to our General List of Sources (link), we used these specific references: