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Meet 4 Chilli Varieties Developed By Kerala Agricultural University
The chili varieties of Jwala Mukhi, Jwala Sakhi, Ujjwala, Anugraha, Vellayani Atulya and Vellayani Samridhi released by the Kerala Agricultural University are those suitable for monsoon cultivation.
Ujjwala Chilli Variety
Developed at Vellanikkara Horticultural College, can be grown in pots as an ornamental plant. It is non-contagious and is resistant to leaf-curling mosaic caused by a virus and bacterial wilt. It is ideal to cultivate them close to each other.
Anugraha Chilli Variety
Is a thick-skinned variety with a high yield and medium length. It is a medium breed resistant to bacterial wilt. Green chili can be harvested from 25 to 60 days after planting this variety.
Jwalamukhi Chilli Variety
Which is less in spice can resist bacterial wilt and spotted leaf disease to an extent. As it is less spicy, it is suitable to be used in curds.
Jwala Sakhi Chilli Variety
Is a short plant that is characterized by its high yield, sharp, shiny-ended fruit, thick skin and less spice.
Seed rate
The recommended seed rate is 1 kg/ha.
Chili peppers are typically transplanted crops, where seeds are initially sown in nurseries. After about a month, the seedlings are transplanted into the main field. To sow the seeds, raised seedbeds measuring 90 to 100 cm in width and of convenient length are prepared. These beds are enriched with well-decomposed organic matter. Sterilizing the soil by burning rice straw or other dry organic matter on the bed is a common practice. This not only helps in sterilization but also adds small amounts of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) to the soil, beneficial for the seedlings' growth.
After sowing the seeds, it's recommended to mulch with green leaves and irrigate using a rose can daily in the morning. The mulch should be removed immediately after the seeds germinate. Under optimal conditions, seedlings are usually ready for transplanting within 4-5 weeks after sowing. One week before transplanting, irrigation should be restricted, and on the previous day of transplanting, the field should be heavily irrigated. Alternatively, protray seedlings can also be used for transplanting.
Time of planting
For rainfed crops, it's advisable to transplant the seedlings during May-June, before the onset of the southwest monsoon. This timing allows the seedlings to establish themselves before the rainy season, ensuring better growth and survival.
It's important to consider local weather patterns and conditions when deciding the best time for transplanting or planting, as these timings can vary based on location.
Land preparation and transplanting
Carefully select the land and prepare the soil by thorough ploughing or digging to achieve a fine tilth. Incorporate well-rotted organic manure into the soil. Transplant the seedlings into shallow trenches or pits during May, or on ridges or level lands during the rainy season. Raised bed plantings are particularly beneficial during rainy periods as they enhance root aeration and reduce losses caused by root diseases and flooding.
Spacing
Transplants less spreading varieties at 45 x 45 cm. For spreading cultivars like White Kanthari provide a wider spacing of 75 x 45-60 cm.
Manuring / Fertilization
The amount of fertilizer to apply depends on the soil fertility status, making a soil test highly recommended to determine the available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). As a general recommendation, apply well-rotted farmyard manure (FYM) or compost at a rate of 20-25 tonnes per hectare at the time of land preparation, mixing it well with the soil.
For chemical fertilizers, a dose of 75:40:25 kg N: P₂ O₅: K₂O per hectare may be applied. Half of the nitrogen, full phosphorus, and half of the potash may be applied as a basal dose before transplanting. One-fourth of the nitrogen and half of the potash may be applied 20-30 days after planting. The remaining quantity can be applied two months after planting.
Mulching
Mulching offers several benefits in farming practices. It helps reduce weed competition, soil compaction, and soil erosion. Additionally, mulching maintains a uniform root environment and conserves soil moisture, which is crucial for plant growth. Organic materials such as rice straw are excellent choices for mulching, as they break down slowly, enriching the soil with organic matter over time.
Irrigation
Chili plants have shallow roots and are sensitive to both drought and flooding. It's important to monitor them closely and irrigate if signs of wilting are observed. particularly at midday.
Chili plants cannot tolerate flooding, and fields should be drained quickly after heavy rain. If they remain waterlogged for more than 48 hours, the plants may wilt and die. Prolonged flooding can also lead to diseases like Phytophthora blight and bacterial wilt, which can result in total crop loss.
Weeds Control
Mulching provides adequate protection against weed growth. However, if mulch is not available, or does not provide adequate weed control, manual weeding or chemical weeding can be resorted to.
Pest Attack
General Recommendations
- Regular surveillance of the field is crucial.
- Consider using plant extracts for pest control.
- Use chemical pesticides as a last resort.
- Select pesticides that target specific pests and avoid harming beneficial organisms.
- Choose pesticides with short persistence.
- Apply chemical pesticides in the evening.
- Rotate pesticides with different modes of action for multiple applications.
Aphids are small, pear-shaped insects that come in various colors, including yellow, green, and black. They feed by piercing leaves and sucking sap, which can cause foliage to distort and curl under. Aphids also produce a sticky substance that attracts ants and promotes the growth of sooty mold on plants. Additionally, aphids can transmit viruses to plants.
Control of aphids can be achieved by spraying dimethoate at a concentration of 0.05%. However, it's important to consider the environmental impact and potential harm to beneficial insects when using chemical pesticides.
Yellow or white, tiny, crab like insects known as mites suck plant juice near the mid vein on the undersides of the leaves causing leaves to curl downwards and become narrow. Most damage occurs between veins of young leaves. Corky tissue develops on fruits.
Control: Use of tolerant cultivars, weed control, crop rotation, and spraying acaricides such as dicofol helps to reduce mite infestation. Spraying dimethoate at 0.05% or Spiromecifen 22.9 SC @ 96 g ai/ha or Fenpyroximate 5 EC @ 15 g ai/ha are also effective for controlling broad mites.
It is also managed by the application of neem oil 5% and neem oil+ garlic emulsion 2%.
Tomato fruit worm feeds on flowers, pods and fruits of chilli. Larvae move from one fruit to the next, destroying only small portions of each fruit. Damaged fruits may drop, ripen prematurely, or become infected with disease. The entrance hole near the pedicel develops a dark scar. Young larvae are light yellow and spotted. Mature larvae are brown to gray in color with lengthwise stripes along the body and are usually found inside the damaged fruits.
Control: Monitor closely for the larvae on plants and destroy them. Remove infested fruits to reduce pest populations. Spraying any contact insecticides will help to kill exposed larvae.
Nymphs and adults of mealy bugs suck sap from the leaves, tender shoots, and the fruits. Leaves show characteristic curling symptoms and heavy black sooty mould may develop on the honeydew like droplets secreted by mealy bugs. When the fruits are infested, it may lead to fruit drop or the fruits remain on the shoots in a dried and shriveled condition.
Control: Spraying insecticides like dichlorvos (0.02%) or quinalphos (0.025%) with fish oil rosin soap control the insect population. Unlike the adults, the crawlers are free from waxy coating and therefore the crawler stage is the most effective stage for spraying pesticides.
Root knot nematode damages the root system resulting in the formation of small galls on the roots. The infested plants become stunted and yellow. Severely affected plants may wilt. This nematode has a very wide host range. Its eggs can remain dormant for a few months. Warm temperatures and light sandy soils are conducive for its development.
Control: Cultivating resistant varieties and crop rotation; flooded rice field in particular greatly reduces nematode populations. Destroy alternate hosts harbouring the nematodes. Ploughing during the fallow season will expose nematodes to sun and predators. Soil fumigants or nematicides may also be used.
Diseases
- Use high-quality, pathogen-free seeds and seedlings.
- Cultivate resistant varieties in disease-prone areas.
- Maintain proper plant density to avoid weak and susceptible plants.
- Practice clean cultivation, remove diseased leaves and seedlings promptly, and control weeds regularly.
- Prevent irrigation water from diseased fields from entering disease-free fields.
- Avoid overloading plants with fruits.
- Consider crop rotation, especially with rice, to reduce disease and insect problems.
- Avoid planting chili after other solanaceous crops, as they share many soil-borne diseases.
- Do not plant chili after sweet potatoes due to allelopathic effects.
This is a serious disease in the nursery. High soil moisture and moderate temperature along with high humidity especially in the rainy season favour the disease. Two types of symptoms are observed, viz., pre emergent and post emergent damping off. The pre emergent damping off results in rotting of seed and seedling before emerging out of soil, whereas in the post emergent damping off, seedlings after emergence are infected near the collar region at ground level. The infected tissues become soft and water soaked. The collar portion rots and ultimately the seedlings collapse and die.
Control: For avoiding damping off of the seedlings in the nursery, sow the seeds as thin as possible in raised beds prepared in the open area during summer months. Spray nursery and main field with 1% Bordeaux mixture at monthly intervals during rainy season.Soil solarisation of nursery beds for 30 days prior to sowing and seed treatment with Trichoderma @ 5 g/kg seed is effective in managing the disease.
The initial symptom is wilting of lower leaves followed by a sudden and permanent wilt of the entire plant without yellowing. Bacterial ooze streams out when cross sections of the lower stem are suspended in water. It is more severe on tomato, tobacco, potato and eggplant, but it can be very damaging to chilli. The bacterium is found to survive in the soil for long periods. It gains entry through natural root wounds or wounds created by insects, nematodes or implements. High temperature and high soil moisture favour disease development.
Control: Using pathogen ree seedbeds to produce disease fee transplants and fumigating seedbeds help to contain the diseases. Use raised beds to facilitate drainage. Rotating with flooded rice, and other non usceptible crops provides limited control. Crop rotation with brinjal, tomato, and potato should be avoided. Avoid cultivation operations that damage roots. To avoid soil splash, the use of mulch and furrow irrigation, rather than overhead irrigation, are preferred. Removal and destruction of affected plants and use of disease resistant varieties like Manjari, Ujwala or Anugraha in bacterial wilt prone areas help to reduce the disease incidence. Before sowing, the seeds should be dipped in a solution of streptocycline (1 g/ 40 litres of water) for 30 minutes.
Chilli veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and potato virus Y (PVY) are the major viruses that are transmitted through aphids. Symptoms vary, but generally these diseases show mosaic, mottled or deformed leaves. Plants are stunted and the loss of marketable yield can be drastic.
Control: Use of resistant cultivars, and controlling aphid vectors by destroying weeds, using insecticides, and using mesh netting to exclude aphids from seedlings provide good control.
Anthracnose may occur in the field or develop as a post arvest decay of chilli fruits. Typically, symptoms first appear on mature fruits as small, water soaked, sunken lesions that rapidly expand. The lesions may increase to 3-4 cm in diameter on large fruits. Fully expanded lesions are sunken and range from dark red to light tan. The disease may occur wherever chilli is grown under overhead irrigation or rainfed conditions. The pathogens can be seed borne in chilli and persist in crop debris and have a wide host range.
Control: Use seeds collected from anthracnose free fruit and treat seeds with a fungicide. Hot water treatment at 520 C for 30 minutes is also recommended. Crop rotation with non host crops and mulching to reduce soil splashing onto fruit and flowers are also effective. Avoid overhead irrigation to reduce periods of wetness on chilli fruit. Harvest fruits as soon as it ripens since anthracnose develops more readily on mature fruits. Weed regularly and avoid injuring chilli fruit. Remove and destroy infected plant debris. Avoid planting overlapping chilli crops nearby. Apply protectant fungicides to plants starting when the first fruit is set.
This disease can occur on chilli grown anywhere in the world, at any stage of growth, and on all plant parts. The most common symptom is a stem or collar rot followed by sudden wilting without foliar yellowing. Other symptoms include damping off and tip blight of young seedlings; dried tan colored lesions on foliage, as well as softened fruit.
Control: Since Phytophthora blight is soil-borne and more prevalent on poorly drained soils, ensuring adequate drainage and following careful cultural practices are important for providing good control. Practice crop rotation with crops other than tomato, eggplant, and cucurbits for at least 3 years to reduce the soil inoculum. Overhead irrigation, will encourage disease spread and should be discontinued if the disease is present.
Harvesting
Chili can be harvested for fresh use either when green and immature or when fully matured and red. It typically takes about 55-60 days after flowering for the fruits to ripen fully, although this timing can vary based on factors like temperature, soil fertility, and the specific cultivar. Warmer temperatures accelerate ripening, while cooler temperatures delay it.
Under favorable conditions, chili production can continue for several months, with fruits ready for harvest on a weekly basis. On average, one hectare of chili crop can yield 20-30 tonnes of fruits.
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