GROWING CAPSICUMS

Capsicum performs well under
irrigated conditions. The optimum
temperatures for growth are 15ºC-25
ºC. The low night temperatures in
July/ August in Kenya are favorable
for production of this vegetable.
Seedlings take 21 days to germinate,
45 days in the nursery bed and 90
days to mature. At a spacing of
75cm by 45cm one acre can
accommodate 10,000 plants, each
yielding about 10 heads to give a
total harvest of 100,000 heads .At a
market price of 10/= per head, the
gross turnover of 1 Million per acre
can be realized. The cost of
production per acre is about ksh
about 150,000. Marketing
opportunities are excellent in local
and export market. Sweet pepper is
a vegetable that is widely grown in
Kenya. Sweet pepper is red, yellow
or green in colour. The vegetable
plant tolerates a wide range of
climate from warm temperate to
tropical, including irrigated dry hot
areas. Capsicums are sensitive to
frost and optimum temperature for
for growth and fruit set are 15-25ºC.
The vegetables grows well in
altitudes up to 2,000M.Capsicum can
be grown on a wide range of well
drained loamy or heavy cracking clay
soils with optimum ph of 6.0-6.5.
The sweet pepper has a mild flavour
and is used as a vegetable in stews,
vegetable salads, stuffed with meat
or pickled. (Chilies are used for
seasoning food) Growing of sweet
pepper begins in the nursery. To
make a capsicum seed nursery
prepares a raised bed 1M wide and
any convenient length. Work in
manure and phosphate fertilizer.
Make drills 15cm apart and sow the
vegetable seed thinly, then cover
lightly with soil. Later thin out to
5cm to produce sturdy capsicum
plants. Shade the vegetable beds
lightly and water once or twice daily.
Do not plant the vegetable near
tobacco as they share many
diseases.
Capsicum Seed rate is 0.5kg/ha in
the nursery and 1kg/ha when directly
sown. Field establishment site
should be well prepared; manure
and basic fertilizer should be
applied. Transplanting is carried out
when the seedlings attain at least 4
true leaves stage. Sowing in the field
is recommended at a spacing of
75×45 .The growing tip can be
pinched out when the plant is 30cm
high to encourage ripening.
Capsicums/sweet pepper should not
be grown after other solanaceous
plant as they share diseases. Up to
10 tons/ha of manure is required
depending on the soil organic matter
content. This is equivalent to 1-2
handfuls of manure per sowing hole.
Apply 250kg/ha of double super
phosphate fertilizer at sowing time.
When sweet pepper plants are 15cm
high apply 100kg per ha of C.A.N
Fertilizer and later with 200kg/ha
CAN 4 weeks later. The manure and
fertilizer should be mixed well with
the soil. Apply vegetable material
mulch to protect fruit from water
splash and retain soil moisture.
Harvesting starts 2.5 to 3 months
after sowing and continues for 2-3
for chillies and 4-6 months for
capsicums. Chillies and paprika for
the dried product can be left on the
plant to partially wither if conditions
allow. Only mature fruits are picked
and packaged for market. Harvest
sweet peppers when filled out and
still green or just turned red. The
hand harvested fruits should be
placed under shade for grading,
sorting, and packaging to avoid
shriveling. Produce for Export should
conform to the export regulations
with respect to quality, packaging
and labeling. The principal diseases
affecting growing capsicum or sweet
pepper plants include powdery
mildew, viral complex and
physiological disorders. Pests can
cause serious vegetable seedling
losses in the nursery and damage to
the growing sweet pepper plants.
Suitable control measures should be
applied on the capsicums