Bell pepper, as a colorful and sweet vegetable, is not only loved by consumers, but also occupies an important position in many vegetable gardens. As a plant expert, I will explain in detail how to care for bell pepper plants, from seed selection to fruit harvest, and analyze the planting and management skills of bell peppers to help you create rich and sweet fruits.
The Basic Characteristics Of Bell Pepper Plants
Bell pepper belongs to the solanaceae plant, and is closely related to pepper, tomato and so on. It likes a warm, moist, sunny environment, and requires a high level of soil, which needs to be well-drained, fertile, and rich in organic matter. Bell pepper varieties, different colors, including red, yellow, green, orange, etc., not only to add color to the table, but also to provide rich nutritional value.
Seed Selection And Sowing
1. Seed selection
Variety selection: According to the local climate conditions and market demand, choose the appropriate sweet pepper varieties. For example, in warm areas, you can choose varieties with strong heat resistance; In cold areas, it is necessary to choose varieties with better cold resistance.
Seed quality: Select seeds that are full, free of pests and diseases, and have a high germination rate. When purchasing, it is best to choose a regular channel to check the production date, shelf life and origin information on the seed packaging.
2. Prepare before sowing
Soil disinfection: To prevent pests and diseases in the soil from affecting seed germination and seedling growth, the soil can be disinfected before sowing. Common disinfection methods include steam disinfection, chemical disinfection and so on.
Soil preparation: Bell peppers like fertile, loose, well-drained soil. Leaf soil, garden soil and river sand can be mixed in a certain proportion, and an appropriate amount of decomposed organic fertilizer can be added as the base fertilizer.
3. Sowing method
Planting time: Planting time for bell peppers varies by region. In general, spring and autumn are the best time to plant bell peppers. In the north, spring sowing should be done after the late frost; Autumn planting should avoid the high temperature period.
Sowing method: can use the way of on-demand or broadcast sowing. When sowing on demand, the seeds were evenly planted in the soil, and 1-2 seeds were placed at each point. To spread the seed evenly over the surface of the soil, then lightly cover it with a thin layer of soil. After planting, keep the soil moist to encourage germination.
Seedling Management
1. Temperature and light
Temperature control: bell pepper seedlings have higher temperature requirements. The daytime temperature should be maintained at 25~30℃, and the night tempera
ture should not be lower than 15℃. Too high or too low temperature will affect the normal growth of seedlings.
Plenty of light: Bell pepper seedlings like plenty of light. In the case of insufficient light, the seedlings are easy to grow and the leaves are yellow, which affects the later flowering and fruit. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the seedlings receive enough light.
2. Water management
Keep it moist: Bell peppers need more water when they are young. Soil should be kept moist but water should be avoided. When watering, drip irrigation or sprinkler irrigation can be used to reduce water evaporation and disease spread.
Good drainage: Ensure that the planting area is well drained so that water does not rot the roots of the seedlings.
3. Thinning and transplanting
Thinning: When seedlings reach a certain height, the thinning operation is required. Pull out the seedlings that grow weak and have serious diseases and pests, and keep the healthy seedlings.
Transplanting: When the seedlings grow to a certain size (such as 4 to 5 true leaves), they can be transplanted. Before transplanting, the soil should be deeply tilled and carefully cultivated, and an appropriate amount of base fertilizer should be applied. When transplanting, the seedling root system should be kept intact and the root water should be poured thoroughly after transplanting.
Growth Period Management
1. Fertilization management
Base fertilizer: Before transplanting, apply decomposed organic fertilizer as base fertilizer to provide nutrients required for plant growth.
Topdressing: During the growth period, multiple topdressing is required. Topdressing should be based on nitrogen fertilizer, combined with phosphate and potassium fertilizer. In flowering and fruiting stage, the application amount of phosphate and potass
ium fertilizer can be appropriately increased to promote flower bud differentiation and fruit development.
Foliar spraying fertilizer: In the growth period, the foliar spraying fertilizer can be carried out. Foliar fertilizer containing amino acids and trace elements was applied to improve plant stress resistance and fruit quality.
2. Water management
Keep moist: Keep the soil moist during growth. But pay attention to avoid water, so as not to cause root rot. When watering, should be according to the weather and soil moisture.
Good drainage: Ensure that the planting area is well drained. In the rainy season or areas with more rain, it is necessary to strengthen drainage work to avoid water affecting plant growth.
3. Pruning management
Removal of lateral branches: During the growth period, it is necessary to remove the lateral branches and weak branches in the lower part of the plant in time. To reduce nutrient consumption, promote plant growth and fruit development.
Thinning flowers and fruits: In the flowering and fruiting period, it is necessary to thin flowers and fruit operations. Remove too many flowers and fruit to ensure that each fruit gets enough nutrients and light.
4. Pest control
Disease control: The common diseases of sweet pepper are blight, anthrax, virus disease and so on. The combined methods of agricultural control, biological control and chemical control should be adopted. Strengthen field management, reasonable fertilization and watering; Remove diseased leaves and fruits in time and burn them; High efficiency and low toxicity pesticides were selected for spraying control.
Pest control: The common pests of sweet pepper are aphids, white whitefly, red spider and so on. Physical control, biological control and chemical control should be combined. Hang yellow boards in the fields to trap and kill pests; Use natural enemies for biological control; High efficiency and low toxicity pesticides were selected for spraying control.
Fruit Management And Harvesting
1. Fruit coloring and ripening
Color management: The color of bell pepper fruit is closely related to environmental factors such as light and temperature. Light management should be strengthened to avoid shading during fruit coloring period. At the same time, maintain the appropriate temperature range to promote the normal coloring of the fruit.
Maturity judgment: The maturity of bell pepper fruit can be judged by color, size, hardness and other indicators. When the fruit color is bright, full and round, and the hardness is moderate, it can be harvested.
2. Harvesting method
Harvest time: The harvest time of bell peppers varies by variety. In general, the best quality is harvested after the fruit is fully ripe. However, attention should be paid to avoid aging or decay of fruits caused by too late harvesting.
Harvesting method: When harvesting, the fruit should be cut from the stalk with scissors to avoid damage caused by direct pulling by hand. After harvesting, the fruit should be placed in a cool and ventilated place for drying or packaging for sale.
Conclusion
As a nutritious and sweet vegetable, bell pepper is highly competitive in the market. Through scientific and reasonable planting and management technology, the yield and quality of sweet pepper can be significantly improved. In the future, with the continuous development of agricultural science and technology, the planting technology of sweet pepper will also continue to innovate and improve. We look forward to providing consumers with more high-quality and healthy bell pepper products through the power of science and technology. At the same time, it is also hoped that the majority of farmers can continue to learn new planting technology and management experience, improve their planting level, and achieve higher economic and social benefits.
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