Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation

(Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation)
Soil and Types of growing media
1. Soil
• Good soil structure and moisture content are important.
• Soil
• pH: 5.5 to 6.5
• EC: 1.5-2.5 mS/cm
• High salt or high nutrient levels are unfavourable.
• The young plants require a good calcium and nitrate supply to establish root system
within a week.
2. Nutrient film technique (NFT)
Water culture system where a shallow stream of nutrient solution covers the root of
growing plant to provide water, nutrients and oxygen.
3. Soilless media
• Rockwool
• Polyurethane
• Pine bark
• Perlite
Soilless Culture Systems
• Internationally, capsicum crops are grown in the soilless culture in greenhouses.
• Plants are grown in containers filled with soil less media such as perlite, pine bark or peat
mixes.
• Media can be reused for several crops (2-3) if disease contamination does not occur.
• Containers are aligned in single or double rows, leading to plant population densities of
0.27 to 0.36 plants per square foot.
• Yields have been found similar with any of the substrate like perlite, pine bark or peat
perlite mixes.
• Pine bark – A promising media, because of its low cost, availability, lack of phytotoxicity
and excellence as a plant production media.
Optimum seed sowing time
Sowing time in northern region is from 15th August to 15th September.
For higher germination of seed -
• Use fresh, high-quality polyhouse recommended virus-free seeds.
• The seed count is 100-140 per gram, and one gram of seed will generally raise about 80-
100 plants.
• Seed trays are filled with a high-quality soilless mix, peat, vermiculite, perlite or rockwool
flocks.
• The optimal germination temperature is 24-25°C.
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