Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation

(Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation)
Pruning and Training
Greenhouse capsicum cultivars generally have an indeterminate pattern of growth.
Plants can grow upto 6 ft tall and need vertical support by hanging twines.
Capsicum plants can be trellised to Dutch “V” system or to “Spanish” system.
“V” System of Training
“V” system of training consists of forming a plant with two main stems by removing one of
the two shoots developed on each node and leaving one or more adjacent leaves per node.
Spanish System of Training
In “Spanish” training system, the plant canopy is allowed to grow without pruning. The
plants are vertically supported by a structure of poles and horizontal twines extended on both
sides of plant rows.
Irrigation
It is estimated that average water consumption of capsicum plant is 2 litre per day for 8
month crop.
Greenhouse cultivation enhances WUE compared to field conditions.
High WUE induces improved fertilizer use efficiency contributing to reduce fertilizer
leaching.
Irrigation should be provided by drip system .
Mulching and fertigation can be integrated for higher production.
Fertigation
In capsicum, an yield of 252 t/ha (from 2 crops in a span of 14 months) have been realized
by practicing twice a week fertigation at the rate of 160:160:160 kg/ha of N:P:K.
Basal soil application @50kg/ha need to be applied.
Water soluble fertilizers available specially for fertigation are suggested than traditional
fertilizers.
Flowering
A young capsicum plant starts flowering about two to six weeks after planting, when it has
7 to 13 leaves.
The optimal temperature during flowering should be 20 - 21oC on average both day and
night.
Low night temperature decreases pollen viability in capsicum flowers and modify flower
structure and makes self pollination less effective.
Flowers developed at a night temperature below 18°C usually produce a fruit with a ‘tail’
(elongated, pointing blossom-end).
A lower temperature during flowering results in less four-loculed fruit, and more threeloculed
fruit, or even two-loculed fruit, which is not desired.
A flower grown under very low temperature (below 10oC at night) would produce a small
- 151 -