Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation

(Diseases and Management of Crops under Protected Cultivation)
flattened fruit.
Too high temperature(> 28 °C) stimulate blossom end rot.
Pollination
To ensure the set of high quality fruits use pollinators like bumble bees or honey bees
inside the greenhouse.
Bees make that less fruit are deformed, and that fruit set and first harvest are better and a
bit earlier.
Fruit set
High light and low day temperature are beneficial for setting and first growth of the new
fruit.
The total period from blossom to full-colour ripe fruit is 7 - 12 weeks.
When fruit set is difficulta)
Drop the night temperature to 18°C. The day temperature can stay at 20-22°C.
b) Increase the CO2 concentration (to 700-1000 ppm).
c) For setting of the second flush of capsicum fruit, dropping the temperature is not
advised, as it will slow down the ripening of the first flush.
d) Generally the later fruits will set by themselves after harvest of older fruits.
Controlling fruit load
Young plants can support about four to eight fruit per plant at a time.
An older crop can have over 10 fruits per plant at a time.
Fruit load must be controlled by the grower, in order to achieve a reasonable fruit weight
(e.g. minimal 150 gram per fruit) and quality.
The best method to correct the number of fruit is by removing excess.
Weed Management
Control of perennial or annual weeds is serious problem in capsicum production.
Non-fumigated fields are treated with pre-plant or pre-emergence herbicides or both,
mechanical cultivation and hand hoeing are usually required for weed control.
Black plastic mulch is an aid in weed control as in drip irrigation, which reduces weed
pressure by maintaining a drier soil surface, avoiding diseases infestation.
Stress Management
I. Physiological disorders:
Blossom end rot
Sunscald
Fruit cracks
Fruit splitting
Fruit color spots
Misshapen fruit
- 152 -