Chilli cultivation

proposal

FEBRUARY18

PREPAIRED BY :-
[Link]
NO-80, KATTAIYARU STREET, KINNIYA-02
TEL : 0757672570

1
 Introduction of Chilli Cultivation
Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most important cash crops grown in Sri Lanka. It is
an essential condiment used in Sri Lankan meals. The chilli is a fruit of plants belongs to the
family of “Solanaceae” and genus of “Capsicum”. The chilli is also being termed as “Chili
Pepper” in many parts of world. Chilli is one of the most important and the largest produced
spice crop in Asia. The fruit is actually called “chilli” and is used as a spice in a variety of
cuisines all over the world in different forms as green chillies, dried red chillies as a whole or
in the form of powder. Basically, chillies contain capsaicin, which gives a strong burning tangy
sensation when eaten and the red colour is because of the presence of pigment capsanthin.
Generally, chillies are valued based on their high pungency and colour. Production of chilli is
very high in Asian countries due to high consumption. Commercial cultivation of chilli is very
much successful and one can expect decent profits in chilli farming due to its market value in
local areas and international markets (export market). Most of the people think that chilli is
native to India but it is originated from ‘South America” and these were brought to Asia by
Portuguese at the end of 15th century. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter
of chilli. Chillies can be grown in open fields, greenhouses, polyhouses, under shade nets,
pots, containers, even in back yards. The quality and production would be high if they are
grown in controlled environment such as greenhouses. Chillies can also be grown
successfully in hydroponic system.

Health Benefits of Chilli

• Chillies are good source of iron and B-complex group.
• Chillies protect against cancer.
• Chillies are good for prostate health.
• Chillies help in boosting immune power.
• Chillies help in reducing risk of lung cancer.
• Chillies keep bacterial infections at bay.
• Chillies are zero calorie food so aid in weight
management.
• Chillies help in helps in reducing blood sugar levels.
• Chillies are good for skin health due Vitamin ‘E’ presence.
• Chillies help digest food faster.
•

2
 Chilli Varieties

Department of Agriculture has recommended 10 open pollinated chilli varieties up to now

namely MI-1, MI-2, KA-2, Arunalu, MI- Hot, MI Green, Galkiriyagama Selection, MI waraniya
1, MICH 3, MIPC 1. The potential yield of these varieties is 10-15 t/ha as green chilli, but the
national average yields is around 5.13 t/ha.

Climate Required for Chilli Cultivation

Basically, chilli is a crop of tropical and sub-tropical region. It thrives best in warm/hot and
humid climatic conditions. The ideal temperature for its growth is 20 to 30°C. Temperatures
below 15°C will result in reduced crop yield. Constant moisture in soil during blossom
development and fruit formation is very important for good yield. This crop requires an annual
rainfall of 25 to 30 inches. Excessive rainfall or flooding will damage the crop.

Soil Requirement for Chilli Cultivation

Chilli can be grown in wide range of soils. However, the sandy – loam, clay loam and loam soils
are best suited for its cultivation. The soil should be rich in organic matter, well-drained and
well aerated. The ideal soil pH value for best growth of chilli is 5.5 to 6.8. Avoid acidic soils as
these are not suitable for chili cultivation.

3
 Land Preparation for Chilli Cultivation

Land should be prepared by giving 3 or 4 deep

ploughings and followed by harrowing to bring the
soil fine tilth stage. Make sure to crush any clods
after each ploughing. After bringing the soil to fine
tilth stage, level the land with the help of tractor
blade. Making raised beds would be useful for
rainy season to drain out the water and also helps
good aeration. During the land preparation, it is
recommended to supplement the soil with well
decomposed farm yard like cow-dung of 25
tonnes/ha or any other equivalent compost.
Application of manure should be done at least 2
weeks before of sowing. In order to protect the
chilli crop from ants and soil borne pests, Heftaf @
10-15 kg per acre should be applied in last
ploughing. Form ridges and furrows at a spacing of
60 cm. Apply 2 kg/ha of Azospirillum and 2 kg / ha of
Phosphobacteria by mixing with 20 kg of farmyard
manure (FYM). Irrigate the furrows and transplant 40 days old seedlings, with the ball of earth
on the ridges.

Season of Sowing in Chilli Cultivation

Well, chilli can be grown all around the year provided enough irrigation facility is available. In
some Asian countries, sowing will take place in January – February, June – July and
September – October.

Seed Rate and Seed Treatment in Chilli Cultivation

Seed rate depends on cultivar and soil type. However, on an

average, 1 to 1/2 kg seed required to cover the 1 hectare land.
Treat the seeds with Trichoderma viride @ 4 grams / kg of
seeds and cover with sand. Drench the nursery with Copper
oxychloride @ 2.5 grams/liter of water at 2 weeks interval
against damping off disease. Apply Carbofuran 3 G at 10
grams/[Link] at sowing.

Chilli Seeds.
4
 Propagation, Planting and Spacing in Chilli Cultivation

Propagation is done by seeds. Chilli is a transplanted crop. Generally, seeds are sown in
nursery beds and 40 to 45 days old seedlings are transplanted in the main field. Raised seed
beds of 90 cm width and of convenient lengths should be prepared. Add well
decomposed organic matter to the seed beds. To sterilize the soil, burn the rice straw on the
seed bed which also helps in adding small amount of ‘P’ & ‘K’ to the soil. Once seeds are sown
on nursery bed, green leaves can be used as mulch material. Irrigate the seed beds everyday
morning. The soil temperature of the chilli seeds must be between 28°C and 32°C for quick
and better germination. It can take up to 2 weeks to 5 weeks before first seedlings will pop up.
Remove the mulch immediately after the seeds start germinating. Usually, chilli seedlings will
be ready 5 to 6 weeks after sowing. Irrigation should be restricted on the seed bed 1 week
before actual transplantation and irrigate heavily on the previous day of transplanting in the
field. Ridges and furrow type of layout is used. When it comes to plant spacing, for rainfed
crops, a distance of 60 cm x 45 cm & for irrigated crops a distance of 60 cm x 60 cm should be
maintained.

Irrigation in Chilli Cultivation

Generally, chilli crop is grown as rainfed and irrigated crop. If the crop is grown as rainfed one,
a well distributed annual rain fall of 80 to 100 cm is required for better growth and yield. Chilli
plants are shallow rooted and cannot tolerate drought and flooding but need uniform and
constant moisture in the soil. In water scarcity areas, drip irrigation method is advised.
However, furrow method can also be adopted when enough water is present. Overhead
irrigation should be avoided as this will promote diseases in chilli cultivation. In case of heavy
rains, make sure to drain out the soil quickly. If the plants grown on raised beds, there is a good
chance of draining of water quickly.

First Irrigation should be carried out after transplanting seedlings from nursery to main field.
Subsequent watering should be provided once in 5 to 6 days in summer and once in 10 to 12
days in winter. Again, irrigation depends on soil type and climatic conditions. Flower and fruit
drop occurs in chilli cultivation, if the uniform moisture level is not maintained.

Manures and Fertilizers in Chilli Cultivation

Chilli crop responds very well to manures and fertilizers. If the crop
is grown on large scale, make sure to conduct soil test to find out
the N:P:K values. Based on the results of test, any nutrient gap
should be filled. During the land preparation, supplement the field
with 20 to 25 tonnes of well decomposed farmyard manure
(FMY)/ha. In case of rainfed crop, 25 kg of “P” in full dose, 50 kg
“N” in 1/2 dose should be applied at the time transplanting
seedlings in the field. Remaining 1/2 dose of ‘N’ should be applied

5
1 month after transplanting the seedlings. In case of irrigated crop, N:P:K should be applied in
the ratio of 100 kg:50 kg: 50 kg/ha. Fertilizers should be applied in 4 equal doses. First applied
at the time transplanting remaining doses are applied at fourth, eleventh, and thirteenth week
after transplanting the seedlings.

Pests and Diseases in Chilli Cultivation

The following are common pests and diseases found in chilli cultivation.
The following are the common pests found in chilli cultivation:

• Aphids : -
o Symptoms: Aphids are small, succulent, pear shaped insects. Aphids
attack the crop in winter months and at the later stages of the crop. Due to
this effect, the quality of pods will be deteriorated.
o Control Measures: Spraying dimethoate at 0.05% is effective for
controlling these insect pests.
• Thrips :-
o Symptoms: This insect pest causes curling of leaves and fall down of
flowers pre-maturely. This pest will be sever at flowering stage though it
can affect the crop its entire life cycle.
o Control Measures: Crop rotation and weed control can reduce this pest.
However, Treatment of seeds with imidacloprid 70% WS @ 12 grams /kg
of seed will also control these pests. Applying carbofuran 3% G @ 33 kg
/ha (or) phorate 10 % G @ 10 kg/ha will check these.
• Fruit borer :-
o Symptoms: The caterpillar eats leaves and later on bores the pod, which
results in the deterioration of quality of the fruit.
o Control Measures: Collect and destroy the damaged fruits and grown up
caterpillars. Spraying Bacillus thuringiensis @ 2 grams/liter of water will
check this.
• Broad Mites :-
o Symptoms: These mites suck the plant juice near the mid vein on the
underside of the leaf causing the chilli plant leaves to curl downwards. This
causes to develop corky tissues on the fruits.
o Control Measures: How can we control these?, First and foremost,
selecting pest resistant cultivars (varieties) and weed control in the field,
crop rotation help reducing the infestation. However, spraying dimethoate
@ 0.05% will also check this insect pest.
• Mealy bug :-
• Symptoms: These bugs suck sap from the chilli leaves, tender shoots and the fruits.
This pest causes the leaves to become curly and ultimately fruit drops.

6
 • Control Measures: Spraying the crop with dichlorvos (0.02%) or quinalphos
(0.025%) with fish oil rosin soap effectively control these bugs.
• Root knot nematode :-
o Symptoms: This insect pest damages the root system by forming the small
galls on the roots of the plant. The effected plants become yellow and wilt.
Warm weather and light sandy soils are source of these pests.
o Control Measures: Selecting resistant cultivars, crop rotation and flooded
rice field help in reducing nematodes.

The following are the common diseases found in chilli cultivation:

• Damping Off Disease in Chilli Cultivation:-

• Symptoms: This is a serious disease of chilli seedlings and mainly occurs in nursery
bed. The disease infected seedlings become rot at ground level and then the plants
fall over ground.

• Control Measures: Treat the seeds with Trichoderma viride 4 grams/kg or

Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 grams/kg 24 hours before sowing in the bed. Apply
Pseudomonas fluorescens as soil application @ 2.5 kg/ha mixed with 50 kg of farm
yard manure (FYM). Water logging should be avoided and drench with Copper
oxychloride at 2.5 grams/liter of water at 4 liter/[Link]. The chilli seedlings in the
nursery should be sprayed with any fungicides at a regular interval.
• Leaf Spot Disease in Chilli Cultivation:-
• Symptoms: Generally infected plant leaves will have small dark, greasy spots and
water soaked spots appear on green fruits. Leaf drop off happens in case of severely
effected plants.
• Control Measures: Spraying Agrimycin – 100 k at 200 ppm plus copper oxychloride
0.3 % checks the disease effectively.
• Anthracnose Disease in Chilli Cultivation:-
• Symptoms: Usually, dark sunken spots are formed on the fruits and pink or dark
coloured dots appear in the centre of the sunken spots. Due to this spots, the fruits
rot and start falling. Moist climatic conditions, shade and heavy dew contribute to the
occurrence of Anthracnose disease in Chilli cultivation.
• Control Measures: Use disease free seeds. Remove and burn the attacked plants
or branches. Spraying the disease affected crops with Mancozeb (Dithane M-45) @
2.5 grams/liter of water will control this disease.
• Powdery mildew in Chilli Cultivation:- This can be controlled by spraying wettable
sulphur 3 grams/liter of water or Carbendazim 1 gram/liter of water. Total of 3 sprays
are required at 15 days interval from the first appearance of symptom.

7
 • Leaf Curl Disease in Chilli Cultivation:-
• Symptoms: This disease causes leaves to become small in size with downward
curling. In severely effected plants, the leaves start fall off. This disease usually
spreads through insect pests like thrips and aphids.
• Control Measures: Control Aphids and Thrips as mentioned in pest control
measures to check this disease.

Maturity of the chilli depends on variety. Usually, it takes about 60 to 65 days after flowering
for fruits to fully ripen. Harvesting of chilli crop depends on the purpose and market demand.
Immature and fully grown green chillies can be harvested for fresh markets and at red stage
for canning purpose. For red dry chilli purpose, crop should be harvested at fully ripen stage.
The harvesting can continue for several months and harvesting of chilli should be carried out
weekly once or as market demands. For dry chilli, it is important to preserve the red colour of
matured fruits.

Yield in Chilli Cultivation

The yield of chilli crop depends on the cultivar (variety), soil type, irrigation and crop
management practices.

In case of hybrid commercial varieties, the following yield can be achieved in chilli cultivation.

• Dry Chillies Yield: 2 – 3 tonnes/ha.

• Green Chillies Yield: 10 -15 tonnes/ha.
The yield would be more in irrigated crop than in rainfed crop.

Marketing of Chilli

Fresh green chillies can be transported to local markets based on market demand or weekly
basis. However, if the crop is grown for red dry chillies, better contact a any chilli powder making
company for bulk sale. There are huge profits in dry chilli cultivation as the demand is very for
this produce.