General guidelines for cultivation of red chilies

Red chili is one of the most attractive agricultural commodities. At certain times, the price can go up many times over. At other times it can go down until it's worthless. This makes the cultivation of red chilies a challenge for farmers.

General guidelines for cultivation of red chilies

Besides price fluctuations, chili cultivation is quite vulnerable to weather conditions and pest attacks. To minimize all these risks, the costs for chili cultivation can be said to be quite high.
On this occasion, Alamtani tried to explain the steps that must be prepared for the cultivation of red chilies, especially the type of Capsicum annum L. This plant originated from the tropical and subtropical American continent. From here it spreads to various other hemispheres.

The climatic conditions in Indonesia are suitable for chili cultivation where the sun is shining full. This plant can grow well in the lowlands to an altitude of 1400 meters above sea level. In the highlands, chilies can still grow but their production is not optimal.

Optimal temperature for the growth of red chilies, between 24-28 degrees Celsius. At temperatures that are too cold below 15 or hot above 32 growth will be disrupted. Chilies can grow in the dry season as long as they get enough water. Desired rainfall is around 800-2000 mm per year with 80% humidity.

Selection of red chili seeds
The public knows two types of red chili, namely large red chili and curly red chili. The difference between the two types of chili is seen from the shape and texture of the skin.

Of the two types, there are dozens or even hundreds of varieties, from local to hybrid. Each variety has its growing distinctiveness. To choose which type will be cultivated, you should select the varieties that are most suitable for each chili cultivation location.

Seeds for chili cultivation can be obtained in two ways, namely buying at a seed shop or self-seeding. Hybrid chili seeds should be purchased from a trusted seed industry that applies modern breeding technology. Meanwhile, local chili seeds can be obtained from fellow farmers or self-selecting from previous harvests.

Seeding and breeding
The seeding method for chili cultivation should use polybags (either from plastic or foliage). Why is that, because chili seeds especially hybrid types are very expensive. If sowing by sowing, it is feared that many seeds grow coincide so that not all plants can be used.

Prepare a mixture of soil, charcoal, and compost or manure in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. Or, if there is no charcoal, use soil and compost in a ratio of 1: 1. Before being mixed, the media is sifted to be smooth.

It is best to make a shade for a seedling to avoid the sun and rain. If there are costs, it is a good idea to protect the nursery with a pest or insect protection net. Arrange polybags that have been filled with seed media in the shade.

Soak the chili seeds in warm water for about 3 hours. Do not use floating seeds. Add each chili seed into a 0.5 cm deep polybag and cover with fine compost. Wet the planting medium so that the moisture is maintained.

Water the nursery polybag every morning and evening. How to water it is to cover the surface of the polybag with newspaper and then flush it to wet. Open the newspaper after the seeds have sprouted for about 3 days.

Next, flush regularly and monitor its growth. Red chili seeds are ready to be removed after 21-24 days of seeding or after growing 3-4 leaves. Increase 10% of seed needs. For example, for one hectare of land, around 14,000 red chili seeds are needed, then an additional 10 percent is used for replanting plants.

Tillage
The land needed for the cultivation of red chilies is loose soil and has good porosity. Before the red chili is planted with a hoe or plow as deep as 20-40 cm. Clean from stones or gravel and plant root remnants. If there are too many weeds and are worried that they may interfere, you can use herbicides.

Make beds one meter wide by 30-40 cm high and the distance between the beds is 60 cm. The length of the beds is adjusted to the conditions of the land, to facilitate maintenance of the length of the beds a maximum of 15 meters. Make a good drainage channel because red chili plants are not resistant to standing water.

Red chili cultivation requires soil that has a soil acidity pH of 6-7. If the value is too low (acid), the leaves of the red chili plant will look pale and susceptible to viruses. Acidic soil is usually easily overgrown with weeds. To neutralize it can use agricultural lime or dolomite as much as 2-4 tons/ha. The provision of lime or dolomite is done at the time of piracy and making beds.

Mix organic fertilizer can be compost or manure evenly on each bed. The need for organic fertilizer for red chili cultivation is 20 tons per hectare. In addition to organic fertilizer, add urea 350 kg/ha and KCl 200kg / ha.

For intensive chili cultivation, the beds should be covered with black silver plastic mulch. The use of plastic mulch has cost consequences but brings many benefits. Mulch is useful for maintaining moisture, suppressing erosion, controlling weeds and keeping the garden clean.

Make as many as two rows of planting holes in each bed with a distance of 60-70 cm. We recommend that the planting hole is made zig-zag, not parallel. This is useful for regulating wind circulation and sunlight penetration. The diameter and depth of the planting hole is approximately 10 cm or adjusted to the size of the polybag.

Planting red chili seeds
Transplanting red chili seeds from the nursery area is carried out after about 3 weeks of age or the seeds have 3-4 permanent leaves. Planting should be done in the morning and evening to avoid stress. Try planting done in one day.

How to plant it is by opening or tearing the polybags. Then enter the red chili seeds and their growing media into the planting hole. Keep the seed media from breaking up. Then water the plants sufficiently to retain moisture.

Maintenance and care
Watering is needed during the dry season, the way can be by slipping or by submergence. Be careful when watering when the plants are not too strong. Inundation can be done every two weeks.

Check the plants in the first one to two weeks to plant the plants. If there are plants that die or grow abnormally, immediately remove and replace them with new seeds.

In chili, cultivation requires the installation of stakes (bamboo sticks) to support the plants standing upright. Plug the stake with a minimum distance of 4 cm from the base of the stem. The marker installation should be done on the 7th day since the seedlings are removed. If the plant is too big it is feared that when planted it is planted it will hurt the roots. If the roots are injured the plant will be susceptible to disease. Binding of plants at stake is done after plants grow tall or are older than one month.

The cutting or cutting of shoots is done after 3 weeks for chili cultivation in the lowlands and 1 month for the highlands. Cut the shoots that grow on the armpits of the leaves with clean hands. This stamping is done until the main branch is formed, marked by the appearance of the first or second flower.

Supplementary fertilization is done every two weeks or at least 8 times until the last harvest. Supplementary fertilization is carried out by leaking fertilizer at each planting hole. The most practical fertilization is to use liquid organic fertilizer. Pour 100 ml of a diluted fertilizer solution on each plant. NPK can also be added to the mixture.

Weeding is done if necessary. Pest and disease control in chili cultivation is vital. Many cases of cultivation fail because of pests and diseases.

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