Bell Pepper Beja F1 for Foil Tunnel

Capsicum annuum - Beja F1

A perennial plant originally from Mexico. In cultivation, it is grown as an annual and can reach a height of 0.5–1.5 m. It has alternately arranged lanceolate leaves. The flowers are white and five-petaled. The fruit is a pod, whose natural color is red. About three thousand varieties of peppers are cultivated, both sweet and hot. The heat is caused by the alkaloid capsaicin. Initially, it was grown as an ornamental plant. Its use as a spice or vegetable came later. Today, two types of peppers are mainly used. The first is the bell pepper (Capsicum annuum). Another pepper widely used for spice production are varieties of the species Capsicum frutescens, known as chili. Generally, peppers are divided into six groups: cone-shaped peppers (Hungarian type), square peppers, apple peppers, kapia, bull's horn and ram's horn peppers, and spice or chili peppers.

Peppers contain a lot of potassium, phosphorus, and sodium and are, among others, a significant source of vitamin C, U, and carotene. Vegetable varieties are used fresh, in salads, or in cold and hot cooking. Spice varieties are excellent piquant seasonings! Peppers have wide uses, they can be heat-treated, eaten cold, are suitable for preparing salads, Asian dishes, or pickling. They are an excellent addition to diets.

How to Grow Peppers

• Requires a warm, sunny, sheltered location. The optimal temperature range during the growing season is 18–23°C. Temperatures below 14°C and above 30°C are extreme and not suitable for peppers. We plant peppers 2 next to each other. Peppers should be tied up regularly. Ideal is to attach the plant to a support stake both at the lower part of the plant and at the upper part. Regular watering and weeding around the plants are important. Under no circumstances should we water or spray in direct sunlight, as we would burn them. In a greenhouse or glasshouse, peppers will also grow much faster, mainly due to temperature and humidity. We regularly check peppers to see if they are attacked by pests or show signs of physiological or fungal diseases.

• We sow peppers from January, at the latest by the end of March. To make sowing easier, we can plant them in peat jiffy pellets. If we choose planting in substrate, it should contain perlite mixed in a suitable ratio with nutrient-rich soil. We can therefore use special substrate for sowing, which we mix with perlite or sand. We plant seeds about 1 cm deep. We treat planted seeds with Previcur, thus ensuring protection against damping off of seedlings. The temperature must be around 25 degrees Celsius. Air humidity should not change for proper seedling growth. Seedlings need a lot of light so they don't stretch. When at least two leaves appear on the small plants, it's time to transplant them into a pot. Plants with root balls are transplanted to a permanent location at a spacing of 60–70 cm x 25–40 cm.

• Peppers require humus-rich, nutritious soil with sufficient available soil water and pH in the range of 6.5–7.5.

• Basic fertilization involves incorporating mature cow manure or compost into the soil where we will plant the peppers. We perform this fertilization in autumn. In autumn, we also lime the area with a dose of about 3.6 kg/m2 of ground limestone or 2 kg/m2 depending on the soil at the location. Before planting, it is advisable to incorporate 50–70 g/m2 of NPK fertilizer with a higher nitrogen content into the soil. During the growing season, we fertilize with water-soluble NPK fertilizer - Cererit, Kristalon. It is important that the water-soluble fertilizer also contains micronutrients! We apply fertilizer every 14 days.

• Peppers are often attacked by sucking pests such as aphids, whiteflies, or spider mites. For protection, we can use Mospilan, Decis Mega, or Symfonie from Natura.

  In high air humidity, fruits can be attacked by molds and fungi. The most well-known fungal diseases are gray and white mold. A suitable preparation for protection against these fungal diseases is Ortiva.

  Bacterial spot of pepper plants is dangerous. Necrotic fruits affected by this spot usually crack and are destroyed. Various colored spots especially on fruits are caused by a bacterial disease called bacterial speck. In these cases of plant infection, the best method is their elimination.

  Lack of calcium in the soil, irregular watering, or the presence of potassium in the soil causes physiological disorders. These deficiencies can manifest as disorders of fruits, leaves, and flowers, which are often mistaken for fungal diseases. In case the plants are affected by necrosis, we maintain even watering, sufficient nutrition, and treat them with, for example, effective calcium chloride or special foliar fertilizer.

• Peppers grown for green fruits are harvested as early as mid-July. Red or yellow fruits are harvested at the end of August and in September. Spice peppers (chili) are harvested in autumn if grown outdoors or in a greenhouse.