Getting small fruit (peppers or tomatoes) is better than getting no fruit at all. However it can be frustrating when growing to achieve 140 g fruit and harvesting 60-80 g instead. Small pepper fruit can be the result of various factors such as: Poor pollination: the temperature may be too high during the critical period [...]
Good pest and disease control in hydroponic systems is crucial for a successful hydroponic farm. Soon after the plants have been transplanted, pest and diseases will be attracted to the growth area. It is important to control these pests and diseases in order to harvest a good yield. The registered chemicals that can be used [...]
Fertigation of peppers is sometimes more of an art than science since plant requirements change as the weather/climate change. Learn how to read your plants and identify good and bad stress symptoms. Peppers are sensitive to water stress (to little water) and to water logging (over watering). Any of these two conditions will reduce plant [...]
Temperature and humidity regime for peppers. Temperature and humidity go hand in hand. Quite often increasing the one has an effect of the other. So keeping a good balance can be difficult. The ideal temperatures at which peppers grow are between 18°C at night and 30°C during the day. The grower must make sure that [...]
Trellising sweet peppers is common practice in commercial greenhouses. Although labour intensive, it increases quality and quantity of fruit yields, so it cannot be ignored. You cannot grow a bush type pepper economically since these varieties do not produce the yield per square meter over the same growth period as trellised types. Hydroponically grown peppers [...]
Pruning peppers will have a significant effect on yields over the production life of the crop. The correct pruning method will also increase ventilation and thereby decrease disease and pest pressure, reducing production cost. Peppers do not form side shoots in the true sense such as tomatoes. The stem of a pepper plant splits into [...]
Planting density in bag culture systems Pepper & tomato planting density influences yields, diseases and quality of the end product. Get it right the first time. Peppers are planted in the same density as tomatoes in hydroponic bag culture systems. Each plant should be 40 cm apart in the double rows, the double rows should [...]
There are approximately 10,000 plant species that are used as vegetables, but only 50 of those are of any commercial value. In order to simplify planning and discussions they are classified into three groups: according to method of culture according to botanical classification and according to economical importance (in South Africa) [...]
Always transplant seedlings that are in good condition. Rather discard the extra small seedlings and give them a chance to grow in the nursery. They can be used as replacements if some of the other seedlings die off. TIP: Use the strongest seedlings in the middle of the greenhouse since the microclimate is best suited [...]
