Chillies

• It is an important cash crop in the zone and grown as a vegetable (green chillie) and spice crop covering an area of 15,000 ha.
  • Season : Throughout the year under irrigated conditions.
  • Time of sowing / Planting Kharif / Rabi Summer
  • Nursery July/August January
  • Planting August / September February
  • Direct sowing : End of july to 1^st week of August

Soils :

• For rainfed crop, black soils are best suited. For irrigated crop, light textured, alluvial, and garden lands are suited.

Varieties :

• Green chilli – G4, NP 46, Sindhur and LCA 235
• Dry chilli – G5, LCA 206, Jwala, LCA 304 and LCA 334

Seeds and sowing

• Seed rate is 1.5 kg ha^-1. Seedlings to be grown on raised beds. Seed treatment with thiram or mancozeb @ 3g kg^-1 and application of phorate granules to beds is important. Apply organic manures and sowing in lines and spraying with copper fungicide on 12^th and 19^th day is essential. Six-week-old seedlings are preferred and top the seedlings one week prior to transplanting.

Spacing

• Rainfed - 15cm x 56cm
• Irrigated - 60cm x 60cm
• Transplant 1-2 seedlings per hill on cloudy days on ridges and furrows.
• Direct sowing : 6.25kg/ha seeds are to be drilled. After 30-40 days of sowing thinning and gap filling are to be done.

Manures and fertilisers

• Basal dose of 25t ha^-1 FYM and neem cake at 3-4q ha^-1 at last ploughing.
• Rainfed crop : 60 N + 30P + 50K kg ha^-1 as basal dose.
• 20-30kg N ha^-1 as top dressing depending on rain.
• Irrigated crop. Basal dose - 60 N + 60 P₂O₅ + 30 K₂O kg ha^-1

  Top dressing - 20 N + 10 K₂O at 45 DAP

  20 N + 10K₂O at 60 DAP

  20 N + 10K₂O at 75 DAP

  Zinc sulphate @ 50kg ha^-1 can be applied in last ploughing.

Intercultivation :

• 4-5 times with chittiguntaka followed by hand weeding.

Irrigation :

• Chilli cannot withstand excess moisture. Irrigate depending upon soil moisture at weekly intervals. Avoid frequent and flood irrigation, which causes flower drop. Spray planofix 1ml in 4.5L of water 2-3 times at 15days interval to minimise flower drop.

Plant protection :

Thrips, mites and aphids

• Grow one or two rows of castor around the chilli crop and marigold and chillies in the ratio of 1:10 to reduce the incidence of thrips, mites and aphids. Spray phosalone @ 3ml or acephate @ 1g and dicofol @ 5ml of monocrotophos @ 2ml l^-1 litre of water

Pod Borers

• Carbaryl @ 3g or chlorpyriphos @ 2.5ml or quinalphos @ 2.5ml or monocrotophos @ 2ml l^-1 or acephate @ 1.5 g l^-1 of water.

Fruit rot and Dieback

• Removal of affected plants for avoiding further spreading. Spray capton @ 1.5g or Mancozeb @ 2.5gm l^-1 twice at the time of flowering.

Mosaic virus

• Remove affected plants and destroy. Control aphids and whitefly by insecticidal spray.

  Yield : Green chilli : 250 q/ha

  Dry chilli : 35-40q/ha

  Post Harvest Technology

• Expose the dry produce to sun for 10-15 days by spreading in open yards to reduce moisture up to 8%. Move periodically for uniform drying. Remove borer affected and bleached pods for better price.

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