Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
After completing one Lesson in this Module, you have learned
to answer:
1. What are the objectives of field preparation?
2. How timely field preparation helps?
3. What is the advantage of summer plowing?
4. What conditions decide the number and depth of plowings?
5. What are the chili pepper sowing systems that govern the
field preparation?
6. What type of implement is used to make ridges and furrows?
7. What are the advantages of broad bed and furrow system?
Module III: Soil and Climatic Requirements
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
The objectives of field preparation are based on the following
principles:
1. Elimination and control of undesirable plants like crop
volunteers and weeds to reduce competition with the
established main crop;
2. Provide favorable conditions for sowing, allowing
germination, emergence and good plant development;
3. Maintenance of fertility and productivity over the long
term by preserving the soil organic matter and avoiding
erosion;
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
The objectives of field preparation are based on the following
principles:
4. Breaking of hard pans or compacted layers to increase
water infiltration through the soil whilst avoiding erosion;
5. Facilitating mixing of fertilizers, lime, or agro-chemical
products into the soil;
6. Incorporation of organic and agricultural residues.
Module III: Soil and Climatic Requirements
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
The land/field plot needs to be carefully selected and prepared
for the crop.
Crop rotations should avoid sequences in which peppers are
planted immediately following another Solanaceous crop such
as tomato, eggplant, or potato.
Planting after a paddy rice crop is often helpful in that the
flooded soil is depleted of many soil-borne pathogens and weed
seeds.
Addition of compost, animal manures, or green manures can
boost the soil’s organic matter content and improve the soil’s
nutrient buffering capacity.
Module III: Soil and Climatic Requirements
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
The soil should be loosened as deeply as practical, and laid into
beds according to local practices.
Raised bed plantings are useful during raining periods; they
improve the aeration of the pepper’s roots and minimize losses
due to root diseases and flooding.
Planting on flat land can also be done in pits to conserve water in
dry areas
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
Timely field preparation facilitates timely sowing which
ensures higher yield.
Land preparation should ensure that all crop residues, crop
volunteers and weeds are completely buried.
Summer plowing is advantageous to kill the weed seeds and
hibernating insects and disease organisms by exposing them
to the heat of summer.
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
Initial plowing should be carried out at optimum moisture
range to get good tilth and should avoid when moisture is in
excess.
Number and depth of plowings depends on weed intensity.
For rainy season crop, with onset of rains in May-June, the
field is ploughed once or twice to obtain a good tilth.
Harrowing of soil should invariably followed after each
plowing to reduce the clod size.
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
After the initial plowing, the subsequent plowings and
harrowings are carried out when the moisture content of the
clods are reduced.
The number of plowings are to be minimized to reduce the
cost of cultivation.
Tillage operations should be repeated when the weed seeds
are just germinated.
When the soils are heavily infested with perennial weeds like
Cynodon or Cyperus, deep plowing is needed.
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
Moisture is a critical element in good seedbed preparation
and is essential for the successful establishment of the crop.
Field preparation depends on the system of chili pepper seed
bed and seedlings sowing.
Two systems of chili pepper seedlings sowing are followed:
• sowing on a flat surface, or
• on a raised bed system.
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
If sowing is done on a flat
surface, the land should be
leveled after final plowing
using bullock-drawn or
tractor-drawn levelers.
Chain attached to
a wooden frame of
a plow to level the land
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
Two ridgers may be fastened
on a tool bar so that the top of
the bed is 1.2 m wide and the
distance from the center of one
furrow to the center of the next
furrow is 1.5 m. The depth of
furrows should be 15 cm or
more.
Making raised-bed with
Agribar
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation
The raised bed system has many advantages over flat sowing.
They are:
• helps in draining off excess water in
the field and soil;
• provides more soil aeration for plant
growth;
• greater in-situ moisture
conservation;
• easier for weeding and mechanical
harvesting.
Module IV: Field Preparation
Lesson 1: Field Preparation for Chili Pepper Cultivation