4.

0 Maintenance of pepper plant

Once a plantation has been established, the work should not be considered finished. If
we want to achieve a good and quality yield, they must constantly implement crop
maintenance practices during the growing season. Crop maintenance practices need to
5 be done in a timely manner. So, we need to do some maintenance practices in order to
achieve a good and quality yield of pepper plant.

4.1 Field Maintenance

10 a. Manuring and fertilizer application

The continuous intake of nutrients from the soil by pepper vines as well as the
intercrops necessitates application of fertilizers regularly. Only a balanced supply of the
required nutrients will ensure a steady and economic crop. The quantity of fertilizers to
be applied per plant may vary depending upon the nature of cultivation and intercrops.
15 Pepper need a lot of nutrients and therefore need a high quantity of fertilizer application
to ensure high yields.
Manuring for pepper vine is to be done in the basins prepared around the plants 10
-15cm deep and 50 to 75 cm radius depending upon the growth of the plants. Apply
cattle manure or compost @ 10 kg per plant per annum just at the onset of south-west
20 monsoon and cover lightly with soil. It is desirable to apply lime @ 500 g per vine in
April-May with receipt of monsoon showers.
The fertilizer recommendation adopted at present for a pepper crop of three years
is: nitrogen –l00g, phosphorus -40g, and potash -140 g per plant. Nitrogen can be
supplied by applying 218 g of urea or 488 g of ammonium sulphate, phosphatic fertilizers
25 by 200 g of single super phosphate or 222 g of double super phosphate and potassic
fertilizers by 233 g of muriate of potash

b. Irrigation
Irrigating pepper plant from November-December to the end of March and
30 withholding it till monsoon break, increases pepper yield by about 50 per cent. The depth
of irrigation recommended is 10 millimeter. The water is to be applied in basins around
the plants at a radius of 75 centimeter. The basins may be mulched with dry leaves or
other suitable materials.
 c. Pruning
Three rounds of pruning are recommended during the immature phase of plant
growth:-
i. In the first pruning, which is done about 6-8 months after planting, the terminal shoot
5 is pruned back to about 30 cm above the ground. Three new terminal shoots
originating from the axillary bud are allowed to develop.
ii. The second pruning is 12-14 months after planting, when pepper is grown to half the
height of the support. This involves removal of terminal shoots at 6-7 nodes below to
encourage growth of lateral branches at lower parts. Only three vigorous shoots,
10 one from each of the original terminal, are allowed to grow up the support.
iii. A third pruning is done when the terminal shoots have reached the top of the
support.

 Pepper plants are pruned to ;

15 - get stronger plants
- reduce wild growth of the runners
- keep the plants at a certain height
- stimulate the growth of lateral fruit-bearing branches.

20 d. Weed Control
A completely weed-free condition is maintained until the cover crop is fully
established. Regular hand weeding at two-weekly intervals should be carried out during
the first four months of planting. For immature plantings, circle weeding is carried out
manually or by spraying 2,4-D Amine. After the plants are about 5 months old, chemical
25 spraying can be carried out in between the planting rows. Gluphosinate is one of the
recommended chemical sprays for pepper planting. Chemical spraying is carried out 4
– 6 rounds per year depending on the rate of weed growth.

4.2 Management/Maintenance after planting

30 Few cultural operations are to be practiced as the cuttings grow. They are described
here.
 a. Soil moisture conservation
If the terrain of the land is sloppy or uneven, make contour bunds or terraces to
prevent soil erosion. Carry out digging around the standards and vines at a radius of
5 about one meter from the base or on the entire plantation twice during the year, the first
at the onset of southwest monsoon and the second towards the end of north-east
monsoon. Weeding around the plants is to be done according to the necessity. In the
early stages, tie the vines to the standards if necessary.

10 b. Cover cropping
Where pepper is grown on plantation scale, growing of cover crops like
Calapagonium mucorolders is recommended. When such cover crops are grown, they
are to be cut regularly from the base of the plants to prevent them from twinning along
with the pepper vines. Lowering of vines after one year's growth will promote lateral
15 branches growth.

c. Inter-cropping
Inter-cropping of pepper with ginger, termeric, banana and elephant foot yam are
advantageous. Banana as an intercrop, reduces pepper yield. Therefore, this is not
20 recommended beyond three to four years after planting of pepper vines. However. in the
early years, banana provides shade to the young plants and protects them from drying
up during summer months.

d. Under planting
25 After regular bearing for about 20 years, the yield of most varieties start declining. The
age of yield decline varies from variety to variety and also depends upon agro-climatic
factors and management practices. So, under planting should be attempted at about 20
years after planting or when a regular declining trend in yield appears. The old and
senile vines can be removed three to five after under planting depending upon the
30 growth of the young vine.