Germination temperature
About 21 °C (70 °F) or warmer; best 21-29 °C (70-85 °F).
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Chillies need warmth to germinate and a long, sunny season to crop. Raise seedlings in trays or a raised nursery bed, plant them out at about six weeks and pick green or red.
About 21 °C (70 °F) or warmer; best 21-29 °C (70-85 °F).
About 6 mm (1/4 in).
About 6 days in warm, covered trays.
Not needed to germinate; bright light after emergence.
None needed; farms coat seed with Trichoderma or Pseudomonas.
Transplant 40-45-day-old seedlings.
Sow dry seed. TNAU treats nursery seed with Trichoderma viride (4 g per kg) or Pseudomonas fluorescens (10 g per kg) to protect seedlings from soil-borne rots; for a few pots, a clean, fresh seed mix is enough.
Not needed. Chilli seed absorbs water readily.
Not needed. Chilli is a warm-season crop and cold treatment only delays it.
Not needed. Steady warmth matters far more than pre-soaking.
Keep the mix at about 21 °C (70 °F) or a little warmer; pepper seed hardly germinates below 16 °C (60 °F). Very hot Capsicum chinense types such as Scotch bonnet are started the same way.
About 6 mm (1/4 in). In a nursery bed sow in lines 10 cm (4 in) apart and cover with sand.
Cocopeat or sterile seed mix in trays, or raised nursery beds of well-drained loam rich in organic matter, pH 6.5-7.5.
Water daily with a fine rose so the surface never dries, but do not waterlog; soggy beds invite damping off.
Seed germinates under its soil cover. Move seedlings into bright light at 16-18 °C (60-64 °F) as soon as they appear.
TNAU stacks protrays under polythene for 6 days until seedlings emerge, then moves them to shaded beds.
For pots, move seedlings into individual modules when 2-3 cm (1 in) tall, then into 13 cm (5 in) pots when roots show through the drainage holes.
Plant out 40-45-day-old seedlings on ridges 60 cm (24 in) apart: 60 x 45 cm for varieties and 75 x 60 cm for hybrids. In cool climates wait until nights stay above 10 °C (50 °F).
Irrigate weekly in the field and hand weed about 30 days after planting. Pinching the tip at 30 cm (1 ft) gives a bushier plant with more, smaller fruits but delays the crop, so it is optional.
Cause: damping off in wet, crowded nursery beds. Fix: use raised, well-drained beds or clean trays, sow thinly and water lightly; TNAU drenches nursery beds with a copper fungicide every 15 days.
Cause: chilli thrips and yellow mite, both listed by TNAU as major chilli pests. Fix: inspect leaf undersides often, raise seedlings under 40-50 mesh insect net and follow local extension advice early.
Cause: dry soil or temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F). Fix: keep soil evenly moist and grow the main crop in the cooler sowing windows.
Cause: caterpillars such as tobacco cutworm and gram caterpillar. Fix: hand-pick larvae and remove damaged fruit.
Cause: aphids, whitefly or Botrytis in a still, humid greenhouse. Fix: ventilate, space plants and check shoot tips weekly.
TNAU sows chilli nurseries in January-February, June-July and September-October. In temperate climates sow indoors from late winter to mid-spring.
Dig in well-rotted manure before planting. In pots, feed weekly with a high-potassium liquid fertiliser once flowering starts.
Picking chillies green keeps new flowers coming. Leave the last fruits to turn red if you want ripe or dried chillies; dried chilli is stored at about 12% moisture.
Wear gloves when cutting or deseeding very hot chillies and keep your hands away from your eyes.
Raise chilli seedlings in warmth and plant them out at six weeks for steady pickings of green and red fruit.
About a week in warm conditions; TNAU nursery trays kept under polythene emerge in 6 days. In a cool room it can take much longer.
TNAU begins harvesting 75 days after transplanting, so about four months after sowing including the nursery stage.
Yes. Grow one plant per large pot in multipurpose compost, keep it evenly moist and feed with a high-potassium fertiliser once it flowers.