When should we start raising early pepper seedlings?

With the development of greenhouse cultivation technology, pepper seedlings will be raised in advance. However, many people are not clear about the cultivation time of early pepper seedlings . So when should the early pepper seedlings be raised? Let’s learn more about it below.

When should we start raising early pepper seedlings?

Early pepper seedlings are generally grown in greenhouses , and can be grown as early as early to mid-February, which is conducive to the early listing of peppers on the market. The time for planting peppers varies from region to region. For example, in Guangdong, Fujian and other regions, pepper seedlings are started in December of the previous year.

Method of raising pepper seedlings

1. Early maturing varieties

When choosing varieties for early pepper seedlings, you must pay attention to selecting early-maturing varieties, taking into account both high yield and disease resistance. The most commonly used varieties include Zhongjiao 107, Jingtian 3, Haifeng 16, Guofu 308, etc., and local excellent varieties can also be used.

2. Seed treatment

Before sowing, spread the seeds on paper and dry them in the sun for 1 to 2 days. Be careful not to place the seeds on concrete floors or other places where the temperature rises quickly and expose them to the sun to avoid scalding the seeds. First soak the seeds in room temperature water for 15 minutes, then transfer them to 55~60℃ warm water and soak them for 10~15 minutes to disinfect and sterilize them. The amount of water used should be about 5 times the weight of the seeds. Stir constantly during the process to ensure that the seeds are heated evenly. Then lower the water temperature to 28~30°C or transfer the seeds to warm water at 28~30°C and continue soaking for 8~12 hours.

3. Prepare nutrient soil

Nutrient soil is made of fertile garden soil, fully decomposed compost or manure, coal ash, carbonized rice husks, river mud, pond mud, sand coke, peat, etc. Garden soil should be soil that has not been used to grow solanaceous vegetables or melon vegetables for 1 to 2 years. Garden soil should be dug in August when the temperature is high. After being fully baked and dried, it should be broken and sieved, and then stored indoors or covered with a film to keep it dry for later use. Add 1-15 kg of urea and 1 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate per cubic meter of nutrient soil and mix well. At present, 72-hole seedling trays are mostly used in production, and the nutrient soil is mixed and then loaded into the trays.

4. Plug tray sowing

Before sowing, put the adjusted culture soil into the seedling hole tray, scrape the soil flat and press it slightly, then fill it with water. Make sure there is no water overflowing from the outside. After the water is fully absorbed, you can sow. In the 128 six seedling tray, spot sowing is mostly used. After sowing, cover with a layer of dry fine soil about 0.5 cm thick and press lightly. Then use a sprayer to spray a thin layer of water to make the soil covering the seeds moist.

5. Seedling management

During the germination period, high humidity and temperature should be maintained to promote germination. Therefore, the seedbed should be watered thoroughly before sowing. When the temperature is low, the seeds should be covered to keep warm. The daytime temperature during the germination period should be kept at 22 to 26 degrees and not lower than 18 degrees at night. During the germination process, it is also necessary to prevent the seedlings from emerging from the soil with "caps". If it is found that many seedlings are "capped", you can spray an appropriate amount of water or sprinkle some moist fine soil. If there are not many "capped" seedlings, you can remove the caps manually.

That’s it