Features of planting and the essence of the problem of cross-pollination of crops
It is recommended to grow sweet and bitter peppers at a distance of at least 20 m between the beds. This is necessary in order to prevent cross-pollination, which results in the hot bitterness of the sweet pepper. Sometimes such articulated plantings are practiced when there is a need to add piquancy to the salad peppers.
Seeds obtained from pollinated peppers will inherit bitterness. Secondary planting of such pepper will not be successful, which will require additional costs for planting material.
In what cases is it necessary to determine the type of pepper?
Many novice gardeners forget to indicate where they planted which sprouts. In this case, you have to determine the variety by appearance. Bitter and sweet peppers are grown separately, as there is a possibility of cross-pollination. Even a few hot pepper bushes can spoil the taste of the sweet variety. The distance between species should be 20 meters. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly determine the varieties of vegetable crops and, if possible, plant them while maintaining the specified distance.
In Asian countries, the spicy vegetable is specially planted near the Bulgarian one to give it a pleasant piquant taste.
How to distinguish hot peppers from sweet ones
There are several characteristics that allow you to distinguish between sweet and bitter peppers at the seedling stage and as an adult plant during the flowering period.
Spring view of the bush
Bitter peppers develop a long stem compared to sweet peppers. The latter has a powerful base and a fairly thick stem with soft and delicate leaves of light green color. The leaves of bitter pepper are oblong and oval, while sweet peppers are characterized by roundish leaf plates.
You can distinguish seedlings of hot pepper from sweet pepper using the stem
If you visually compare two plants, the differences in leaf and stem shape will be noticeable. When obtaining cross-pollinated hybrids, external differences can be almost imperceptible.
Taste of seeds
The seeds selected after calibration are carefully placed on the tongue. Hot peppers produce bitterness in the seeds. The same manipulation can be done with the seed shell after germination. The seedling is carefully removed from the soil, and the discarded shell is washed under running water and chewed. Bitterness indicates that the seedlings will definitely have hot peppers.
Taste of the leaves
Pepper leaves have a specific taste, but the presence of acute bitterness clearly makes it clear what kind of fruit you will get. To do this, you need to carefully pinch off a minimum amount of leaf (preferably the bottom one) and chew it. The appearance of a pungent taste in the mouth indicates that the seedlings will bear bitter fruit.
Sweet pepper has a specific taste of the leaves, but there is no obvious bitterness characteristic of hot pepper. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the aftertaste that remains in the mouth after chewing part of the leaf.
Flowering time
Hot pepper forms a bud 25-30 days after planting in open ground. The growing season proceeds faster than that of sweet peppers. Even the earliest ripening hybrids ripen later than hot pepper fruits.
Experienced gardeners notice that during the pollination period, bees actively visit the flowers of hot peppers, after which they move on to the buds of sweet peppers.
Type of ovary
The flower of hot pepper, after successful pollination, forms a small and elongated fruit, which over time will turn into an elongated fruit. Sweet pepper forms a spherical ovary, which evenly increases in size, forming a fruit.
This method is the most questionable, since bitter peppers are square and flat in shape, while sweet peppers have hybrids that form elongated fruits.
The most successful and highly effective method of determination is the taste of pepper seeds and leaves. After the “saboteurs” are found, it is important to remove them from the garden bed where the sweet pepper grows as soon as possible. Otherwise, during the pollination period there is a high probability of obtaining a “bitter” harvest.
Early flowering
Sometimes it happens that pepper seedlings bloom before being planted in the ground. What to do in such a situation depends on the reason. The most common is the wrong climate: high temperatures for pepper seedlings are not recommended. If the room is too hot, the growing season accelerates. In the case of mixed seeds, the risk of cross-pollination increases and it becomes more difficult to distinguish one species from another. Why seedlings may bloom earlier:
- room temperature above 25°C;
- bright sun rays that fall directly on the sprouts;
- growth promoting drugs;
- soil too rich;
- abundant complementary feeding.
Under normal conditions, seedlings ripen slowly and you will have time to tell one type of pepper from another. Early flowering will reduce the number of ovaries, reduce the quality of the fruits and increase the risk that the bush will not take root after replanting. If pepper seedlings still bloom at home, try to remove the first flowers with your hands, reduce the frequency of watering and lower the temperature in the room. Proper care of pepper seedlings at home will avoid early flowering and cross-pollination at this stage.
Prevention of cross-pollination when growing seedlings
Bitter pepper is the ancestor of sweet pepper, so when even one specimen appears in the garden, there is a chance of getting the entire harvest of hot pepper. To prevent this, you should:
- Choose only those seeds in which you are confident.
- Plant sweet and bitter peppers as seedlings in different containers.
- Label each type of pepper.
- Plant sweet and bitter peppers in open ground at a distance of at least 15 m from each other.
Sweet and bitter peppers must be planted in different containers.
If you are not exactly sure that the pepper corresponds to the selected variety, it is recommended not to plant it in open ground, as this may harm the rest of the plantings, which in total will lead to the lack of the desired harvest.
Choosing the right variety
The initial, very important point is the selection of seeds. You should choose according to the following parameters:
The most important criterion is the maturation period. This period lasts an average of 5 months for many varieties. This means that the summer months may not be enough for the plant to fully develop. Find out in advance what the most suitable pepper variety is for your region. Perhaps only one that ripens early will suit you.
How it reacts to weather changes and low light. All this also plays a serious role. The thing is that such peppers do not tolerate temperature fluctuations, this can lead to the death of the plant.
How resistant to viruses. Aphids and other pests really like hot peppers. Those varieties that have poor resistance to diseases constantly suffer, and as a result, there may be no harvest at all.
Spicy level. Not everyone is ready to eat very hot peppers; sometimes they can simply cause poisoning. Therefore, it is recommended to choose from low-burning to simply hot varieties.
What to do if a mistake has already been made?
When the gardener realized that there is a threat from several peppers, you can do the following:
- Remove from the area all suspicious pepper plants that may be bitter (as all signs indicate).
- Try to prevent the cross-pollination process.
In the first case, everything is quite simple: unnecessary plants are removed along with the roots. In the second case, you can try to save the crop if the flowering process has not yet begun. You can do this in several ways:
- Protect the garden bed from insects - bees are the culprits of cross-pollination. Therefore, you can build a fence from boards in the shape of a mini-greenhouse, covering it with gauze. This measure will not affect the quality and quantity in any way.
- Tie gauze bandages to the tops of suspicious bushes - take a piece of gauze and tie the area around the pepper flower well. This will prevent bees from penetrating the flower and will not allow cross-pollination of different varieties of pepper.
- Sprinkle sweet peppers with honey water - to do this, take 1 glass of warm water and dissolve 1 teaspoon of honey in it. Using a spray bottle, go over the sweet pepper bushes, which will attract insects. Hot peppers are wrapped in gauze.
If the flowering process has not yet begun, you can try to save the crop.
Not only bitter and sweet peppers can cross-pollinate, but also their different varieties. The resulting hybrids are distinguished by the absence of those qualities for which the selected variety is famous. Therefore, it is recommended to grow one type of pepper in one summer cottage, or choose hybrids that are not afraid of cross-pollination.
Cross-pollination and re-grading - when and why it happens
Cross-pollination, that is, pollen from another crop or another variety falling on a flower, occurs in many garden plants, including bell peppers. If pollen from a bitter plant gets on it, the fruits will be bitter and will become smaller; if pollen of different varieties is mixed, then the varietal characteristics will be lost.
Reference!
Pollen exchange can only occur when flowers are formed. Until this point, seedlings of different varieties and types can be grown side by side.
The likelihood that pollen will be carried by the wind is very small - its main carriers are various insects. It could be a flea, a small bug, a bee, a wasp. At home, this is unlikely, but often midges, bugs, or, which also happens, aphids appear through the window, so the fact of cross-pollination of seedlings cannot be completely ruled out.
Over-grading can also cause bitterness in fruits. When this happens:
- the seeds were mixed up in a package purchased in a store;
- the seed material is not labeled or the inscription has been erased during home harvesting;
- there was confusion when growing seedlings;
- The tag indicating the type (variety) is lost.
Rules for growing hot peppers
Seeds for seedlings are sown in February. After all, it is from this period that daylight hours increase. In order for the seeds to germinate together and as quickly as possible, they are soaked for 3-5 days in warm snow water.
Process of planting hot pepper seeds:
- Place the seeds between two damp cotton pads and leave them in containers that are located near hot radiators. Make sure that the discs are not dry.
- In a container for seedlings in already prepared soil, using tweezers, place the seeds at such a distance that it will be convenient for you to transplant them into separate pots after they grow to the ground.
- After the first pair of leaves appear, transplant them into separate containers. During this period, they can already be lightly sprayed with warm water.
- Fertilizing won't hurt either. You can use Kemira Lux or any other product with a similar principle of action.
- When your seedlings reach 12-15 cm in height, they can be transplanted into open ground or into large pots for indoor growing.
Read: How to grow hot peppers on a windowsill
Planting in open ground
It is better to plant seedlings in open ground in the morning on a cloudy day. The average daily temperature must be at least 14°C. Peppers can be planted in a separate area or between rows of other crops, for example among ground strawberries. The exception is hot peppers, which can add their own flavor through the process of cross-pollination. And as a result, the cultivation of sweet peppers will turn into the cultivation of new hot varieties.
The main condition for planting is the interval between bushes of at least 30 centimeters. The distance between the rows is 50 centimeters to facilitate assembly. If possible, it is also better to immediately organize a low trellis for the garter, similar to what is done for ground cucumbers.
When growing in open ground, problems with diseases and pests may arise. The most common disease of peppers is rotting, which occurs as a result of lack of moisture. But you can use karbofos to control pests, but not at the time of flowering.
During harvesting, the fruits are carefully cut with a knife rather than picked. If fruiting is delayed until frost and many fruits do not have time to ripen, remove the bushes along with the fruits from the ground and hang them in a room with above-zero temperatures. Thus, the fruits will ripen successfully and will not differ from those collected on time.
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How to grow seedlings
Good seeds are one of the keys to success in obtaining a rich pepper harvest.
It is worth familiarizing yourself with the size of an adult bush, the ripening period, and the shape of the pod. The seed, if necessary, must be properly processed. Next, high-quality soil with the correct composition, drainage and containers are selected.
Seed selection and preparation
When preparing the seed, the seeds are disinfected, stimulated and soaked. First, using a container of water, they get rid of low-weight and low-quality ones. They will remain floating on the surface. Next, good samples (that have sunk to the bottom) are dipped into a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.
I stimulate immediately in Zircon or Glumate
It is more convenient to germinate in cotton pads, placing the seed between them and moistening them well. As soon as it has hatched, you can immediately plant it without waiting for sprouts to appear. It is better to plant 1 cm deep, then water. Place the seedlings on a south or west window.
Another option is wet gauze, which is distributed in a container, then the seeds are laid out and covered with a bag (creating a greenhouse effect). The container is removed to a warm, dark place.
Seeds are soaked in gauze
Soil selection and preparation
For many, the key to a rich harvest is well-prepared soil. Some people think it’s wiser to prepare it yourself, while others think it’s wiser to buy it ready-made. Homemade consists of garden soil in which the crop will further grow, peat and compost in a ratio of 2:1:1, respectively.
The good thing is that during the transplant it is practically not injured, there will be less stress. However, the finished soil will be filled with minerals. It's a matter of choice. But the main thing is that the environment is slightly acidic or neutral, enriched with nutrients and organic matter.
Selection of capacity
You can use both individual containers and seedling boxes. It is more convenient to use the first ones, this way you can avoid picking. There are many options - peat tablets, plastic or paper cups. It is more convenient to choose containers up to 15 cm high, but its volume depends on the size of the bushes.
Tall bushes require 3-4 liters, low ones - 1.5-2 liters. When using boxes, after the appearance of the third true leaf, the seedlings must be picked
Direct sowing
If you use special boxes, you must first fill them with soil, then level it and make 1.5 cm indentations, place the seeds at a distance of 3 cm from each other, and cover the top with soil. Place 2-3 seeds in individual containers at the same depth. Leave the best sprout after germination.
How long does it take for seeds to germinate?
Shoots of early varieties may appear as early as 7-10 days, medium varieties - 10-12, late varieties - 12-15 days. Time limits for the emergence of seedlings of various varieties of pepper: early - 7-10 days; medium ripeness - 10-12 days; late - after 12-15 days.
Planting at home
Let's consider several ways of pre-sowing seed treatment at home. The goals being pursued are:
- speed up germination;
- improve immunity;
- exclude infections.
Soaking seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate
. 15 minutes are enough for disinfection.
Improves immunity by hardening
. It is carried out over 7 days. The seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth. During the day they lie near the radiator, at night in the refrigerator.
Bubbling will speed up germination
– saturation of seeds with oxygen. You will need an inexpensive aquarium compressor. The seeds are placed in a container of water and the compressor is turned on. The seeds are bubbled for 24 hours. They are dried before planting.
Selection of container and substrate
Peppers grow well in transparent disposable cups with a volume of 350-400 ml. The roots develop well in them. You can use a hot nail or knitting needle to make a drainage hole at the bottom. Excess water will not linger in the glass.
Peppers do not tolerate transplantation well, so they are immediately planted in a separate container according to step-by-step instructions.
Substrate preparation
You can use a purchased substrate for planting that contains the entire necessary set of microelements. Do-it-yourself soil mixture is more reliable.
It needs to be prepared in the fall. Take garden soil from the ridge where cucumbers, onions or carrots
. To 1 part of the soil taken from the garden, add 1 part peat and 1 part humus. Pour 2 tbsp into a well-mixed 10 liter mixture. superphosphate and 2 cups of ash. Mix everything again.
A week before planting, spill the soil mixture prepared by yourself with a solution of phytosporin (per 10 l - 5 g). The biological product will preserve all beneficial microorganisms and kill fungal spores and harmful bacteria.
Sowing seeds
The glasses are filled with earth. It is moist, loose and ready to plant. If there are a lot of seeds, you can sow two seeds in one cup. Leave the strongest
.
Pinch off the weak pepper. The seeding depth is 1 cm
.
The soil is moist, so there is no need to water
. Place the cups on a pallet and cover the top with PVC film. The mini-greenhouse is ready. For 2-3 weeks (this is the time of seed germination), place the greenhouse in a warm place. For germination, a temperature of 25-28 degrees is required.
