How to Cultivate Paprika Fruit

On this occasion, we will provide information for all of you about Paprika Fruit Cultivation. Pay attention to the information we provide below as your knowledge in cultivation. Hopefully it will be useful and as a motivation for you in your efforts.

Agribusiness Paprika - Who doesn't know Paprika, the sweet and slightly spicy fruit. Indeed nama Paprika for some Indonesian people still sounds foreign. Because this plant is not native to the archipelago, but comes from South America and began to be bred in Asia in recent decades. The special color of the skin of the fruit with its shine makes the paprika able to evoke the culinary dishes that are served. Many housewives and master chefs use paprika as a solid vegetable preparation to support the taste of cooking, such as chicken soup, stir-fried squid, shrimp mayonnaise, and others. The supply in the market is still scarce, making the price of paprika quite expensive, which is around 15,000-30,000 rupiah per kilogram. So it doesn't feel wrong, if the cultivation of paprika plants is a promising agribusiness opportunity.

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Cultivation of Paprika Crops

Paprika plant ( Capsicum annuum L.). is a type of plant similar to chili and belongs to the eggplant family. Paprika has a mild spicy taste and a little sweet and sour taste. It is shaped like a tomato, but bigger and shiny. This plant can grow well in highland areas (750 meters above sea level) with cool air temperature (15-25 C). Areas in Indonesia that are suitable for the cultivation of Paprika include the highland areas of West Java (for example Lembang, Pengalangan, Cisarua, Ciwidey), Central Java in the Dieng Plateau, East Java in the Malang and Bromo areas, Sumatra in the Brastagi area, Mount Kerinci, Bukit High, Bali in the Tabanan area, East Nusa Tenggara in Ruteng and Bajawa, on the island of Lombok, as well as other cold areas. In addition to being planted on land, Paprika can also be cultivated through pot or hydroponic media. 

Also read: Guide to Growing Good Chilies

How to Cultivate Paprika

Growing conditions Paprika is widely cultivated in Indonesia, especially in the highlands. This is because paprika needs a fairly cold temperature to grow. Types of paprika that are usually cultivated in Indonesia include wonder bell, skipper, and blue star .Paprika is usually suitable for growing in highland areas between 700-1000 meters above sea level. This plant can grow with humidity around 80%. While the air temperature that allows paprika to grow is between 18-23°C. Paprika can be cultivated well in sandy clay soil with PH 6-7. If you want to grow paprika plants in the lowlands, of course you should use a green house. The temperature of the room should be adjusted in such a way that it is similar to the temperature in the highlands. This plant is a plant that is quite sensitive to nature. So if you want to cultivate it, you have to be very diligent.

Preparation Stage Paprika needs crumbly and loose soil. Therefore, if planting in heavy or dense soil, it must be plowed first. Before planting in the field, paprika seeds must be sown in a seedling medium first. So that the sowing is not disturbed by weeds, then the seeding media can be given mulch or burnt husk with a ratio of humus soil and mulch that is 75:25. This is done after basic fertilization. Meanwhile, liming can be done in conjunction with base fertilization.

Also read: How to Control Fusarium Wilt on Chili Plants

Sowing paprika seeds. First soak the paprika seeds in warm water (35-40°C), and leave for 24 hours. While waiting for the soaking process for one day, prepare the sowing media in the form of a pot or a small area (depending on the number of seeds) with a mixture of humus soil and husk as much as 3:1. after the soaking process, the seeds are ready to be sown by planting them in a seedling medium half to one centimeter deep. Water the nursery twice a day to maintain the water content and humidity. The seeds will usually grow perfectly after entering the 10th day. After being three weeks old, the paprika shoots are ready to be transferred to the actual planting media, either in the form of soil (plastic mulch) or by using a large polybag measuring 30x35 cm.  

When it has grown and 5-7 leaves have appeared and is strong enough to be lifted, then the plant can be moved to the real land. Planting on the land is done after 4:00 p.m. or in the morning between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. This is meant to avoid stress on the plant if exposed to the scorching sun. After that, the plant must continue to be kept moist. The paprika plant will begin to flower 

After two to four weeks. During planting, it is good that the plant is provided with shade. This is done because paprika is a plant that is very sensitive to light intensity. The shade can be made of plastic or can also use taller plants as protection. Paprika plants that are given shade will produce better fruit. During planting, it is also necessary to prune vegetative shoots that often appear on the main stem. Pruning is done so that the plant can grow upwards without many branches. In addition, it is also necessary to trim the flowers. If two to three flowers grow on one stem, then only one flower is left so that there is no competition for the absorption of food nutrients.

Maintenance Carry out maintenance activities in the form of routine watering 2x a day, weeding grass and weeds, fertilizing, and spraying if pests are found. If the maintenance is done correctly, then you can start to see the appearance of flowers and fruit at the age of 2 months, then feel the paprika harvest after the plant is 3 months old. The production time of Paprika plants lasts approximately 7-9 months with a tree height of 2 to 4 meters. Once old, paprika plants should be replaced with new seeds, or rotate plants for moorland media. Harvesting paprika fruit does not have to wait for the fruit to be red. Even when it is still young (green) it can be harvested and sold to the market.

Harvest Time Paprika can be harvested after two to three months of planting. The peppers that are harvested are peppers that are green, red, yellow, or orange. Green peppers are actually peppers that are not too old. Harvesting paprika that is still green is usually done for economic reasons. This means that if it is harvested quickly, it can avoid paprika being affected by pests or diseases. While paprika that is red, yellow, or orange is a paprika that is old enough.

To be able to find out if the paprika can really be harvested, you can measure the hardness and hardness of the paprika fruit. The measurement is done by tapping and pressing. If it sounds loud when tapped and does not change shape when pressed, then the paprika is really ready to be harvested. The way to harvest paprika is to pick it together with the stalk. Once picked, it should be stored in a place where the temperature is between 7-10°C to keep the quality good. 

Also read: How to Cultivate a Good Cassava

Paprika Plant Business Tips

Paprika plants consist of various varieties, including wonder bell, takii ace, skipper, blue star, jumbo sweet, colombo, green horn, and marengo. The types of paprika that are suitable and most in demand in Indonesia are wonder bell, blue star, and skipper. In the maintenance process, we will often see the emergence of vegetative buds in the armpit of the main stem. It's best to just trim some of the branch buds so that it can produce large paprika. In addition, if there are 3-4 flowers (potential fruit) in one branch of the stem, then it is better to keep only 1-2 flowers in order to produce large fruit. Good luck trying to do paprika business.