Hot deals to improve chili production

Chili is a plant grown mainly in the tropical region and it grows well in humid and warm climate where the soil has to be moist all the time.
Chili and hot pepper is a fast growing crop in Uganda that takes about three months to mature. It can be harvested throughout the year depending on the availability of water. It is drought resistant and has a high demand on local and export market.
It is grown mainly by small scale farmers in gardens and the yield varies depending on agronomy practices adopted by farmers.

Varieties
There are many varieties of hot pepper each with its own shape, size and colour usually red, orange or yellow.
The common pepper variety is Scotch Bonnet the Caribbean type which has a rich unique flavour.
Another common variety is the Uganda Red Bird Eye Chilli which is highly demanded in the export market for food and pharmaceutical industries. Long Cayenne has recently been introduced in the northern region grown by farmers in mainly Lango sub region in the districts of Lira, Oyam and Dokolo among others.
It is important to note that there is commercially available hot pepper seeds sold in groceries around the country and farmers can access it from such groceries.

Differences
Peter Wamboga Mugirya a journalist and farmer growing chili in his land situated in Ndejje, Wakiso District giving his experience in growing the plant for commercial purposes explains that there is a difference between chili and hot pepper.
Chili is mainly harvested green and consumed as vegetables but non-spicy chilies are called bell pepper, green pepper, red bell pepper and sometimes dried into powder.
Wamboga grows a type of chili called bad eye which is long shaped with sharp ending and it contains green stalk.

Why you ought to try it
He says it is easy to grow chili regardless of which variety someone is growing. The seeds have to be raised in a nursery bed and seedlings transplanted into the field after one month.
It is important to plant the seedlings in lines giving spacing of 30cm by 30sm for easy weeding.
Wamboga was interested in growing chili by his neighbour who grows both hot pepper and chili on large scale and learnt the agronomy practices in his friend’s farm.

The land
It is important to keep the land moist because excessive rainfall can be detrimental as it may cause rotting of the plants. Black loam soil is best for growing chili and incase of other types of soil, irrigation has to be practiced to keep the soil moist.
Weeding can be done after two weeks from planting and once the plants are grown it is important to prune to avoid overgrowing of leaves. Compost manure is essential during the time of land preparation to boost yield.

Seeds
Seed selection is important and high quality seed purchased from certified seed companies is recommendable to avoid challenges of pests and diseases. In case a farmer is processing seed from his garden, it should be well dried for proper germination.
The crop is perishable in nature and requires attention during harvest, storage and transportation.
The varieties for vegetable purposes are harvested while green but for currying it has to be fully ripe and dried to make powder.
Mr Amos Aturinda, Wentaro an agronomist at Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, explains that it is important for farmers growing chili to plant quality seed.
Farmers are advised to observe the packaging and labeling where the percentage rate of germination is indicated, otherwise they may buy seed, that may fail to germinate.
It is also important to note that transplanting the seedlings from the nursery beds to the garden must be done during rainy season and farmers are advised to continue watering the plant until when they have established itself in the soil.

Challenges
The plant has challenges of pests such as thrips, mites, aphids and pod borers among others which can be controlled using processed neem seed which can be mixed with water and sprinkled on the plants.
There are also diseases such as fruit rot, bacterial wilt, leaf spot which can be avoided by careful selection of quality seeds which are free from such diseases. It is also important for farmers to apply phytosanitary measures like early removal of infected plants as well as use of trichoderma chemical mixed with water for spraying the plants.
Harvest
Wamboga says it is easy to harvest chili during dry season because drying it under sunshine becomes easy. It may take about one week to dry but during rainy season there is challenge of drying it.
Most farmers sell their chili both in raw and processed form. When it is dry, a kilogramme of dried chili is sold at Shs8,000.
In many cases, companies that deal in spicy processing are the major buyers of chili in the country.
Chili is one of the hot topics that will be discussed in detail at the Monitor Farm Climate Change Smart Agriculture Clinic in Mbarara. To book your slot, call 0774853187.