The same fruit of five-color pepper with red, yellow, purple and white is lovely to watch in potted plants.

Five-color pepper

Five-color pepper, also known as Chaotian pepper, colorful pepper, is a variety of pepper, astringent taste. It belongs to the perennial semi-woody plant of Solanaceae, which is often cultivated annually. There are many flower growers in Shuyang, Jiangsu Province, whose plant height is 30 cm-60 cm, with many branches, erect stems and alternate leaves; the flowers are white, flowering from the beginning of May to the end of July, and the fruit is clustered at the end of the branch. The same fruit has red, yellow, purple, white and other colors, color, pot ornamental is very cute, but also edible, the flavor is the same as green pepper. Pepper fruit bright color, embellished in the green leaves, dexterous and lovely. Can be cultivated in a single plant in a small basin or several plants planted in a larger basin, displayed in the living room, bedroom or kitchen, the decorative effect is very good. The whole grass is used as medicine, the rhizome is warm and sweet, it can dispel wind and cold, relax muscles and activate collaterals, and has the effect of killing insects and relieving itching. The plant has a certain ability to absorb and resist toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide in the air.

Morphological characteristics

Perennial herbs, often cultivated as annual. The plant height is 40-60 cm. The stem is semi-lignified or semi-shrubby, the stem is erect and branched, it is a variety of sharp pepper. Simple leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate or rectangular round, like edible pepper. Flowers small, white, solitary leaf axils or tubers apical, pedicellate. Calyx short, inflated when fruiting. Flowering from July to Frosts Descent. The berries are erect, small and pointed, finger-shaped, conical or spherical, and change from green to white, yellow, orange, red, purple and other colors in the ripening process. The ripening period is from August to October. Natural hybridization often leads to new variations.

Growing environment

Five-color pepper is not cold-resistant by nature and likes warm, dry and sunny environment. The optimum temperature for growth is 20-30 ℃, and it is difficult to bear fruit when it is lower than 15 ℃ or higher than 35 ℃. It is suitable for cultivation in well-drained, loose and fertile loam and sandy loam.

Main value

1. As an ornamental. There are fewer diseases and insect pests in five-color pepper, which are generally leaf spot (can be sprayed with 500x of 50% tobujin wettable powder) and harm to aphids (can be sprayed with 1500 times of 50% fenitrothion EC). Therefore, five-color peppers with bright fruits, rich colors (yellow, cyan, bright red, pink, orange) and colorful fruit shapes (lantern shape, eggplant shape, sharp shape, chicken heart shape) are often planted in flower beds and mirrors, especially potted plants are very popular.

2. As a food material. The fruit of multicolored pepper is edible and seasoning. It has high nutritional value and is rich in VA, VB, VC and VD. It is a vegetable with more vitamins in vegetarian vegetables.

3. As an insecticide. It can kill armyworm, caterpillar, red spider and so on. Boil 50 grams of fresh or sun-dried five-color peppers with 500 grams of water for half an hour, then spray the damaged plants with water.

Reproduction method

Sowing and reproduction

Often sowing in summer: Matrix disinfection to disinfect the substrate used for sowing, the best way is to put it into the pot to stir-fry, any diseases and insects can be scalded to death.

1. Sprouting: soak the seeds in warm hot water (the temperature is about the same as facial wash) for 3 to 10 hours until the seeds absorb water and expand. For common seeds that germinate easily, this work does not have to be done.

two。 Sowing: for small seeds that are difficult to pick up with hands or other tools, wet one end of the toothpick with water, stick the seeds one by one on the surface of the matrix, cover the substrate 1 cm thick, and then put the seeding flowerpot into the water, the depth of the water is the height of the flowerpot, let the water soak up slowly (this method is called "pot immersion method")

For larger seeds that can be picked up by hand or other tools, put the seeds directly into the substrate and order them at a distance of 3 × 3 cm. After sowing, the substrate was covered, and the thickness of the cover was 2-3 times that of the seed. After sowing, you can use sprayers and fine-hole showers to wet the sowing matrix, and later, when the basin soil is slightly dry, you should still pay attention to the watering strength not to wash the seeds up.

3. Management after sowing

After the seedlings are unearthed after sowing, the film should be opened in time, and the seedlings should be exposed to the sun before 9:30 every morning or after 3:30 in the afternoon, otherwise the seedlings will grow very weakly; after most of the seeds come out, you need to plant seedlings properly: pull out the diseased and unhealthy seedlings so that there is some space between the seedlings left behind. When most of the seedlings have three or more leaves, they can be transplanted into the pot.

Cuttage propagation

Cutting substrate is used for cutting nutrient soil or river sand, peat soil and other materials. Due to the limited conditions, it is difficult to get the ideal cutting substrate, so it is recommended to use the prepared and sterilized cutting substrate; medium and coarse river sand is also fine, but rinse with clean water several times before use. Do not use sea sand and river sand in saline-alkali areas, they are not suitable for the growth of flowers and plants.

Selection of cutting branches: the branches used for cutting are called cuttings. Usually combined with the heart-picking work, the sturdy, disease-free top tip is taken as a cuttage, and the top tip is cut directly.

Management after cutting:

Temperature: the optimum temperature for rooting of cuttings was 18 ℃ ~ 25 ℃, which was lower than 18 ℃, and it was difficult and slow for cuttings to take root, and when the temperature was higher than 25 ℃, the cuttings were easily infected and rotted by bacteria, and the higher the temperature was, the greater the proportion of rotting was. When there is a low temperature after cutting, the heat preservation measure is mainly to wrap the flowerpot or container used for cutting with thin film; when the temperature is too high after cutting, the cooling measure is mainly to shade the cuttings, to cover 50-80% of the sun, and at the same time, spray the cuttings 3-5 times a day, with more times of spraying when the temperature is higher in sunny days, lower temperatures and higher temperatures in rainy days, but less or no spraying times.

Humidity: the relative humidity of the air must be kept at 750.85% after cutting. You can increase the humidity by spraying the cuttings 1-3 times a day, the higher the temperature in sunny days, the more times you spray, and the lower the temperature in cloudy and rainy days, the less or no spraying. But with excessive spraying, cuttings are easy to be infected by bacteria and rot, because many kinds of bacteria exist in the water.

Light: cutting propagation is inseparable from sunlight, but the stronger the light is, the higher the temperature in the cuttings is, the more exuberant the transpiration of cuttings is, and the more water is consumed, which is not conducive to the survival of cuttings. Therefore, after cutting, the sun must be shaded by 50% to 80%, and then gradually removed after the root system grows: remove the sunscreen at 4:00 every sunny day, and cover it before 9:00 the next day.

Pot or transplant: when the seedlings are installed in the pot, put a coarse-grained matrix or ceramsite 2cm thick at the bottom of the pot as a filter layer, sprinkle a layer of fully mature organic fertilizer as base fertilizer with a thickness of about 1cm to 2cm, and then cover it with a layer of substrate, which is about 1cm thick, and then put in the plant to separate the fertilizer from the root system and avoid burning roots.

You can choose one of the following substrates for potting. Vegetable garden soil: slag = 3RU 1; or garden soil: medium coarse river sand: sawdust = 4RU 1RU 2; or one of paddy soil, pond mud, rotten leaf soil. Or peat + perlite + ceramsite = 2 + 2 + 1; vegetable garden soil + slag = 3 + 1; peat + slag + ceramsite = 2 + 2 + 1; sawdust + vermiculite + medium coarse river sand = 2 + 2 + 1. Pour water once after putting on the basin and keep it in a shady environment for a week.

When transplanting the seedlings, first dig the planting hole, sprinkle a layer of organic fertilizer at the bottom of the planting hole as the base fertilizer (base fertilizer), the thickness is about 46.6 cm, and then cover a layer of soil and put it into the seedlings to separate the fertilizer from the roots and avoid burning roots. After putting it into the seedling, backfill the soil, cover the root system, and trample the soil with your feet and water it once.

Coring: usually twice before flowering to promote more flowering branches: one to two weeks after potting, or when the seedling is 6-10 cm tall and has more than six leaves, remove the tip and retain the lower 3-4 leaves to promote branching. After 3-5 weeks of the first coring, or when the lateral branch grows to 6-8 cm long, the second coring is performed, that is, the top tip of the lateral branch is removed and the 4 leaves under the lateral branch are retained. After two coring, the plant type will be more ideal and the number of flowering will be more.

Humidity management: like the dry air relative humidity, afraid of rain, need to keep the leaves dry at night. The optimum relative humidity of the air is 50-65%.

Temperature management: heat-resistant, not frost-resistant.

Light management: like plenty of sunshine, slightly withstand half shade.

Fertilizer and water management: like other grass flowers, it requires more fertilizer and water, but it is required to follow the principle of "light fertilizer applied frequently, less and more times, and complete nutrition". After fertilization, leaves and flowers should be kept dry at night:

Spring, summer and autumn: it is its peak growing season. Fertilizer and water management follows the sequential cycle of "Huabao"-- "Huabao"-- clear water-- "Huabao"-- "Huabao"-- at least twice a week. After entering the flowering stage, fertilizer should be properly controlled to facilitate seed ripening.

Cultivation techniques

Raising seedlings

The suitable temperature for germination is above 25 ℃. If the plastic film shed is used for heat preservation, it is best to sow seeds in a seedbed or pot, the soil should be fertile, loose and hydrated, and the soil should be screened and disinfected. The simple method of disinfection is exposure, fumigation and high temperature treatment. The purpose is to kill the damage of bacteria or insect eggs to young pepper seedlings, spray enough water into the seedling bed before sowing, and spread the seeds evenly after water penetration. Then cover 1 cm thick with fine soil, finally spray water to moisten the bed, the low temperature should arch to build the film, the temperature is too high to remove the film, so as not to burn the buds. After the buds are unearthed, appropriate amount of urea or 0.1% urea solution can be irrigated 1-2 times. After pouring, water is sprinkled in a fine spray pot to rinse off the foliar fertilizer liquid, so as not to burn the young leaves. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 true leaves, they can be transplanted.

Potted plant

Flowerpots with a diameter of 15-25 cm should be planted in each pot, while 2-3 plants can be planted in larger pots. The soil used should mainly contain farm manure, with phosphate fertilizer, urea and compound fertilizer as supplement. The soil in the basin requires looseness, diuresis and adequate sunshine. If the indoor temperature in winter is suitable and the maintenance is proper, it can continue to blossom, and the fruit viewing period of potted plants can be extended to the New year.

Ground planting

For those planted in the open field, the time is required to sow from March to May every year. Before transplanting, the field must apply sufficient base fertilizer, more than 1000 kilograms of human and animal manure per mu, and 50 kilograms of phosphate fertilizer or compound fertilizer. Transplanting density requires row spacing of 40-50 cm, plant spacing of 30 cm, sufficient moisture, clean weeding, 10 kg urea per mu at the beginning of flowering, conditional application of Yemianbao, Fengchanling and other plant activating elements.

Diseases and insect pests

The common diseases are blight, which can be susceptible to both seedling and adult plants. The disease occurred in the seedling stage, and the stem base showed dark green water-stained soft rot and quenching. Timely spraying or watering 50% metalaxone wettable powder 800 times solution, or 64% germicidal alum wettable powder 500 times solution. Cotton rot can occur in both seedling and adult plants. it occurs in seedling stage and dies due to stem base rot and constriction. At the initial stage of the disease, 72.2% Pulicol water agent 400 times solution, or 15% chlorpromazine (soil fungus elimination) 450 times solution was sprayed for prevention and treatment.

Harvest

The fruits of colorful peppers planted in the open field generally begin to mature in mid-late August, so they should be picked and cut in time to improve economic benefits. the cut mature peppers can be put on the market or hung in a ventilated and dry place to dry into peppers for consumption or for sale as commercial peppers.

Family management

Sowing at the beginning of April-May, when the seedling height is 5-10cm, it will begin to transplant and transplant, which can be planted in the ground or in the pot. Potted plants need to be carefully managed, otherwise it is easy to cause adverse conditions such as thin plants, few fruits, small fruits, not bright colors and so on, affecting the ornamental value.

First of all, sufficient base fertilizer should be applied before planting, and farm manure such as self-made compost, retting fertilizer and ring fertilizer can be mixed with substrate, or compound fertilizer and matrix can be used as base fertilizer. After planting, spray water with a spray can, a small amount of water for many times, slowly pour through the substrate (not suitable for soaking basin method, easy to cause fertilizer and water loss). When the seedling height reaches 15-20cm, it should be combined with some management measures (such as coring, etc.) to avoid excessive vegetative growth, promote more branches and more fruit. During this period, we need to pay attention to the management of water and light, because the peak growth period of five-color pepper is in the heat of summer, the demand for water is quite large. Foliar spraying can be carried out once in the morning, in the middle and in the evening, and the matrix needs to be replenished in the evening. The available water is Rain Water, river water and tap water (which needs to be precipitated for several days).

Five-color pepper like the sunny environment, can be placed on the windowsill or roof, in addition to the summer sun in the middle of the need to avoid the shade, other time can let it enjoy the sun, but often turn the pot to avoid the overall growth imbalance of the plant, affecting the ornamental value. In the early flowering stage of five-color pepper (mid-May to mid-June), some solid or liquid fertilizers containing P and K should be properly applied to lay a good foundation for good flowering and more flowering, and at the same time increase the resistance to diseases and insect pests of five-color pepper.

To June-July flowering season, we should pay special attention to water management, watering should not use foliar spray, so as not to cause falling flowers and buds. During this period, there can be less fertilization or no fertilization. If the flower lags behind, you can spray water on the leaf surface as usual, apply less P and K fertilizer many times, and strengthen the light time. To the fruiting period, you can spray water on the foliar surface as usual, and a little P and K fertilizer can be added to the spraying water to make the fruit brighter and more colorful. During this period, do not be wilted by the sun or seriously lack of water in the matrix, otherwise it will easily lead to a large number of fruit drop. Therefore, the resulting five-color pepper can be placed in a place where the sun shines for most of the day, so that the berries can maintain a bright color for a long time and prolong the viewing period.

Kinds

Chaotian class

Fruit upward, round, cordate or conical, solitary in leaf axils. The color of the fruit changes from white to red, or from white or yellow to blue and purple. There is also a single color, and there are kinds of green, white turning yellow or red.

Clustered class

Also known as bergamot pepper, the fruit is mostly heart-shaped to conical. Most of them are born at the top of the branches, and the fruit color is mostly green to red or white to red.

Drooping class

The fruit grows in the axils of the leaves. Drooping, mostly irregular conical. Due to different varieties and sizes, the fruit color changes from green to red, and there are also kinds of yellowing.

Lantern class

Fruit drooping, truncated cone-shaped square or multi-prism, smooth corners, and long and short tall and short points, fruit born in leaf axils, fruit color from green to red, white, yellow, black-purple and so on.

In addition, there are tall, medium and short plant types, with a height of up to 1 meter and a short one of only 10 centimeters.