Tropical and subtropical vegetables (2+1)

Climate and soil

Climate
Chilli performs well in warm humid tropical and subtropical regions. It is being cultivated from sea level to almost 1000 m above MSL.Optimum temperature range of 15-350C is requires for chilli cultivation. Comparatively milder climate conditions are preferred for sweet or bell pepper. A soil temperature of 100C or less retards crop growth. Prevalence of low temperature during fruit ripening is likely to delay colour development of fruits.
Temperature beyond 400C result in poor fruit set as well as severe fruit drop. As a rainfed crop, chilli performs well in regions receiving rainfall of 600-1200 mm spread over four to five months. Areas receiving < 600mm of rainfall require a few protective irrigation for better crop yields. Successful crop of bell pepper can be raised only under irrigated condition providing shade to sweet or bell peppers through poly or net houses during summer and only shade nets and open during other seasons is beneficial.

Soil
Chilli can be grown in wide range of soils but well drained loam soil rich in organic matter is best suited for chilli cultivars. As a rainfed crop chilli can be grown successfully in medium to heavy textured soils like clay loams provided proper drainage to prevent water stagnation. Chilli crop will not withstand water logged conditions for more than a day. A good crop of chilli can be raised on red sandy and sandy loam soils, as an irrigated crop, with copious amount of organic manuring and fertilizer application is necessary to get optimum growth of the plant.
Though chilli is grown on soils with as pH range of < 5.0 like the acid laterite soils of coastal areas and heavy rainfall (mountain) regions to soils of > 8.0 pH like the Alluvial soils of north India and black cotton soils of the Deccan plateau, it performs best at a soil pH of about 6.5. Saline and sodic soils hinder crop growth and fruit development. Most extensive cultivation of Chilli can be seen on vertisols covering the states of Andra Pradesh , Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Bell pepper performs best on red and alluvial soil with slightly acidic pH and having good drainage and aeration.