.Rijk Zwaan
Pepper News | 3 |
Crop manual Baselga RZ
Yellow blocky pepper |
 | Newsletter 24 January 2008 | ....................... |
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Introduction
Growers in the West are either still finishing their rooting in period or are just started to set the first fruits of Baselga. The light levels have been just enough for some of this early setting. Not enough to make it easy but with the plant set up in the correct way, there has been setting. And this is happening sooner in Baselga comparing to other varieties. Mostly cloudy days have been followed by some full sun days in between. | |
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Overview of the current conditions
We see now in Baselga that the quality of the fruits which have set lower on the plant (flowers made at the plant raiser) are good. And higher in the plant the quality of the flower can be a bit less if its been too cold – so we continue to remind everyone that we need to stay high enough with the night temperatures in Baselga. It is an easy setting variety, so give it all the tools you have other than low temperatures and then wait for the sun to put the fruits on.
When the plants seem slow to set the flowers, its better to keep going with your fast temperature regime rather than go lower to try and get the set. Keep the speed in the plant and look to set the flower in the next node.
When the light is low and you are looking to set, make sure you give an afternoon period with the screen open. If you have the screen closed all day and a 45 degree pipe – it will be necessary to open it up for a couple of hours and get the pipes hot. Even without the light, this will be a period of activation for the plant – and it will do a lot of good. When you are working with a fixed screen, make sure in the above circumstance that you open the vents a bit to get the pipe temperature up for an activation period.
If you’re in Coco (or similar easy to re-wet media), we recommend that you let it dry down for a generative effect. Skipping a day or two can be good when the light isn’t there and you need to hold the plant in a generative way. In these circumstances try and use bigger drip sizes in the morning to make sure you get some over drain. Then in the mid day and afternoon use a much shorter shot. In low light areas, there should be no reason to irrigate after 1.00 – 2.00pm. And be careful about drips late in the day or during your pre night period. These late shots can leave your media wet for the next morning and should only be used when you have previous experience that it’s necessary. Remember that longer shots with lots of time in between is a generative action comparing to short shots more often.
When you have an active plant and you are looking to keep strong flowers – consider using a boost of C02 with the sun. So if you are using 800 ppm normally, you can consider adding another 600 – 800 ppm with light. At the higher levels be careful that you have a good quality (pure) C02. Keep in mind however that when your plants are not active and your climate is lazy – the extra C02 will have little positive effect.
Plan on setting fruits and then coming back for some quality pruning when necessary.
It seems in most areas that the growers are working with a high enough EC level. And we agree that this is a great tool for strong flowers. In the east the early planters now have some quickly developing fruit where they need to be dripping more to allow for this growth. In these cases you can see the pH and EC levels come more into line with desired levels.
Looking ahead
Keep in mind that as the plants get taller, you are getting the head further away from the pipes. So more care is needed on the cold mornings to make sure that you get the plant warm. A small plant close to the pipes is much faster to get up to temperature in the morning.
If you have a cold morning with lots of sun and you start too late with the pipes – it can lead to a much higher pipe temperature being necessary. And then you have the combination of an excessive pipe temperature and a sun giving lots of temperature at the same time. So now your greenhouse air temperature is rising too quickly. You might be tempted to open your vents. And here you have a potential problem for inner rot and other diseases from cold heads. So it’s better to start with your step up to the morning temperature plenty early or even to come straight out of your pre night and gradually rise from there to the day temperature.
It’s an exciting time to see Baselga start to show its fruit setting strength. And fast colouring fruits will be next!
We wish you success for the coming season. Please contact us any time if you have questions.
The variety descriptions, sowing, planting and harvesting dates and growing advices in our catalogues, leaflets and letters or communicated in any other way, have been composed in good faith and as precisely as possible, based on the experiences in trials and practice. However, final results of a crop depend on various factors such as local conditions. Rijk Zwaan cannot, under any circumstances, be held responsible for the results of the crop of any customer. | |
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More information
For more information you can contact our local advisor for greenhouse crops John DeVries by phone (519 324 6669) or e-mail (j.devries@rijkzwaan.com). Please also visit www.rijkzwaanusa.com | |
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