prepare chillies

How to grow and prepare chillies

• The third in a series of articles on spices based on information supplied by the British Government's Tropical Products Institute.

Since chillies require a tropical or sub-tropical climate with moderate rainfall, they can be grown in various parts of the South Pacific. Chillies have been planted experimentally in the Solomons, and earlier this year a trial shipment of 18 bags was sent from Honiara to London.

Chillies are the fruits of varieties of Capsicum frutescens, C. mini mum and C. annuum. These species and their varieties yield fruits which yary considerably in shape and size — C. minimum, sometimes known as the “bird’s eye” chilli, has the smallest fruit of all. The larger green fruits are often eaten as a vegetable and the ripe fruits, either dried or pickled, are used as spice.

The plants are herbaceous, usually growing from Ik to 2 ft high, and require a tropical or sub-tropical dimate. Only a moderate rainfall is needed; if it rains heavily during the time the fruits are developing they are liable to become very sus :eptible to attack by fungi.

Chillies require a well-drained soil, and succeed best on a light friable soil. In Ceylon a rich lime stone loam is favoured, while in Malaya cultivators usually select a day soil and give it extensive till age. If the soil is poor, well rotted :attle manure, or green leaves and plant ashes, should be applied dur ing the preparation of the soil.

However, excessive quantities of organic manure should not be applied to the growing plants, since t is considered to favour develop ment of foliage at the expense of fruit. Instead, superphosphate, ammonium sulphate or sodium litrate, may be used profitably at his stage. The soil should be worked to a depth of from 4 to 6 n.

The plants are usualy raised from >eed; only the largest and well >haped pods of a particular variety are selected. The pods are dried horoughly, and, wherever practic able, the seeds should be left in he pod until required for planting.

Ihe seeds are stated to be viable for four years.

Seed is sometimes sown broad est in the field, but a better

method is to raise the plants in well-prepared nursery beds where they can receive more attention.

About 1 to H lb of seed per acre is usually required.

The nursery beds should be sandy and, if possible, should be given a generous application of manure about two months before sowing.

The seeds are usually sown in drills about i in, deep and four inches apart; after sowing, the drills should be covered with a fine layer of sandy soil and lightly watered.

In some areas the beds are cov ered with a protective layer of straw or plaited leaves until germ ination occurs, as this prevents excessive evaporation and drying out of the soil. The first pair of seed leaves appear in seven to eight days, when the protective covering is gradually removed.

Watered

After germination the plants are watered when necessary, and in Ceylon and the US it is usual for the seedlings to be sprayed weekly with a standard fungicide to pre vent diseases such as leaf-spot developing.

When the seedlings are from 4 to 6 in. high, about six weeks after planting, they are ready for trans planting. It is usual to withhold water from the seedlings about a week prior to transplanting.

The day before transplanting it is a good idea to give the nursery beds a thorough watering as this helps the removal of the seedlings without undue damage to the roots.

Chillies may also be propagated

Practical Planter

from cuttings. These should be taken off young shoots and should be at least 3 to 4 in. long. They should be planted in sandy or light soil, in nursery beds wherever pos sible and, when established, trans planted into the permanent posi tions.

Spacing

The usual spacing of chillies appears to be in rows of 2 to 4 ft apart and the plants set out at inter vals from 11 to 2 feet.

About two to three seedlings may be planted in one hole and the prac tice of turning a small dressing of manure into the soil at the base of each plant at intervals of two or three weeks is often recommended.

Alternatively, the seedlings may receive an application of Nicifos or a similar nitrogen phosphate fer tiliser at the rate of k oz per plant about three weeks after transplant ing. This fertiliser should be applied around the base of each plant and care should be taken to avoid sprinkling any on the leaves.

Wherever possible a second applica tion two or three weeks later should be given.

Stems are cut Since the percentage of fruit set is stated to be influenced by the moisture content of the soil it is usual in the US that the plants are irrigated when the rainfall is suffi cient. Cultivation should be fre quent and shallow throughout the growing period.

Chillies may be grown as annuals, re-sowing each year, or as peren nials, in which case the stems are

cut down to within 9 in. of the soil after harvesting is completed.

Perennial plants are considered to produce small and less pungent fruits than the annual plants.

Flowering usually commences about a month after planting out, and picking from three-and-a-half to four months after sowing the seed.

In the first two flowering periods picking of green chillies should be carried out if practicable, even when the crop is grown primarily as a dry chilli. This encourages fruiting and with vigorous growth fruit may be picked every three or four days for green chilli, and from seven to 10 days for dry chilli. About six to 10 pickings may be taken during the season.

Picking often sets up an irritation in the hands of the pickers, who particularly dislike the smaller pod varieties for this reason. One per son can pick an average of 80 lb of chillies per day.

The drying of the fruits is very important, as the colour of the final product (on which the value is largely based) depends upon the thoroughness of the drying. It is essential that only ripe fruit should be dried in order to avoid discol ouration, which develops if imma ture pods are dried.

The pods are first sorted and any damaged or diseased ones rejected.

They are next left in heaps for two to three days to develop a uniform colour, after which they are spread out on a drying floor in the sun.

Dry thoroughly

The pods should be periodically turned over, and protected in the evening from heavy dew or rain.

On the third day, before the skins of the pods have become too brittle, the pods are usually flattened and then left to dry thoroughly. In favourable weather drying may be complete in 10 days.

Chillies usually dry down to one third or one-quarter of their fresh weight. Insufficiently dried chillies lose their bright colour, and are liable to attack by moulds.

If the climatic conditions are un favourable for sun drying, the pods may be dried in a tobacco curing barn (or a similar drying chamber) provided care is taken to ensure a low and even temperature, there is no risk of scorching.