Module XI: Harvesting and Storing of Chili Pepper

Module XI: Harvesting and Storing of Chili Pepper

Lesson 1: Harvesting and Storing of Chili Pepper

AFTER COMPLETING ONE LESSON IN THIS MODULE, YOU HAVE LEARNED TO:

• Identify the right stage for harvesting chili pepper crop.

• Recognize the importance of proper drying of chili pepper after harvesting the crop.



Grain chili pepper should be harvested as early as possible to minimize losses due to insects, mold, and bad weather.

Mature fruits in the field contains about 45% moisture.

At moisture levels higher than 35%, the fruits are too soft to withstand the threshing action.

The ideal moisture content for harvesting ripen chili pepper is about 40%.



Many factors influence a fruit chili pepper stalk's ability to stay erect until harvested.

Most standability concerns develop when growers leave chili pepper in the field until fruit moisture is below 30%.

Harvesting at 20% moisture or more prevents a significant amount of standability problems.

Chili pepper standability



Wilting of chili pepper due to diseases

Lodging is relatively easy to spot before it happens and is associated with stalk rots.

Stalk rots show symptoms in the field prior to lodging taking place.



The best stage to harvest chili pepper is when the plants reach the physiological maturity.

Physiological maturity can be determined by the black (dark) spot at the bottom of the fruit as shown in the Fig.

The fruits on the left is physiologically mature; the

one on the right is not.



When the crop matures the leaves turn yellow and present a dried up appearance.

The fruits are red and dried.

The crop is harvested by picking the matured fruits first and the stalks later.

The plants are cut after a week, allowed to dry and then stacked.



In the case of tall varieties, the stems are cut at 10 to 15 cm above ground level and afterwards the fruits are separated. Then the plants are stacked.

Harvesting chilli pepper

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Chilli_Padi.JPG



The harvested fruits are dried before grinding.

The fruit is separated from the plants by using hand harvest.

The separated fruit is then cleaned by washing (Fig.) and dried.

Sun drying of chilli pepper



Conventional dryers or use of natural-air drying are options for drying pepper.

Fruits at or below 24% percent moisture is considered dry.

For long-term storage (more than 6 months), dry fruit moisture content should be a maximum of 20%.



Chili pepper is stored traditionally in mud bins or straw bins or bamboo bins or in metal bins.

Mud bin to store chili pepper



The storage structures in rural areas are not ideal from scientific-storage point of view, as substantial losses occur during storage of fruits from insect pests, moulds, rodents, etc.

Bamboo bin to store chili pepper



Keeping the requirements of the farmers in view, the Indian Grain Storage Institute (IGSI), Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, with its branches at Ludhiana and Hyderabad, India have developed several metal bins of different capacities for scientific storage of grain in rural areas.

Metal bin to store chili pepper



“Pusa” bin to store chili pepper



With this, Module 11 on Harvesting and Storing of chili pepper concludes.

Next, Module 12 is about sweet pepper.

Click “Modules” button and select Module 12

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Module XI: Harvesting and Storing of Chili Pepper