Pepper Spark

This wonderful hot pepper is notable for the fact that it can well be grown at home, and at the same time bear tasty and healthy fruits throughout the year. In addition, Spark has strong immune potential and rarely gets sick with proper care.

The teams of the Moscow agricultural firm "Russian Seeds" and the Pridnestrovian Research Institute of Agriculture, who jointly applied for its testing and enrollment in the State Register, worked on obtaining the Ogonyok. The research was headed by O. Timina. In 2006, the culture was registered simultaneously with the receipt of admission for its cultivation in all regions of the Russian Federation.

The culture is sharp, can be grown in open soils, greenhouses, on loggias and in apartments. It has excellent decorative properties.

Of the advantages of culture, we note:

• compact size of bushes;

• a high level of resistance to bacteriosis and other diseases typical of peppers;

• original taste properties (pungency and peppery aroma);

• pepper bushes do not require shaping;

• original and wonderful appearance.

Minuses:

• the often arising confusion with the planting material, since with this name (Ogonyok) a significant number of seeds are sold in the trade network, which differ in taste, appearance and other parameters;

• not a very high level of productivity;

• asynchronous ripening of fruits;

• lack of proper stability in direct sunlight;

• in the course of growing crops in greenhouses, the degree of humidity and temperature must be systematically regulated.

The bushes of the culture are closed, medium-sized - in the beds they grow up to 45-55 cm, and in pots - up to 30-35 cm. The crown is formed of a pyramidal configuration. On the bushes at different stages of development, both flowers and fruits are formed simultaneously. The leaves are medium in size, green in color, slightly wrinkled.

Fruits are elongated, narrow-conical, weighing up to 20 g, about 16-18 cm long, with a wall thickness of about 1.5 mm. The pods are located drooping, in a ripe state of a dark red color, in the stage of technical maturity they are green. The surface of the fruit is glossy. The number of seed chambers is 2-3.

According to their intended purpose, the pods of the culture are successfully used in canning, as spices. In terms of taste, they are pungent, with a strong peppery aroma.

Keep them fresh or processed. In refrigeration units, they are well preserved for about a month, and if they are packaged in cling film, then the shelf life increases. The pods are also dried and frozen.

In terms of ripening, the culture is mid-season - up to 140 days. Ripening is prolonged, asynchronous - from June to October. Three months after planting, the first pods ripen, and then the flowers are constantly forming on the bushes.

The crop is high-yielding, with an average yield of up to 3.8 kg / sq. m.

The standard landing pattern is 20x30 cm.

If your goal is to grow peppers only at home, then you can plant them throughout the year. The timing of planting seedlings in open soils is May.

Often, the culture is grown on balconies or window sills. With competent agricultural care, it becomes possible to receive fruits all year round. This requires maintaining optimal temperature and humidity levels, as well as ensuring an even supply of sunlight to all plants.

In the course of planting seeds, a number of nuances should be taken into account:

• for planting, you can use garden soil;

• fertilized soil with a high level of fertility and average moisture capacity is optimal;

• often choose soil intended for growing indoor flowers;

• containers for soil should be made of materials that do not affect its quality, therefore they are selected from glass, ceramics, clay, plastic;

• the selected pot must have a hole for liquid outlet;

• the organization of drainage in containers is required.

Before planting seeds, a number of preparatory procedures are carried out to increase the level of germination and the immune defense of the culture:

• the seeds are sterilized, for this they are soaked in a 4% saline solution for 10 minutes, and then they are transferred to a manganese solution for 20 minutes;

• the seeds are washed so that no sterilizing solution remains, since such residues have a bad effect on the growth of the culture;

• dry seeds;

• hardening of seeds for several hours on the street;

• they are processed with growth-stimulating compounds to increase the level of germination (using succinic acid or "Zircon").

Then the seeds are dried and stored at home.

The culture requires maintaining optimal temperatures and humidity. Germinate it from the beginning of spring, and sometimes from the end of February. By the second half of summer, the bushes are already beginning to bear fruit, while at the end of spring it is often transplanted into open soils.

Seed should be planted in separate containers or in large containers. For this, separate indentations are prepared (about 1.5 cm). It is not recommended to cover planting materials with soil abundantly.

In order to increase the degree of germination of peppers, a number of care rules should be followed:

• temperature regime within +24 degrees;

• it is better to place containers with crops on windowsills facing south;

• before sprouting, the pots should be covered with glass or foil;

• after germination of the seed, the temperature is reduced to +20 degrees;

• constant exposure of plants to the sun is not recommended;

• in early spring, special garden lamps are used for lighting, which work for at least 10 hours;

• irrigation is performed as needed, in moderation, but at least once every two days;

• the picking process is performed when 3 leaves appear.

Youngsters are fed for the first time 14 days after disembarkation at the chosen place. For this, organic matter is used, it is useful to use a mixture of chicken manure and cow dung.

During the growing season, top dressing is done every 20 days, using formulations of phosphorus and potassium. It is forbidden to use nitrogen, as it stimulates the growth of leaves, which leads to inhibition of the flowering process and a decrease in the level of yield.

Pruning procedures are performed as needed and during the growing season. The garden tools used in this case must be treated with manganese or alcohol.

The crop is self-pollinated, but cross-pollination improves yields.

Typical cultural problems include:

• when the leaves fall or begin to fade, which indicates a lack of sun, for this reason, garden lamps should be used;

• the appearance of aphids often occurs during hot periods, it is destroyed with the help of insecticides ("Fitoverma" or "Agromertina");

• attacks of a spider mite are possible, which is eliminated with special preparations or the use of a soap solution.

By observing the optimal temperature and humidity level, problem situations associated with harmful insects and parasites can be avoided, since in general the culture is resistant to typical diseases.