Growing capsicum in polyhouse - my experience

Hi Sareeta,

yes, there are subsidies for polyhouse by central as well as state government. only one can be opted for.

there is “National Horticulture Board” which is the central government body
and “National Horticulture Mission” which is the state level body.
you can get a lot of info on their websites.

using their schemes to max, you need to plan and present your project which fits the best in the models provided by these bodies. also as these subsidies are linked to your loan a/c. you need to be very careful while planning and applying for subsidy and for the bank loan for your project, as there can be delays in the subsidy from government which would result in you ending up paying a lot of interest on your loan.

its been 2 years and i have not received subsidy for one of my project, and i have to pay 16.5% interest… just for nothing :frowning:

Best of luck
Vivek

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Hi Prashant,

thankyou for your support.

Vivek

Hi Raj,
Thanks a lot for the valuable information. As you said, the humidity is more in Visakhapatnam area there are lot of issues in growing good crops. Last week i went to KVK in bangalore, they showed me types of poly houses\green houses and how humidity and temp are controlled( pad and ventilation system), that is quite attracting, but the problem is again with the electricity in our region. With out electricity running cost will go very high with diesel engines. I will certainly scan the area and will take valuable advise from horticulture department also.
If you have any information on setting up small scale green houses to grow tomato or cucumber, please do let me know.
thanks a lot for your valuable inputs.

cheers,
Suresh.

EQUIPMENTS

  1. Field Marshal - 7hp diesel engine pump
  2. HTP spraying unit - runs on 3 hp electric motor and/or 3 hp diesel motor
  3. Spraying guns - first is with a long arm and adjustable head, ideal for sprays which need to be taken on the lower side of the leaves. second is more suitable for normal sprays.





SOME HELPFUL METERS
i got these two meters for detail observation and recording, and hardly cost anything. turn out to be very helpful.

  1. is a common thermometer - i take readings daily at different time of the day at various places in the polyhouse for co-relations.
  2. this is a three in one meter. can be used as a hygrometer, pH meter and lux meter.



Hi Vivek,
Thanks a lot for such a detailed explanation and your valuable time.
Here comes my next set of questions :wink:

  1. we stay in the coastal region, just 20 kms from sea shore where humidity is quite high. You set wetting the walkway will reduce the temperature, but what can we do to control humidity( what role do humidity play in the plant life).
  2. Every body speaks of growing colored capsicum, I am not much aware of the demand in market nearby, but there is good demand for green capsicum. If we grow green capsicum in green house, will it be economical. What may be the difference in the price between green and other capsicum.
  3. One more is you have a very nice establishment with a artificial pond etc, with my savings i cannot afford a pond like you. we have borewells, but again the problem with electricity. So what is the best alternative( i feel setting up some high capacity overhead Syntax tanks) what is the water requirement for a capsicum or tomato per day.
  4. Taking my economical situation in to consideration, please guide me like what is the minimum type of green house can i set up which is suitable for tomato or cucumber, if not please guide me.

about the dairy set up, the most important thing is man power, really we are facing lot if issues with that, please make sure you have enough man power to set up and run it. Certainly once i am actively involved in to it, i will throw some light on …

Please bear with my questions Vivek, as I am totally new to this want to gather as much information I can before i start up my venture, so some may sound silly :stuck_out_tongue:, please do excuse me

Jai Kisan,
Suresh.

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VENTURI & FOGGING SYSTEM

  1. Venturi system for drip irrigation - used for fertigation. there is a disc filter, pressure gauge, and control knobs for drip and foggers.
  2. Fogging system in action.



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Vivek,
can you educate us what is the use of those equipments? and what is the cost incurred etc

hi again Suresh,
dont worry about your queries, i love them, i too learn a lot this way.
and believe you me, everyone has similar thoughts before starting.

  1. proper humidity is important for the plant to function properly and to do their daily activities, like photosynthesis, uptake of nutrients/fertilizers from soil, etc. later it plays a very important role in flower formation and then fruit forming.
    looking at the point of view regarding infestation, humidity promotes growth of certain sucking pests and fungus, which can be harmful. but very easy to prevent and control.
    high humidity also leads to air stagnation. which imbalances the nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide ratio. that results in various deficiencies and improper growth of the plant.

controlling high humidity near coastal regions can be done by keeping proper air ventilation. i think in your case you do not need to water the pathways, but keep them warm, so the warm air goes up and the fresh air comes in. you could make special beds with live compost so they create heat on their own. also there are over head air ventilators for polyhouse which work on air flow.
a proper soil type/mixture also helps maintain the humidity to an extend.
also you need to select a crop which is suitable to the conditions. so i guess a combination of all these methods should do.

lets have further discussions about your experience related to humidity, the temperature pattern, wind pattern etc.

  1. it is all the more better if you feel biased towards green capsicum. it will give you a very good experience and understanding. both (green and color) have similar fertilisation pattern, similar infestations, diseases. only a few are additional for color capsicum to make it more attractive.
    my experience regarding marketing of color and green capsicum is that, color capsicum are rated based on their size, weight and color. bigger the size, better the price. Whereas i sell green capsicum in local market, which are based on volume, not weight. also big green capsicums do not fetch good rate as compared to a medium size fruit in the Nasik vegetable market.
    by big, i mean fruits which are above 200-230 gms. so this works in favour of me, as i do not have to put in extra efforts to make the fruit big.
    price wise, color capsicum are more expensive as compared to green ones. there can be a difference of Rs. 40-180 between green and color, depending on the market.
    Suresh, any crop will give you rewards (considering a crop suitable for your climate conditions), if planned properly. i.e time of your harvests against the market requirement.

  2. water and electricity are major issues for me also. if you have working bores, you dont really need to make a water pond. but suresh, setting up over head tanks will not let you irrigate/fertilize the polyhouse by gravity, it needs pressure for discharge/suction.
    water requirement, i can tell about capsicum, no idea for tamatoes. the requirement varies at different stages and also depend upon on your soils water holding capacity. on an average a plant needs about 600-800 ml in his whole life cycle.

  3. suresh, you can start with a net house. that would be very cheap and you can make it yourself with a couple more people to help you, if you have the zeal to do things by yourself.
    an acre (4000 sq mtr) shade net house would cost you not more than 3 lakh rupees.
    talking about polyhouse, explore various options. there are tunnel houses, which you can make yourself. you can also consider using second hand material (structure of polyhouse) to reduce costs.

if you check with the local agriculture authorities, they’ll guide you regarding the various schemes/subsidies they have to help you. you must take advantage of such schemes wisely.

as far as dairy projects are concerned, i guess they really must be labour intensive, for milking, cleaning, bathing the cows. i’ve also heard there is a particular time and quantity which should be milked from a cow.
labor is a big problem with me too, thats why i got into the habit of doing almost everything myself.
and about an acre of polyhouse can be easily managed by two people.

suresh, if i have missed out on anything, plz do remind me. and plz feel free to ask me as many questions as you wish.

Vivek

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Suresh, here are the details you requested for -
Plz note that all these prices/costs are the year 2011

  1. Diesel Water Pump
    Make - Field Marshal
    Power - 5hp
    Cost - Rs 45000
    Source - Local
    Water displacement (in one hr) - 67000 litre
    Diesel Consumption/hr - 1 litre (with full load)
    Heads - 23 (meaning it can throw water upto an elevated hight of 23 feet)
    i have used this m/c to pump water upto 800 meters.
    I use it for irrigation when there is electricity cut.

servicing of this m/c, i do it myself, spare parts can be found easily in local market. very robust and reliable m/c.

  1. HTP Pump - this is used for spraying pesticides or any type of liquid. similar to a spray paint m/c.
    Make - Foggers Mart
    Cost - Rs 7800
    Source - Local
    i use 2-3 spray guns simultaneously depending on work load, and time availability.

PLZ note that this is a mechanical unit & cannot run on itself. it needs other unit which rotates the axle.
so there is -

a) eletric motor
Make - dont know
Cost - 6650

b) Diesel Engine
Make - Texmo
Cost - Rs 13550
Fuel Consumption - 1 litre/hr

all these (HTP unit + eletric motor + diesel motor) are mounted on a trolley for easy movement.

i’ve also seen a HTP connected to a cycle, meaning the axle of the HTP is rotated by paddling a cycle.
ok … so thats the m/c part…

  1. Spraying guns
    then in the last picture there are two types of spraying guns. the first if you observe has a head which can be angel adjusted, and has a long neck. this is very ideal for certain type of pesticides which need to be sprayed on the lower side of the leaf (eg. mites,white flies etc)
    and the second one is a normal spraying gun, more suitable for general sprays which are taken on the top side of the leaf.
    certain pests lay eggs or chill out ( :stuck_out_tongue: ) on the down side of the leaf, so when i use pesticides which work on contact with the eggs/pests, i use the longer gun with the adjustable head. it really makes a lot of difference suresh.

source of these guns is local, price i do not remember exactly, but not more than Rs 1000 / gun.
spare parts are very easily available. and there are no such problems in them also, if you clean them on regular basis.

apart from that, i have flexible 12mm & 14mm pipes for spraying. these cost about Rs 22/feet.

if anything more required in details or visual form, plz let me know.

Good day suresh.

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40 DAYS AFTER PLANTATION
I have avoided Pinching, as there is a lot of virus problems recently with me. this is mainly because during pinching, the vacuole (Juice in the stem) is directly made in contact and spread by the blade/nail to all the plants.
actually this will definitely result in devastation, as its not just one plants vacuole, as we go pinching plants, multiple dna vacuole get mixed.

to stop spreading this, we can use raw cow milk to disinfect the blade after pinching every plant.

ok so on the 40th day, plants look good…

Till now, i have given nutrients for -

  1. Good root development
  2. Development of new shootings
  3. Growth of new shootings
  4. Flowering
  5. Flower conversion to fruit
  6. Big Fruit
  7. Over all development
  8. Growth Regulator

talking about infestation (Preventive & corrective)
as there is a huge infestation of virus, i have focused on -

  1. White Flies (sucking pest)
  2. Soil Fungus

i’ve also put 1 yellow sticky trap for 4sq mtr area. (every foundation pillar of polyhouse) and areas where i spotted white flies. these traps should be on the same height as of the new shootings, as white flies attack them.

now to completely eliminate them, i took sprays at the internal of 4 days. this is because, current temperature pattern in my polyhouse is about 25-30 degrees. and humidity is about 60-70%
so in these conditions, the eggs hatch in 4 days. so i took 3 sprays and they are out!

most of the pesticides i am using right now are herbal/botanical as they are more effective in the conditions (temperature & humidity)

will be adding my day to day schedule for fertilizers & pesticides with all the details.

Vivek






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Thanks a lot again Vivek :slight_smile:
Finally i got very good information from you. Now i am planning my set up.

  1. Plannning to go with shaded nets( less investment).
    2.Continous electricity is big problem for me to pump water from bore wells, per day per acre with drip irrigation, how many hours of electricty is enough? if it is 5 hp motor.
    3.what is the seed variety you are using? how can i get them ?

If I have any more questions I will get back to you. Your previous post show the care and knowledge you have, taking so care at the minute levels like cleaning the blade with cow milk, its awesome sir. keep up the good work and wishing you good luck from the core of heart.

Thanks,
Suresh

PS: The way you work is very intresting, if you dont mind can you post your number, want to have better clarification.( will call you only in your free time :wink: )

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Hi Suresh,

great to know that you have started planning for your setup :slight_smile:

Shade net house sounds great to start with suresh, considering less investment, and it will give you a very beautiful experience.
you wouldnt need continuous electricity for your daily routine. it depends again, are the power cuts scheduled ? or are unexpected and are for days together ?

for irrigation/fertigation an acre of land with 5hp motor thru 16mm drip is like 10-15 mins job on average. depending on the plant stage it would vary.
so if you have scheduled power cuts, you can plan your irrigation schedule. but there are times when you would need to give urgent sprays, where you would necessarily need a diesel power spraying unit.

Seed variety are -
Red Capsicum - Namdhari NS 280 (around Rs 9/seed)
Yellow Capsicum - Namdhari NS 281 (around Rs9/seed)
Green Capsicum - Syngenta Paladin (around Rs 2 /seed with germination)
Prices above are for Nasik, Maharashtra
you can check in your local agri market for these or ask someone who runs a vegetable nursery.
or you can contact the company directly.

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hello mr vivek

thanks for such a in depth details in capsicum farming by u in these forum
i have 2 QUERIES

  1. U HAVE MENTION THAT U HAVE PLANTED MARIGOLD ALONG WITH CAPSICUM FOR THE INFECTED VIRUS … HOW MANY MARIGOLD PLANTING IN A PER SQ MTR?? I HAD BEEN TOLD BY MANY AGRICULTURE OFFICER THAT U CANT PLANT TWO DIFFERENT PLANTS IN A PLOYHOUSE HOUSE COZ DIFFERNT PLANTS HAVE DIFFERENT DISEASES WHICH CAN HARM THE CULTIVATION?? PLEASE GUIDE ME INTO THESE

  2. CAN WE CULTIVATE DIFFERENT COLORS OF CAPSICUM IN ONE POLYHOUSE??

THANKS
KUNAL

Hi Kunal,
we had an earlier discussion about the subsidy documentation requirement. i am scanning the documents and preparing the files for your reference, and will post them hopefully in another 24 hrs.

i have planted marigold for a purpose. if you go thru my earlier posts, you would get the details.
the main purpose if to keep sucking pests away (carrier of virus).
also another important characteristic of marigold is that it is a sensitive, but very immune plant. again, if you read the earlier posts and pictures, you would see marigold leaves were severely scorched during a very initial spray i took for sucking pests, and a few of the new leaves in capsicum had bubbling. so my marigold plants tell me what is about to happen to my capsicum plants. say if the temperature/humidity/water/spray/fertigation is not right, the warning sign will come from marigold, and then i have 24 hrs to take action.
and you are right when you say every plant has different characteristics, diseases, immune etc. some add certain nutrients to soil, some catch infections easily, some dont, so you can use certain combinations if you have observed specific problem areas in your plants.
there are various other factors to decide. but the basics we discussed.
talking about the density, i have planted 500 marigold plants for a total of 16500 capsicum plants in a polyhouse of 4350 sq mtr.
marigold plants are not planted at random, but in a particular pattern through out.
plz note that these are the bright yellow hybrid variety, as yellow works the best to attract sucking pests.

about planting different color (red,yellow,white,purple) of capsicum in one polyhouse, that is the standard practise. it does not have any side effects or any benefits which could be identified by me as such.

Vivek

P.S.Your email ID is hilarious man!

Hi vivek,
thanks alot for sharing,
hey where is your farm located, if anytime possible i would love to visit ur farm and meet u personally and learn from you
thanks
kunal

P.S : welll yeah its my mail id is hilarious well that was since my schools days… and i have been using it since then… :stuck_out_tongue:

DOCUMENTATION FOR NHB SUBSIDY - PART 1
Plz note that these documents are for my project (year 2011) which is in Nasik, Maharashtra.
hopefully no one should have any objection, as they are just for reference purpose.

These are the documents required to apply for “LOI” in NHB, with a bit of introduction about them.

  1. 7/12 Utara - this is a summary of the land, survery number, the jurisdiction it comes under, area of holding, a bit of tax details, details of resources in your land , eg, well, house etc, then it has details of the crops you have planted in the past. then details of loan, incase the land is mortgaged etc.
    Official fees for this document is Rs.10 and is made available on the spot from the local agriculture officer office.
  2. Land Map - this document has the location detail of the land, with survey numbers of the neighbouring land. this is later used to spy on you from satellite :stuck_out_tongue:
    official fees for this is again Rs.10
  3. Bank Consent Letter - letter from bank declaring you have approached the bank with a proposal for loan for polyhouse and that they will consider to fund the project.
  4. Affidavit to apply for LOI - this is on a court attested stamp paper of Rs 100 declaring your intentions to setup a polyhouse, and that you accept the terms and conditions of NHB. and a bit few other details.

…why cant attach more files :frowning:
7-12.pdf (287 KB)
Land Map.pdf (454 KB)
Bank Consent Letter.pdf (140 KB)
affidavit for LOI.pdf (409 KB)

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Dear Vivek,

This is the most longest discussion on a single tag sofar. The credit goes to you only.

Congratulations. Pl keep it up

Thanking you

Sincerely yours

B R Reddy

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DOCUMENTATION FOR NHB SUBSIDY - PART 2

  1. NHB Application & DD - this is a standard format of NBH, has the summary of the proposed activities, means of finance, info about the owner, details about earlier subsidies availed etc. a DD of Rs.5000 has to be paid for registration, the amount varies based on the project cost.

  2. Project Report - project report is the start for any activity. this has the details of your proposed activity and the owner. details of cost of project, means of finance, calculation of DSCR, estimates, recapitulation, aim, income projections, annual costs etc.
    Project report is very important as it is required by the bank as well as for applying for subsidy, so how the project is presented is very important to take maximum benefit of the various subsidies, as subsidy amount is allocated and varies head wise in a project, and not on the total project cost.

  3. LOI registration letter - once all these documents are submitted to the concerned office of NHB, the project code is allotted to you (LOI) and the registration letter is sent to you. (attached a few posts below)

Plz note that this is the actual documentation, and is for reference purpose only. the format and/or requirements may have changed during the course of time.

if further details are required, plz revert.

Vivek
NHB - Application.pdf (864 KB)
NHB Project Report - Capsicum.pdf (2.25 MB)

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Kunal, i m based in Nasik, Maharashtra.
do visit, and get me goodies from goa.

Vivek