By Umar Nsubuga
Chilli/hot pepper is a fast-growing crop in Uganda. It takes about three months to mature and can be harvested throughout the year depending on the availability of water.
The plant is sometimes referred to as hot pepper, and in Uganda, we have a general name for it, kamulali.
Joseph Bukenya, a chilli farmer in Luwero says it is drought-resistant and is on high demand on both local and export markets. Chilli is good, they add magic to every spoon of food you take, and even more, they can spice up your wallet too.
“It is a good product, it doesn’t give a lot of stress, whether harvested green or left on the farm to turn red, you will still get a buyer,” he says.
If you don’t get a buyer soon, you can harvest them, dry them and sell them as dried crops. Either way, chilli won’t stress you much as compared to your other highly perishable produce.
The advantage of chilli growing is that it is a high-yielding crop. Harvesting can start as early as two months after planting. It can stay fresh for up to two weeks in the refrigerator or in a sealed container, he says.
Common chilli varieties
Gideon Zakke, an agronomist says several chilli varieties are grown for fresh consumption and processing.
They include;
-Habanero have a light, fruity flavour with a searing heat that builds and builds.
-Scotch bonnets are irregular wrinkled pods of various shapes sizes and colours. It’s one of the most exported types today.
-Birdseye is the second largely grown chilli in Uganda, the crop is shot with narrow fruits tapering to a blunt point that sits proud on the plant.
-Thai hot is a very hot variety, around 2cm long. They start out green and mature to bright red.
Soil requirements
According to Zakke, chilli requires well-drained soils with moderate fertility to grow. The plants are tolerant to a PH range from 5.5 to 6.8.
How to propagate chilli
Chilli is started using quality disease-free seeds. These will take about 14 days to properly emerge.
How to plant chilli
-Get started for chilli production by setting up a bed
-Dig the site meant for planting to make a raised square bed
-Heap up the soil to level it up a bit, then incorporate in animal manure, and also get dry grass and cover it on top.
-Light up the grass to burn completely, this will not only add ash minerals to the bed but will also kill soil-borne pests.
-Leave the soil to cool before you can put in the seeds.
-Make shallow furrows on the bed and then lightly scatter the seeds into the furrows.
-Cover them lightly with the soil mixture and also water.
-Spray the bed with a fungicide and pesticide to enhance uniform growth. This will also reduce the chances of damping off that come with fungal diseases and foliar-eating pests.
