Importance of King chilli and how to grow for higher production in a scientific way.

1. Production technology of King chilli (Capsicum
chinense)
By: Dr. Ps. Mariam Anal
(psmariamlui@gmail.com)
College of Agriculture,
CAU, Imphal, Manipur, India

2. Production technology of King chilli (Capsicum chinense )
(Origin: NE India – Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur)
(Bhut jalukia is an interspecific hybrid chilli pepper cultivated in NE India. Hybrid of C.
chinense and C. frutescens)
By: Dr. Ps. Mariam Anal (psmariamlui@gmail.com)
• India: 1/4th of the world production of
Chilli
• Naga King Chilli, hottest chilli in the
world during 2011 (1,382,118 SHU), also
called U-marok in Manipuri.
• It ranked six top ten hottest peppers in the
world during 2020.
• 1st - Carolina Reaper (2.2 mil. SHU)
• Traditionally cultivated in Manipur,
Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and
other parts of NE
• Uses: chutney, pickles, use in curry
especially non-veg food, medicinal values

3. Top 10 Hottest Peppers In The World [2020 Update]
1. Carolina Reaper: 2,200,000 SHU (2.2 million SHU)
2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion: 2,009,231 SHU
3. Pot Douglah 1,853,936 SHU
4. Pot Primo 1,469,000 SHU
5. Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” 1,463,700 SHU
6. Naga Viper 1,349,000 SHU (Naga King Chilli,
1,382,118 SHU: hottst chili in 2011).
7. Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) 1,041,427 SHU
8. Pot Barrackpore ~1,000,000 SHU
9. Pot Red (Giant) ~1,000,000 SHU
10. Red Savina Habanero 500,000 SHU

4. Top ten hottest chilli photos (see 6 & 7 from NE)
6. King chilli
1. Carolina Reaper 2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
3. Pot Douglah 4. Pot Primo
5. Trinidad Scorpion
“Butch T”
7. Bhut Jolokia
8. Pot Barrackpore
9. Pot Red (Giant)
10. Red Savina
Habanero

5. Soil:
• Thrives well in clay loam or
sandy loam or friable soil rich in
organic matter. (leibak homba
leihao leiba).
• Soil pH range - 5.5-6.0
Climate:
➢ It is a warm season crop,
requires 20-30oC for growth and
yield.
➢ Heavy rainfall & water logging
results in poor fruit set, rotting &
defoliation of plant as well as
incidence of pest and diseases.

6. Land preparation
Field should be well prepared to fine tilth,
add FYM & other nutrients prior to planting.
Sowing time:
Hill region - sown direct seeding in the
virgin soil after clearing the area during
March-April.
Protected structure - January to March
sown in poly bag/Nursery bed & extended
upto June.
Nursery bed preparation
Bed size: 1x3-5m x 15-20 cm (BxLxH),
Inter space: 30-40cm for intercultural
operation.

7. Seed rate: 600-800gha.
Transplanting:
• About 4-6 weeks old seedlings (15cm with
4 leaves) transplant - March-June under
open condition.
• Healthy seedlings dip in the solution of
Imidacloprid @1ml/litre with Dithane M-
45 @2g/litre for about 5-10 minutes.
• Transplanting - late afternoon.
• Gap filling is done during 2nd irrigation
after 10 DAT.
• Thrive well under semi shade area -
Arhar, maize can be grown for shade
purpose.
Spacing: 60-100 x 60-100cm
Poly house - wider spacing (90x60 cm)
• Traditionally in hill 1-2 ft space are
practiced.

8. Manures and fertilizers: King chilli
• Full dose of FYM (15-20t/ha), P, K and 1/4th of N - basal dose.
• Remaining N/Urea - top dressed in 3 equal parts at an interval of 1
month each.
Nutrients Fertilizers
(kg/ha)
Calculated
kg/ha
For 1000 plants
(100pls)
N (Nitrogen) 120 260 Urea 14kg (1.4kg)
P (Phosphorus) 50 312 SSP 16.85kg (1.7kg)
K (Potassium) 50 83 MOP 4.5 kg (500g)

9. Use of growth hormones:
• Flowers and fruit drops prevailed in
King chilli which may be due to
excess nutrient or high temperature
with moistures stress.
• Growth substance like NAA
@40ppm (40 mg/litre) can
controlled flower drop and thereby
increase in yield.

10. Irrigation:
• Normally it is grown as rainfed in the hill where the crop
is sown direct seeding and gap fillings are done during
rainy season.
• Under transplanting condition, irrigation should be given
just after transplanting & followed by as and when
required. Too high or too low moisture results in poor
performance of crop.

11. Intercultural operation
• Timely weeding, cleaning, earthing up should be performed
for good crop and less incidence of insect pest and diseases.
• Weeding should be done before applying fertilizer that is urea.
Weedicide (initial stage): for less cost
1. Alachlor (Lasso) @ 2kg a.i./ha (4 lt/ha in 750 lt of water)
before transplanting (for annual & broad leaved weeds)
2. Pendimethalin (Stomp) @1.2 kg a.i./ha (4 lt/ha) can be used
24-48 hours before transplanting.
• Hand weeding - later stages of plant growth along with
fertilizer top dressings.
• Various mulches - saw dust, dry grass, crop residues, plastic
films, etc. are used to control weed population, moisture
conserve, etc.

12. Pre-emergence Weedicide
Mulching – straw, polythene

13. Harvesting and Yield
• King chilli begin flowering about 3
months (June-July) after transplanting
& 2-3 weeks required for flowering to
fruit maturity.
• Harvest in green mature or ripe fruits
(pick at an interval of a couple of
week).
• In the hills, harvesting of green fruit
begins from August.
• Ripen fruits are harvested during Oct-
Nov. for seed extraction.
• A healthy plant can bears about 200-
300 fruits.
• Yield: fresh king
70-100q/ha
• Dried 15-25t/ha.

14. Processing of king chilli
• After harvesting the chillies are to be processed immediately to
avoid fungal growth.
• King chilli have a soft texture and with high water content hence
its quality deteriorated overtime.
• Usually, the king chillies are dried under sunlight or by smoking.
But smoking makes the chillies become blackish in colour; thus
reducing the market value of the end product.
• To overcome this problem some progressive farmers are installed
modern dryers to get quality products in a safe and hygienic way.
To get 1 kg of dried chilli 7.5 kg of fresh fruits are required.
• Dried King Chilli fetch about Rs. 2100/kg and 1 kg of quality
seed fetch Rs. 30,000/kg.
• These figures clearly show that King chilli is a remunerative
crop.

15. King chilli at Central Farm, CAU, Imphal

16. Thrips
White fly
Leaf mosaic virus

17. THANK YOU