Techniques for growing pepper on live support trees.

Pepper plants are grown on various types of supports such as wooden posts, brick posts, concrete posts, and living tree supports.

In reality, growing pepper on dead supports such as wooden or construction material posts in unshaded conditions can achieve high yields, but this is accompanied by rapid depletion due to excessive flowering and fruiting, and outbreaks of many dangerous diseases that destroy the pepper plantation.

Growing pepper on living support trees is a sustainable farming method that creates suitable ecological conditions, allowing for an extended lifespan of the pepper plantation, limiting dangerous diseases, and potentially reducing initial investment costs. Common types of living support trees include Acacia mangium, Leucaena leucocephala, Euphorbia hirta, and Cassia fistula, etc. Living support trees are planted using cuttings or seeds.

To ensure that pepper plants grown on living support trees grow well, uniformly, and yield high productivity, the following technical measures should be considered:

1. Planting live support trees.

Acacia and eucalyptus trees should be planted at a spacing of 2.5m x 2.5m (1,600 trees/ha), while black acacia should be planted at a spacing of 3m x 3m (1,100 trees/ha), ideally at the beginning of the rainy season. When planting, apply 2kg of manure and 0.2-0.3kg of Đầu Trâu phosphorus fertilizer per tree as base fertilizer. After planting, fertilize the support trees every 20-30 days with 10-15g of Urea + 5g of KCl/tree (or 25-35g of Đầu Trâu NPK 20-20-15+TE) until the pepper vines are planted 2-3 months later. Support trees can be planted 1-2 years before planting pepper vines, and fertilize them 2-3 times annually. Good care of the support trees is essential to ensure healthy growth and provide the necessary climbing support for the pepper vines.

2. Install temporary support stakes.

When planting pepper vines in the same year as the main support trees, temporary support trees must be installed. Pepper vines should be planted 2-3 months after the main support trees are planted. Because the main support trees are still small and don't yet provide a place for the pepper vines to climb, temporary support trees should be planted at the same time. These temporary support trees should be planted 10-15cm away from the main support trees, with a diameter of 10-15cm and a height of over 3m from the ground. The temporary support trees must be strong enough for the pepper vines to climb for 2-3 years before the main support trees are large enough for the vines to cling to.

3. Growing pepper

- Digging planting holes for pepper vines: Dig two holes on either side of the temporary support, planting one pepper vine or seedling in each hole. Each hole should be 40cm x 40cm x 50cm, with the edge of the hole 10-15cm from the temporary support, and the center of the hole (where the seedling is placed) 40-50cm from the main support. Alternatively, you can dig one hole measuring 60cm x 60cm x 50cm to plant two vines or two seedlings in the same hole. Each pepper vine should be fertilized with 10-20kg of manure, 0.2-0.5kg of phosphorus fertilizer, and 0.2-0.3kg of lime powder. Mix the fertilizer evenly with the topsoil and fill the hole. Treat the soil in the hole before planting with one of the following pesticides: Confidor 100SL 0.1%, 0.5 liters/hole, or Basudin 10H, 20-30g/hole. Mixing fertilizer into the planting hole and treating the soil in the hole should be done at least 15 days before planting the pepper plants.

- Sun and wind protection: Since the support trees are still small and not yet able to provide shade, careful construction of sun and wind shelters is necessary for the pepper plants.

4. Care

4.a. Tie the string

- Pepper plants propagated by stem cuttings: After 1-2 months of planting, each stem cutting will sprout 1-2 shoots. As the shoots grow, tie them with string to secure the roots to the temporary support; this will encourage the plant to produce secondary branches. If the shoots are not tied in time, they will fall over, and the vine will be weak and unable to produce secondary branches.

- Pepper plants grown using creeping vines: Creeping vines don't immediately produce secondary branches. However, you still need to regularly tie the vines to temporary supports, ensuring no nodes are left without roots clinging to the support. Approximately 10 months to a year after planting, when the vines reach 1.2-1.5m on the temporary support, they will begin to produce secondary branches. Tying the vines should be done every 7-10 days.

4.b. Shaping and nurturing the stem

* For pepper plants propagated by stem cuttings: After one year of planting, when the pepper vines have grown and attached themselves to temporary supports at a height of >1.5m, cut the stem cuttings horizontally, 25-30cm from the ground, for the purpose of both taking cuttings for propagation and creating a framework for the pepper vines on the supports.

Main stems will sprout from the cut. Keep the healthy stems and tie 3-5 new stems to the temporary support, only tying 1-2 stems to the living support (at this point the living support should be 3-4 cm in diameter and 3-3.5 m tall). Remove any remaining stem sprouts. Avoid allowing too many stems to attach to the living support when it is still young, as this will restrict the growth of the living support.

Once the main support pole has grown large, secure the temporary support pole to the main support pole, and gradually transfer the pepper vines from the temporary pole to the main support pole. Prune the top of the main support pole at a height of 5m to facilitate pepper harvesting.

* For pepper plants grown from cuttings: Apply the method of training the pepper vines in the second year (12-13 months after planting): After the pepper vines have climbed 1-1.2 m and the vines clinging to the support begin to produce 2-4 secondary branches at the top, train the vines down. Gently remove the vines, avoiding damage, abrasions, or breakage. Circle the base of the vine without secondary branches after removing all the leaves, leaving the top section with secondary branches. Then lightly cover with soil, or just place a few clods of earth to keep the circle of vines in place. Do not cover with a thick layer of soil as the circle of vines may die. After roots sprout from the trained vine circles, mound the soil around the base and fertilize the pepper plants.

Be sure to retain enough stem vines for the main frame, removing any weak or excess vines. Some of the vines after pruning are tied to temporary supports, and 1-2 others are tied to permanent supports, similar to how pepper plants are shaped using stem vines.

During pepper garden maintenance, pay attention to pruning the following types of branches:

* Trim off all unwanted vines and branches growing below the base of the pepper plant. The leaves of these unwanted branches should be 10-15cm from the ground. The creeping vines should also be trimmed except for those intended for propagation.

* Trim off any vines growing outside the pepper canopy, and any vines that grow too long at the top of the support. For pepper plants grown on living supports, prune the tips of the pepper vines at a height of 5m, ensuring that the tips do not cover the top of the pruned support.

4.c. Pruning the living support trees

There are two main events each year:

- At the beginning of the rainy season: Weeds grow vigorously, leaving only a small branch to absorb sap, or you can cut off the top for trees with strong regenerative capabilities such as black acacia or Leucaena. Be careful not to let the pepper vine's tip cover the living support tree that has been pruned.

- August: Lightly prune the plants, then allow them to regenerate, providing shade for the pepper garden during the dry season.

4.d. Fertilization

- Organic fertilizer: Applied annually at a rate of 30-40 m³/ha. At the beginning of the rainy season, dig a circular trench around the base of the pepper plant, with the edge of the trench 15-20 cm from the edge of the pepper canopy, 5-10 cm deep, and 15-20 cm wide. Apply fully decomposed organic fertilizer, then cover it with soil. When digging the trench for fertilization, minimize damage to the pepper plant's root system.

- Mineral fertilizers: Use NPK fertilizers from Dau Trau brand with formulas suitable for each growth stage of the pepper plant, paying particular attention to those containing trace elements (TE), which are very beneficial for pepper plants.

Type and dosage of NPK mixed fertilizer for pepper plants
- During the initial construction period, fertilizer should be applied 4-6 times per year.
- Fertilization during the fruiting period should be divided into 4 applications per year, at the following times: after fruit harvest, at the beginning, middle, and end of the rainy season.

4.e. Watering and Drainage
Irrigation water quantity and irrigation cycle

During the rainy season, pepper gardens must have drainage ditches dug to ensure good water drainage. Mound soil around the base of the pepper plants to prevent water from accumulating.

According to cuctrongtrot - LY