Bell pepper is grown in many large and small farms and is used to prepare a variety of dishes. One of the most original varieties combining the beautiful appearance of fruits and excellent taste is Big Papa. In this article, we will consider its description, the features of growing and using pepper, as well as the rules for combating diseases and pests of this plant.

Description and characteristics of varieties Big Papa

Moscow breeders of the Aelita agricultural firm worked on the creation of the Big Papa pepper variety. At the beginning of the XXI century, they developed a whole line of varieties of sweet bell pepper called Big. Pepper Big Dad differs from other varieties of this line by the unusual color of the fruit, thanks to which it looks very exotic on the garden.

Did you know? Only 40 g of sweet pepper contains the daily intake of vitamin C for an adult. Consider the characteristics of Big Papa pepper in more detail:

1. The plant is compact, the height of the bush does not exceed 50 cm.
2. The stems are sprawling and covered with a moderate amount of large leaves with a slight purple tint.
3. Bushes bloom in small blue flowers.
4. The variety belongs to early ripening. Harvest can be harvested 96-104 days after the appearance of green shoots.
5. The fruits are cone-shaped and medium in size. Their length is about 8 cm, and their width is up to 5 cm. Vegetables are placed drooping on the stems.
6. After reaching technical maturity, peppers are purple. Biological maturity comes later, at this stage the vegetables acquire a dark cherry color.
7. The weight of one pepper ranges from 90 to 120 g. The walls of the fetus are dense, up to 7 mm thick.
8. Pepper Big Dad has a sweet taste, no bitterness. Ripe fruits are very juicy and have a pleasant aroma that persists even after heat treatment.
9. The plant is immune to bacterial rot and tobacco mosaic.

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Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The Big Papa variety has gained considerable popularity among gardeners and is grown in many large and small farms.

• This is due to a number of its positive qualities, which include:
• high productivity;
• adaptation to various climate conditions;
• early ripening of vegetables;
• unpretentiousness in cultivation and care;
• the possibility of growing in a greenhouse and open ground;
• original appearance of vegetables;
• fruits can be used fresh or heat-treated;
• good transportability;
• the ability of the fruit to ripen within a few days after removal from the bush;
• disease resistance.

Despite the many positive qualities, the Big Papa variety is not without flaws.

• Its minuses include:
• sensitivity to climate change or growing conditions;
• small size of ripe fruits;
• growth retardation after transplantation into open ground;
• color change of pepper during heat treatment.

Variety Productivity

Pepper of this variety has a stable yield. Subject to the rules of planting and growing recommendations, from 1 m² it is possible to collect up to 7.2 kg of ripe fruits. The ripening of vegetables is friendly. Each bush usually grows 10-15 peppers.

Important! To increase the yield of Big Papa pepper, you can pollinate its inflorescences manually using a brush. It is especially important to carry out this procedure in calm weather.

Growing Features

Variety of pepper Big Dad is grown in seedlings. From the moment of sowing seeds to transplanting seedlings in open ground, about 70 days pass. To obtain seedlings, seeds of sweet pepper Big Dad should be sown in February to a depth of 2-4 cm and kept in a warm room (+ 26 ... + 28 ° C) until emergence. Then the seedlings are dived and grown in separate containers.

Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out at the end of May, provided that there are no night frosts. By this time, the sprouts should reach a height of 18 cm. No more than 6 pepper bushes are placed on 1 m² of land. For a good harvest of Big Papa pepper, you need to grow it in suitable climatic conditions on nutritious soil.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the features of growing Big Boy pepper.

Suitable climate

This variety can be successfully grown in regions with a warm climate, plants persistently survive a short drought. In the northern regions and in the conditions of a cool summer, when the daytime temperature is around + 17 ... + 20 ° С, plants need to be covered with a film so that they do not freeze. Pepper Big Dad does not tolerate heat. At air temperature + 30 ° С and above, bushes can drop flowers and ovaries, which leads to a decrease in productivity.

Soil requirements

The highest yields are achieved when growing Big Papa pepper on fertile chernozem soils.

But in practice, it is not always possible to plant plants on a site with chernozem, so it will be enough to follow these recommendations for soil preparation:

• if the plants are planted in clay soil, then it must first be diluted with sand, sawdust or peat to obtain a loose substrate;
• to enrich the sandy soil with the necessary useful substances, humus or chernozem is added to it;
• before planting, it is necessary to make top dressing from ash, compost and a store complex of mineral fertilizers;
• the best predecessors for the Big Papa variety on the site are legumes and herbs.

Did you know? The calorie content of sweet pepper depends on the color of the vegetable. Red and yellow fruits contain 27 kcal per 100 g, and green fruits - about 33 kcal.

Grade Care

The quantity and quality of the harvest of Big Dad sweet pepper directly depends on proper care. At the same time, it is important not only to use the correct agricultural cultivation technique, but also to provide the plants with the necessary lighting.

The main requirements for lighting the Big Papa bushes are as follows:

• the daylight should be at least 12 hours;
• seedlings need to be planted in a well-lit place, but plants should be in the sun only half the daylight;
• in the conditions of hot summer, you need to shade plants from direct sunlight, so that burns do not appear on the leaves;
• in regions with a short daylight, additional illumination of bushes is used.

Do not forget about the timely watering of plants, fertilizing and caring for the soil around the bush of pepper.

Watering and feeding

Watering the bushes of pepper Big Dad should be moderate, but regularly. At different stages of growth, the plant needs a different amount of water. Basic watering rules are described below:

• after planting seedlings in open ground and until flowering, they are watered once every 7 days;
• starting from the moment buds are formed, pepper is watered every 2-3 days;
• watering is carried out only at the root;
• It is recommended to irrigate plants with water in the evening, so that moisture remains in the soil and does not evaporate in the sun;
• For watering, you can use only warm water.

To harvest large vegetables, Big Papa pepper bushes are fed with fertilizers every 10-14 days. Fertilizing can be combined with watering.

The basic rules for fertilizing are described below:

• 10 days after the pepper is planted, the first top dressing is applied to the open ground, for which ash, an aqueous infusion of weed herbs or a mullein solution are used;
• at the stage of bud formation, the bushes are fed with an aqueous solution of bird droppings. The frequency of applying this fertilizer is every 10-14 days;
• with the beginning of the flowering period, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are introduced, which contribute to the formation of a large number of fruits with a beautiful appearance and dense walls.

Important! An excess of fertilizers in the soil should not be allowed, as this can lead to a deterioration in the taste of pepper.

Hilling and loosening the soil

For the active growth of plants, you need to carry out proper soil care. It includes several mandatory actions:

• periodic loosening of the soil after irrigation or rain to prevent the formation of a dense earth crust and to improve the breathability of the soil. Loosening the soil is recommended at a depth of about 5 cm;
• weeding of weeds around plants - is necessary for the normal growth of bushes and multiplicity. In this case, you can not loosen the soil too deep so as not to damage the roots;
• hilling - used to maintain plant balance, so that a short bush of peppers does not fall to one side under the weight of numerous fruits;
• mulching the earth around the plants with hay, straw or sawdust - helps to keep the soil loose and moist longer.

Plant formation

You can increase productivity and improve the presentation of Big Papa pepper using the formation of bushes. This simple procedure helps to obtain the fruits of the correct form and stimulates the formation of a large number of ovaries.

The methods for forming bushes of this variety include:

• pinching the top after it reaches a height of 15 cm;
• pruning of dried leaves and stems;
• removal of stepsons located below the fork;
• pruning flowers and ovaries located inside the bush;
• timely collection of ripened fruits.

Diseases and pests

Peppers of the Big Papa variety have a good immunity to diseases, but in the conditions of improper cultivation they can be affected by infections or pests. Consider the list of the most common problems when growing these plants:

1. Fusarium It occurs in conditions of high humidity or in the presence of fungal spores on the last year's plant residues in the soil. The disease affects the leaves of the bush, as a result of which they curl and dry. The roots, stem and fruits begin to rot. Affected plants can be treated with Fundazole to stop the development of the disease.
2. Cladosporiosis. The disease can occur with excessive watering of plants and manifests itself in the form of spots on the leaves. Their upper part is brown in color, and the bottom spots are covered with a gray velvety coating. If the disease is not treated, then the stem and leaves of the bush gradually rot. For treatment, you need to reduce the frequency of pepper watering and apply special preparations ("Barrier", "Barrier").
3. Vertex rot. It appears in the form of brown spots on the tips of the fruit. The cause of the disease is a lack of calcium in the soil with a simultaneous excess of nitrogen. Therefore, for the treatment of plants, it is necessary to add fertilizer containing calcium (for example, calcium nitrate). The frequency of applying this fertilizer is up to 4 times per season.
4. Late blight. This fungal disease occurs as a result of the use of infected seed material or in the presence of residues of last year's vegetation containing fungus in the soil. Signs are brown spots on the leaves and fruits of the bush, wilting plants and rotting fruits. For treatment, special preparations are used that spray the beds with pepper.
5. Spider mite. It affects the leaves of the bush, wrapping them in a white web. The land part of the plant turns yellow and dries over time - this leads to the death of the crop. To get rid of the pest, the bushes are irrigated with infusion of garlic or wormwood. If there are a lot of insects, then spraying with chemical preparations against pests (“Fitoverm” or “Actellik”) is used.
6. Wireworm, Maybug larvae. Damage the root system of the bushes, as a result of which the plant stops growing, begins to wither and gradually dies. To prevent the occurrence of pests, it is necessary to carry out the treatment of seedling roots before planting with special preparations (for example, Prestige) and deep dig the soil in the spring, removing the detected individuals manually.

Common preventive measures for these problems include:

• fungicide treatment of planting material;
• deep digging of the soil in the fall and in the spring;
• removal of last year's grass residues;
• compliance with recommendations for watering the plant;
• timely fertilizer application;
• regular inspection of beds with pepper;
• sufficient distance between the bushes on the bed.

Harvesting and Harvesting

The first harvest is usually carried out in early July at the stage when vegetables reach technical maturity. This is necessary so that the bush has the strength to grow another portion of the fruit and ensure their ripening.

Important! In a state of technical maturity, vegetables have a purple color, but during storage they ripen and can change it to burgundy. The second portion of ripe fruits is harvested after they reach their biological maturity and acquire a dark cherry color. This must be done before the onset of frost.

Harvested vegetables can be used to cook:

• fresh salads;
• hot dishes;
• frozen workpieces;
• canned salads, snacks.

The Big Papa pepper variety will not only please with a plentiful harvest and excellent taste characteristics of vegetables, but will also become a decoration of the garden due to its unusual color and beautiful shape of the fruit. To do this, it is enough to follow all the recommendations described above and take the necessary steps to prevent the appearance of diseases and pests.