PROTECTED CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLE CROPS

Importance
 Export oriented production under globalization of agribusiness
 Augment production of quality vegetables throughout the year.
 Tomato, Capsicum and cucumbers are grown in poly houses.
 The quantum jump in yield in protected structure (100-150 t/ha) compared to
open field (20-40t/ha)
 Precision practices viz., controlled irrigation (drip system) and application of
nutrients (fertigation)
 Microclimate management by vents, shade curtains, foggers/ misters modify
the climate to promote desired growth.
 Vegetables are high value crops and regular supply in the market in fresh
condition is essential.
 Protection of vegetables from adverse environmental conditions viz.,
temperatures, hails, scorching sun, heavy rains and snow.
 Design and structure of the Green house
 The greenhouse is designed depending on the prevailing local climatic
conditions to enable efficient utilization of resources like sunlight, temperature
and RH and wind movement.

 Saw tooth designs with gable or arch roof are preferred in tropics.

 The material used for construction of the greenhouse should be locally

available and cost effective.

 In tropics the bay dimension of 6m x 30m is recommended and gutters

connect such bays with a roof vent facing North direction. The gutter will be at
3m and the center height will be 4.5m.

 The structures are designed to take the wind load of 150 kmph. The live load
should also include the crop load expected while designing the structure.
 Covering material

 Transparent UV light stabilized polythene film, 200 micron, thick with

high light transmission is used for covering the green house roof
 The insect proof net on the sides and the roof ventilation will provide
adequate ventilation
 As a thumb rule 20 per cent of the floor area should be the vent area. It
is observed that the green house crops do not suffer even with 60- mesh
nylon net
 However, 40-mesh nylon net has been found adequate and it is
commonly being used by many growers.
 In naturally ventilated greenhouses temperature, relative humidity and
ventilation are managed by the insect proof net (40 mesh), shade
curtains and foggers that are sparingly used for short intervals during hot
summer mid days.
Thermo hygrograph and tensiometer positioned
in the polyhouse beds
Polytunnels
Shadenet houses
Protected Cultivation of Tomato
Tomato
 Climate

 It can not withstand with severe frost conditions.

 Critical factor in setting of fruits of the tomato is the night temperature. The
optimum range being 16°C to 22°C.

 Fruits fail to set at 12°C or below and goes above22°C at night and average
day temperature goes above 32°C

 Low temperature below 100C, red and yellow colours do not develop. The
ideal range for development of both red and yellow colours is 18-25°C.

 Tomato can be grown for long duration (10-12 months) by cooling the
greenhouses during summer months (April to June or July) and by heating
the greenhouses during peak winter (December and January) months.
 Selection of varieties

 The hybrids growing to a height of 15 feet and above utilizing the vertical space in the
green house and having a yield potential of 170 t/ha.
 Important considerations are size, shape and colour (red or pink).
 High yields, free from cracking, number of fruits, and free from green shoulder, good
shelf life and TSS.
 Greenhouse tomato cultivars are indeterminate in growth habit
 They must be able to set fruit well in the winter and summer
Beefsteak cultivars
 Produce large (180 to 250 g) fruits (slicing types) - harvested individually and usually
packed with the calyx still attached.

 'Trust' and 'Match' are both high yielding non greenback and susceptible to cracking.

 Wide fluctuations in temperature and moisture must be controlled to reduce cracking

Big fruited varieties

 The average fruit weight ranges from 120-160g
R-144 (Daniela), FA-189, FA-l79
 Indian varieties suitable for greenhouse cultivation
Naveen, Nun 7711, N.S. 646, GC-600 and Arka Vishal
 Harvested singly with the calyx still attached with the fruits
 Cluster types
 Harvested in clusters of four to seven fruit and are small with the
cluster stem still attached, which is an indicator of freshness of the
fruits for the consumers.
 The clusters are harvested by clipping the main cluster stem from the
plant. All tomatoes on the cluster remain attached - range in maturity
from breaker to ripe.
 Usually marketed in a mesh bag, tray pack, or in a single-layer box.
 HA-646, FA-556, FA-521 have outstanding flavor
 Outstanding fruit quality and shelf life allow the consumer to pick
tomatoes from the cluster over several days.
 Cherry tomato
 Very small in size and the average fruit weight is 12-20g and high T.S.S.

in fruits (6.8 to 7.0%).

 BR-124, HA-818 are most popular varieties from Israel.

 Variety T-56 is available in India

 Nursery
 Seedlings are raised in seedling trays placed inside a net house or
polyhouse.
 Sterilized cocopeat is used as the growing medium for nursery
production.
 98 cell seedling trays made of polypropylene material with drainage
holes are used for seedling production. The trays are filled with the
growing medium and tapped gently to fill the cells properly.
 The seedling trays are drenched using Copper oxy chloride solution
(3g/L).
 Shallow depressions of 5 mm depth are made in each cell.
 Seeds treated with the Captaf (0.2g/100g seed) are sown one per cell,
covered with a thin layer of the above growing medium and watered
lightly with a rose can.
 If the commercial cocopeat having adequate moisture is used, No
irrigation is required till seeds germinate.
 contd.,
 The filled trays are staked one above the other and covered with
plastic sheet to create warmth and humidity required for germination.
 Seeds germinate in 3 to 4 DAS.
 The trays are shifted to a net house or a polyhouse and placed on the
raised bed, covered with a plastic sheet immediately after
germination.
 The trays are watered twice a day to maintain appropriate moisture.
 The seedlings are drenched with 0.2% 19:19:19 plus trace elements
at 15 days after germination.
 The seedlings are sprayed using Acephate (0.75 g/L) to prevent
infection by thrips.
 The seedlings are hardened by exposing them gradually to sunlight
and by reducing the frequency of watering.
 The seedlings will be ready for planting, 20 to 25 DAS.
 About 20g seed is required to plant 1000m2 of greenhouse area
Nursery
 Growing beds
 Beds of 100 cm width and 15 cm height are prepared leaving 50 cm
working space between the beds.
 Well-decomposed locally available organic manure,@25 kg/m2 of the bed
is added, mixed thoroughly and the beds are leveled.
 In heavy soils mixing sand up to 25 percent is required to provide proper
aeration in the root zone.
 Neem cake is made into powder, slightly watered to moisten and kept for
two days, and then it is mixed with Trichoderma formulation @1 kg/100 kg
neem cake.
 The mixture is closed with a plastic sheet. For every two days the mixture
is turned once. After 15 days the Neem cake + Trichoderma formulation
will be ready for application.
 Neem cake and Trichoderma formulation is applied before planting @ of
200 g / m2of bed and mixed thoroughly.
Fertilizer application
 Basal 50 kg/ha K (MOP) + Azospirillum (10 g/m 2 ) + Phosphobacteria (10
g/m 2 ) + VAM (50 g/m2 ).
 Two furrows are opened in the growing bed and the fertilizer mixture is
applied in the furrows and furrows are closed.
Laying of drip line
 Place one inline drip lateral at the center of the bed.
 Inline drip lateral should have an emitting point for every 30 cm interval
with a discharge of 2 liter of water per hour.
 Run the drip system to check each emitting points for uniform discharge
of water.
Mulching
 100-micron (400 gauge) thick polyethylene mulch film of 1.2m width is
used to cover the planting bed.
 Make holes of 5cm diameter on the mulch film as per the recommended
spacing (60cm x 45cm).
 Cover the planting beds with the mulch film by securing the edges of the
sheet and burying in the soil.
Spacing
 Seedlings are planted in paired rows in one-meter wide beds with row-to-
row spacing of 60 cm and plant-to-plant spacing of 45 cm.
Transplanting
 Water the beds to field capacity before transplanting.
 Seedlings of 20-25 days old, vigorous and uniform in size are selected for planting.
 The seedlings are sprayed with Imidacloprid (03 ml/l) solution one day before
transplanting. Drench the seedlings with Carbendazim (0.1%) solution on the day of
planting in early morning hours.
 Remove the seedlings from the seedling trays by giving slight pressure from the bottom of
the individual cells
 Tomato seedlings are planted in the holes made in the polythene mulch film so that the
seedlings do not touch the mulch film.
 Watering the beds is done daily with a rose can till the seedlings get established well.The
foggers are run if the humidity is low.
 The beds are drenched with 0.3% copper oxy chloride if morality of the seedlings is
noticed.
Irrigation
 Drip irrigation starts 10 days after transplanting.
 Drip irrigation is given daily to supply 2 to 3l water/m2 /day .
Fertigation
 The total N:P2O5: K2O dosage of 200:200: 200 kg / ha using WSF is given through
fertigation for entire crop growth period.
 The plants are fertigated with WSF supplying 19% each of N, P2O5 and K2O, at the rate
of 3.75 g/m2 for every fertigation, twice a week, starting from third week after
transplanting.
 The tomato crop is sprayed with micronutrient formulation (3 g/l) 2 to 3 times once in 30
days starting from 60 days after transplanting.
 The crop is fertigated 2 to 3 times with calcium nitrate once in 15 days if deficiency of
calcium is noticed.
Pruning
 Tomato plants are pruned to retain two stems per plant.
 Pruning starts 20 to 30 days after transplanting at weekly interval.
 The main stem of tomato plant branches into two after the first flower cluster.
 Only these two branches (stems) are retained and all other branches are
removed.
 All the branches developing at the base of the stem are also removed
Training
 Each branch is trained along a separate plastic tube provided for the purpose.
 The branches are tied to the plastic tube with gunny twine (3 ply) so that the
branches do not break due to weight of the foliage and fruits.
 Tying of the branches starts from 4 weeks after planting at weekly interval
usually along with the pruning operation.
Lowering of plants
 The plants are lowered periodically so that the plants are maintained at
workable height by providing extra length of plastic twine in the
beginning itself so that the plants can be lowered to required length.
 Lowering the plants is done at 20 to 30 days interval starting from 80 to
90 days after transplanting.

Deleafing
 Older leaves are removed periodically starting from 70 days after
transplanting retaining leaf on stem to a length of about five feet from
the growing tip at any given point of time.
 Suckering

 Indeterminate growth habit

 Suckers will develop between each
compound leaf and the stem. These
suckers are removed as they develop,
leaving only the main stem as a growing
point.
 Side shoots are usually not pruned until
they are a few inches long, at which time
they are easier to distinguish from the
main stem.
Crop Support in Tomato
Crop Support
 Pollination
 Aided pollination - needed due to limited air movement and high
humidity.
 Bumble bees are the perfect pollinators, even under
environmental stress condition (i.e. under low and high
temperature conditions).
 Electric or battery powered vibrators used to vibrate flowers
cluster above the area where they originate from the stem. The
vibration will release sufficient pollens necessary for pollination.
 This practice is done twice a day (lO:OO AM to ll.OO AM and 2.0-
3.0 PM)
 Flowers are vibrated or shaken every day.
 Air from a mistflower also has found effective
Pollination
 Cooling and heating of the greenhouses

 Evaporative cooling system.

 In Northern plains cooling is done from September to October
and April to June months.
 Quite effective humidity in atmosphere is below 40%.
 Heating done from 15th of December to end of January, to
increase the temperature of the greenhouse during nights, the
temperature can not fall below 140 C.
 Heating and cooling required - tomato crop for 10-12 months
duration.
Topping
 Six weeks before the anticipated crop termination date, the growing
point and small fruit clusters at the top of the plant are removed.
 Fruit requires 7-8 weeks from anthesis to harvest so small fruit will
not have enough time to develop to maturity.
 Increase size of already-set fruit in the lower part of the plant.

Fruit Pruning
 Small, undersized fruit at the end of a cluster (distal fruit) are
always removed.

Truss hooks
Grown under relatively low light conditions, the peduncles of the
inflorescences (trusses) are too weak to support the weight of fruit
they bear and, are liable to bend or ‘kink’.
Fruit Pruning
Truss hook
Harvesting

 Summer months harvesting should be done in early morning or

late evening to avoid post harvest losses.
 Cherry tomatoes are harvest with stems attached or some time
singly with attached calyx
 Harvesting of tomato fruits starts at 70 to 80 days after
transplanting and continues upto 170 to 180 days.
 Harvesting of fruits is done at weekly interval.
 Fruits are harvested are breaker stage.
 The harvested produce is kept in a cool place and exposure to
direct sunlight is avoided.

Yield
 Tomato fruit yield is 170 to 180 t/ha (17 to 18 kg / m 2) of gross
plot area (5.7 to 6.0 kg/plant).
 Individual fruit weight varies from 100 g / fruit during initial
harvests to 60 g / fruit during last harvests.
 Plant protection

 Insect proof nylon net (antivirus nets) of 40 to 50 mesh size to

prevent insects viz., White flies, thrips, aphids
 One spray of metasystox @ 1.5 ml/litre of water is done 10 days
after transplanting of the crop.
 Problem of mites, dicofol @ 2.0 ml/litre of water.
 White flies or thrips, yellow and blue trappers are used for trapping
of such insects.
 Blossom End Rot (BER)
 Due to deficiency of calcium in the fruit

 The symptoms are disintegration of the cell membranes and increased

ion permeability, soil water deficit, high salinity or high NH4 + activity,

 A higher susceptibility to various stresses due to an increase in

physiologically active gibberellins and a resulting decrease in calcium,
causing the enhanced permeability of cell membranes

 This results in a brown-black discoloration at the affected site.

To control
 Always ensure adequate calcium supply to the crop root zone

 Do not over water the tomato crop.

 Maintain steady fruit and plant growth.

 Maintain the proper relative in the greenhouse.

Blossom End Rot (BER)
Russetting
 Inability of the fruit skin to expand with fruit growth. This results in fine
hair like cracks on the fruit shoulders
 Cracks visible under certain light conditions
 Ensure proper plant balance in greenhouse cultivation of tomato by
way of plant architecture.
 Rate of' growth and water regimes can minimize this problem

Blotchy Ripening
 A light color (yellow orange) on the shoulder

 This fruit ripening disorder caused by lack of adequate potassium

absorption

 Reduces the quality and grade of the greenhouse fruits.

 Proper nutrition and make sure there is adequate foliage to shade the
fruit.
 Protected cultivation of Capsicum
•Capsicum hybrids with indeterminate growth habit are suitable for greenhouse
cultivation.

•These hybrids grow to a height of 2 m and above utilizing the vertical space in the
greenhouse.

•Commercial hybrids with a yield potential up to 100 t/ha and more are suitable for
greenhouse cultivation.

•Capsicum fruits with green, yellow and red colour are in great demand in urban
markets.
Nursery
 The nursery practices are similar to tomato
 The seedlings will be ready for planting, 30 to 35 DAS.
 About 40 g seed is required to plant 1000m2 of green house
area.
Field preparation
 The field preparation and sowing practices are similar to
tomato
Fertilizer application
 Commercial fertilizers supplying 50:50:50 N:P205:K2O

kg /ha, are applied to the growing beds as basal.

Laying of drip line
 Inline drip lateral having an emitting point for every 30 cm
interval with discharge of 2 liter of water per hour.
Fertigation
 The total dose of 150 kg each of N:P2O5: K2O /ha using WSF is given through
fertigation for entire crop growth period.

 WSF supplying 19 per cent each of N:P2O5 and K2O is used at the rate of 2.25
g / m2 for every fertigation.

 Given twice a week. Starting from third week after transplanting.

 Capsicum crop is sprayed with micronutrient formulation (3 g/ L) 2 to 3 times

once in 30 days starting from 60 days after transplanting.

 Capsicum is fertigated 2 to 3 times with calcium nitrate once in 15 days if

deficiency of calcium is noticed.
 Pruning
 Capsicum plants are pruned to retain four stems.
 Pruning is done at weekly interval starting from 15 to 20 days after
transplanting.
 The tip of the plant splits into two at 5th or 6th node 15 to 20 days after
transplanting (DAT).These two branches again split into two giving rise
to four branches by 25 to 30 DAT.
 Only these four main branches are maintained till the end of the crop.
 At every node the tip splits in to two giving rise to one strong branch
(The branch with thick stem and larger leaf) and one weak branch (The
branch with thin stem and smaller leaf).
 The weak branch is removed retaining the strong branch.
 This operation needs to be done once in a week. From 4 th month
onwards the pruning operation will be done once in 10 days.
 All the shoots appearing at the base of the plants are removed, as they
are not productive.
 All the flowers that appear till one month after transplanting are
removed. Only one fruit per nose is allowed to develop.
Training
 The plants are trained along a plastic twine.
 Each branch should have a separate plastic twine to train along.
 The plastic twines are tied to the GI wire grid provided at 2.5 to 3.0 m height and then
to the base of the plant.
 The branch is tied to the plastic twine with gunny twine .
 Tying plants to the plastic twine starts from 6th week after planting at 20 days interval.

Sanitation
 The old and diseases leaves are removed regularly.
 Allowing visitors is discouraged inside the protected structure as it may allow insect
pests and vectors to enter into the greenhouse.
 Provision is made to wash the foot and hands with potassium permanganate solution
(0.5%) in the antechamber at the entrance of the protected structure.
 Harvest and Yield
 Harvesting of capsicum fruits starts 60 days after transplanting in case
of green, 80 to 90 days after transplanting in case of yellow and red
fruited hybrids.
 Harvesting continues up to 170 to 180 days at 10 days interval in green
and up to 240 to 270 days in red and yellow.
 Fruits that are mature green, yellow when it is 75% yellow and red
when it is 100% red are harvested and kept in a cool place avoiding
direct exposure to sunlight.
 The fruits are harvested with a sharp blade/ knife close to the stem end
to have good appearance and to reduce the possibility of fungal
infection like Botrytis.
 The harvested fruits are packed in card board boxes using paper
shreds as the padding material.
 A yield of 100 to 120 t/ha (10 to 12 kg / m2, 2.25 to 2.70 kg / plant) can
be expected from a single crop. Average individual fruit weight varies
from 180 g in initial harvests to 100 g in last harvests.
 Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.);
Cucurbitaceae

 India ranks first in cucumber production

 India exports to UK, Australia, Kuwait and Iran
 Used as salad, pickle and fresh vegetable
 Year round cultivation under polyhouse conditions
 Excess temperature, rain and frost are not suitable for
cucumber cultivation.
 Protected cultivation of Cucumber
 The cultivation of hybrid cucumber under controlled conditions where the production
risk is reduced.
 Hence the steady supply fetches good market price. The average price would be
around Rs.13-14/kg.
 Population of 1500 plants/1000m2 alone is maintained and the management is also
easier under controlled conditions.
 Soil and climate

 Sandy loam rich in organic matter with good drainage.

 Soil pH should be 6.5 – 7.5
 Day temperature - 25° C
 Night temperature -18-21°C
 If temperature exceeds 33° C , The crop growth is affected
and also increased more number of male flowers
Growing of cucumbers in grow bags
 Varieties :Japanese Long Green, Straight Eight and Poinsette.
 Hybrids: KPCH 2, Pant C 2
 Season and sowing
 Form raised beds of 120 cm width at an interval of 30 cm and the
laterals are placed at the centre of each bed.
 Sow the seeds at an interval of 60 cm distance at the centre of the
bed along the laterals.
 Sow the seeds in polybags @ one per bag for gap filling.
 The seeds during June or January to April at 2.5 kg/ha after treating
with Trichoderma viride 4 g or Bacillus subtilis 10g or carbendazim
2g/kg on one side of channel giving a spacing of 0.6 m between hills.
 Thin the seedlings to two per hill.
 Nutrient management
 Apply FYM 40 t/ha as basal and 35 kg of N/ha at 30 DAS.
 Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria 2 kg/ha and Bacillus subtilis
2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg/ha and neem cake @ 100 kg/ha
before last ploughing.
Irrigation
 Irrigate the field before dibbling the seeds and thereafter once in a week.
 Install drip system with main and sub-main pipes and place the inline lateral
tubes at an interval of 1.5m.
 Place the drippers in lateral tubes at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with
4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.
Fertigation
 Apply a dose of 150:75:75 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through
split application for F1 hybrid.
 In respect of phosphorus, 75% has to be applied as a basal dose.
Weed management
 After cultivation Hoe and weed twice or thrice.
 Spray pre emergence herbicide like fluchloralin 1 kg a.i. or metalachlor 0.75 kg
a.i./ha on third day of sowing.
 Fertigation schedule

Crop Stage Duration in Fertilizer Grade Total Fertilizer

Days (kg/ha/time)

Crop establishment 10 19:19:19 6.6

13-0-45 2.8
Urea 7.4
Vegetative 20 12-6 1-0 0.9
13-0-45 5.0
Urea 8.1
Flower initiation to 20 19:19:19 4.2
first picking 13-0-45 3.0
Urea 11.4
Harvesting 40 12-6 1-0 0.6
13-0-45 6.7
Urea 7.7
Mulching
 Training

 The vines should be trained to spread

on Nylon nets
 Allow only main stem and remove all
lateral shoots.
 If the vine reaches the height of 8
feet it should be tied with GI wires by
using jute thread
 Remove the flowers formed up to
60cm height of the plant.
 Training

T 2 – one axillary shoot

 Plant protection
Pests
 Fruit fly
 1. Collect the affected fruits and destroy.
 2. The fly population is low in hot day conditions and it is peak in rainy season.
Hence adjust the sowing time accordingly.
 3. Expose the pupae by ploughing.
 4. Install cucurbit fruit fly trap @ 4/ acre 99 5. Neem oil @ 3.0 %
 Do not use copper and sulphur dust, as these are phytotoxic
 Aphids & Jassids : Spray Imidacloprid 70 WG 1.0g/10lit
 Harvest and yield

 The production starts from 40 DAP of seedling and lasts for 110 days without any
interruption.

 The plants are ready for harvest at 10-15 days after flowering.

 The fruits should be small and tender.

 Harvesting should be done once in two days

 The yield per plant is about 10 kg which attributes to 11 t/1000m2 under poly
house conditions.

 Further the quality and the shelf-life period is comparatively superior than the
present varieties.
Fruits at harvesting stage