How To Start A Chilli Farming Business | SkillsAndTech

Do you want to start a chilli farming business? If so, find here a detailed business plan guide to start and run chilly cultivation covering process, cost, soil requirement, etc.

Chilli is one of the most important cash crops in the spice segment. Green chilli and dried chilli both are popular. Chilli is used mainly for culinary purposes. It is used as a principal ingredient of various curries, and chutneys. It is also used for vegetables, spices, condiments, sauces, and pickles.

Dry chillies are used for curry powder. Due to “Capsanthin”, the chilli produces a red colour. Among the spices consumed per head, dried chilli fruits constitute a major share.

Currently, chillies are used throughout the world as a spice and also in the making of beverages and medicines. The Chilli cultivation business is profitable. You can start chilli cultivation on a small scale basis.

China, Mexico, India, Spain, and Nigeria are the major chilli producing countries. Almost all the state of India Produce chilli. However, major chilli producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Rajasthan. Chillies are very similar to sweet bell peppers (Capsicum). But they have a hot fiery flavour instead of the sweet flavour associated with bell peppers.

Why Chilli Cultivation Business Is Profitable?

Some of the major reasons for the profitability of the chilli farming business are the following:

Chilli cultivation is profitable with a small piece of land
Green chilli has a good domestic market
Dried chillies have different industry application
Though chilli is a perishable item, you can store dried chilli also
In addition, chilli has good export potential.
Indian Spice Board promotes Chilli Farming
You can have more profit from dried chilli

Health Benefits of Chilli

There are several benefits of chillis. Some of them are as follows:

Fresh chilli peppers, red and green, are a rich source of vitamin C.
In addition, they are also good in other antioxidants such as vitamin-A, and flavonoids like ß-carotene, a-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthin.
Chillies carry a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium.
Chillies are also good in the B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1).
It may also play a role in treating lung and prostate cancer and leukaemia.
Also, chilli is a potential metabolism booster for weight loss.
In conclusion, we can say, chilli peppers have amazingly high levels of vitamins and minerals.

Improved Varieties For Chilli Cultivation

Agnirekha

Plants tall and spreading, fruits long, bold, smooth and light green in colour. Duration is 180 days. The average yield of green” fruit is 250 quintals per hectare. The average yield of dry chilli is 27 quintals per hectare.

Musahvadi

Fruits are smooth and medium long. Mature fruits dark green with black patches, ripe fruits dark red with retentive colour. Duration is 180 days.

Phule Mukta

It has dark green foliage. The plants are tall and medium spreading. Fruits are small, dark green and smooth.

Surkta

It produces bright deep red fruits. Fruits are very hot in taste. It gives about 35% higher fruit yield compared to variety CA-960.

Jayanti

Plants are medium to tall in height with light green foliage. Fruits are medium to long in length (9-10 cm).

Parbhani Tejas

It has pungency. The fruits are longer (maximum 22 cm). The yield of dry red fruit is 18 quintals per hectare.

Kankan Kirti

Dark green fruits turn red when mature, mildly pungent. It yields 12-14 tonnes per hectare of green chilli. Fruits have good keeping quality and good export potential.

Agro-Climatic Condition For Chilli Farming

Chilli requires a warm and humid climate for its best growth. Also, it requires dry weather during the maturation of fruits. Chilli crop comes up well in tropical and sub-tropical regions. However, it has a wide range of adaptability. It can withstand heat and moderate cold to some extent.

You can grow chillies over a wide range of altitudes from sea level up to nearly 2 100 meters. It is generally a cold-weather crop. However, you can grow throughout the year under irrigation. The optimum temperature for the fruit set is 24 C. Night temperature below 10 C fruit set restricted.

Suitable Soil For Chilli Cultivation

Black soils which retain moisture for long periods are suitable for the rainfed crop. While, well-drained soils, deltaic soils and sandy loams are good under irrigated conditions.

You can grow chilli in all types of soils from light sandy to heavy clay. The optimum soil pH for chilli is 5.8 to 6.5. Most of all, Chilli is very sensitive to waterlogging. Thoroughly plough the land 3-4 times followed by planking to level the field.

Chilli Farming Cultivation Basic Steps

Maintenance Of Buffer Zone

In order to cultivate chillies organically, a buffer zone of 25 to 50 feet is to be left all around the conventional farm, depending upon the location of the farm. The produce from this buffer zone belt shall not be treated as organic. You can grow chilli organically as an inter or mixed crop provided all the other crops are grown following organic methods. It is desirable to include a leguminous crop in rotation with chilli.

Sources Of Planting Material

A most popular option is raising nurseries. You must grow seeds of high yielding varieties with tolerance to pests and diseases may be used. Therefore, you must select from certified organic farms or from your own seed plot which is raised organically.

In addition, you can use chemically untreated seeds from local high yielding varieties. You must do the treatment of seeds with any chemical fungicides or pesticides. However, it is always beneficial to adopt indigenous practices for seed treatment, wherever possible. You can do seed treatment with Trichoderma @ 10 9/kg of seed to prevent the incidence of seedling rot in the nursery.

Transplanting

Do transplanting in the evening. The optimum spacing is 60 45cm for open field conditions. Immediate irrigation after transplanting facilitates better plant establishment. Thereafter, you must provide light and frequent irrigation up to the establishment of the plant.

Irrigation

First of all, you can grow chilli under rain-fed conditions. However, You can also grow under irrigated conditions. You must take care to avoid using water contaminated with fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides. You must irrigate the field judiciously. Stagnation of water should not be allowed in nursery beds and fields in order to avoid fungal infection.

Manuring

Organic manures are the best option is chilli cultivation. However, you can use compost/farmyard manure from your own farm rather than from outside the farm. Apply 100q FYM or compost for one acre before transplanting. Apply 60kg N, 30kg P2O5 and 30kg K2O per acre.

Intercultural Operations

2-3 shallow hoeing is important You must do it to the soil to kill the weeds and provide soil mulch during the early stages of growth. Furthermore, you must apply weedicides for controlling the weeds that are found effective.

Plant Protection System In Chilli Farming

Pest Control

To avoid infestation of root grub, you can apply well rotten farmyard manure. Also, you can apply neem cake. Thrips, mites, aphids, Root grubs and pod borers are the major pests in chilli farming. In conclusion, you can change agronomic practices to disturb the life cycle of the grub. It is helpful.

Disease Management

Rot and Dieback and bacterial wilt are the two major diseases of chillies. To avoid this, You must be careful in seed selection. In addition, you must adopt phytosanitary measures to check the diseases of chillies. Early removal of affected plants will control the spread of the diseases.

Harvesting In Chilli Cultivation

You must harvest chillies at the right stage of maturity. You can harvest the ripe fruits at frequent intervals. Sun-drying is a common practice in India. The preparation of the drying floor differs from tract to tract. You can obtain levelled and compacted floor for drying. Fruits are spread on drying yards in layers. Furthermore, avoid microbial activity and aflatoxin production during the drying process.

Green chillies are harvested after 60 days of transplanting and dry chillies are harvested after 90 days of transplanting. 5-6 picking is done for green chillies. 2-3 picking for red ripe fruits.

The yield varies according to the system of cultivation. The yield of dry chillies of the rain-fed crop is 200 – 400 kg and that of the irrigated crop is 600 – 1000 kg per acre. Most of all, the proportion of dry to fresh japed chillies varies from 25- to 40 per cent.

How To Start A Chilli Farming Business | SkillsAndTech

Why Chilli Cultivation Business Is Profitable?

Health Benefits of Chilli