Pepper Tsitsak

The Tsitsak pepper variety may well compete with one of the most popular representatives of this vegetable culture - chili. We will tell you how to grow a good harvest of Tsitsak pepper in the article.

Pepper Tsitsak: characteristics and description of the variety

Pepper Tsitsak: photo of the variety

Pepper Tsitsak is a kind of pepper, and in translation from the Georgian language "tsitsak" means "pepper". Like many representatives of this vegetable culture, the variety is the result of selection, with the only difference that it is folk selection. In Armenia and Georgia, dishes made from this pepper are included in the daily diet, it is consumed in pickled, salted and pickled form.

Bitter pepper of Tsitsak variety loves warmth and its cultivation in areas with a temperate climate is possible only in greenhouse conditions. If natural conditions allow planting peppers in open ground, then a well-lit area should be chosen so that no trees or shrubs block the light, creating shade. Tsitsak is a very sun-loving pepper.

• This variety is characterized by high keeping quality, has a good yield, and is weakly susceptible to diseases.
• Externally, hot pepper Tsitsak is very similar to the well-known type of peppers - chili, also being a type of hot pepper. However, in terms of sharpness, Tsitsak pepper is still significantly inferior to chili, having also a pleasant sweetish taste, therefore, it is often used in canning and various preparations.
• Plants, like most peppers, develop in the form of bushes, have an average degree of leaf coverage. The stem is strong, the foliage is of a characteristic oblong shape with a pointed edge. The height of the Tsitsak pepper variety can reach one meter.
• The shape of the fruit of the Tsitsak hot pepper is cone-shaped, and the length is quite impressive - 15-20 cm. The peppers have a juicy fleshy pulp. In a state of full ripeness, the fruits of the pepper are rich red, and slightly unripe - light green.

Features of growing seedlings of hot Tsitsak pepper

Bitter pepper Tsitsak: video about the variety

To grow a good harvest of Tsitsak peppers, you just need to follow a few basic rules.

To begin with, it is important to choose the right Tsitsak pepper seeds and process them. Testing the germination of pepper seeds is not much different from other vegetables. This procedure is also called calibration, with its help barren flowers are rejected.

Tsitsak pepper seeds are dipped in salt water for a couple of hours. Those that float to the surface are thrown out. It should be noted that there is practically no one hundred percent germination of Tsitsak pepper seeds.

To disinfect the selected seeds, half a teaspoon of wood ash is dissolved in a liter of water, insisting for about a day, while not forgetting to stir the solution periodically. Seeds placed in a gauze cloth are dipped in the prepared solution for a couple of hours. After this time, the seeds of hot Tsitsak pepper are carefully washed and dried. Instead of an ash solution, pepper seeds can be lowered for twenty minutes into a manganese solution, for the preparation of which 10 g of manganese is diluted in one and a half liters of liquid.

The soil suitable for sowing Tsitsak hot pepper for seedlings is sold in specialized garden centers, and experienced gardeners prefer to compose the soil on their own, especially since this does not present any difficulties. Soil components include soil, humus, sand, and sod. All components are taken in equal parts. In addition, at least half a kilogram of wood ash is applied to 10 kg of such soil. You can also add potassium sulfate and superphosphate to the prepared mixture.It is important, without haste, to thoroughly mix all the components in order to prevent possible burns of very vulnerable sprouts that will hatch from the seeds.

As a rule, Tsitsak pepper seeds are sown in late February or early March. Seedling containers are filled with earth and grooves are made, no more than one centimeter deep. The grooves are shed so that the seeds fall into the moist soil and there is no need to water them abundantly after sowing, as then they can simply be displaced into one pile. Further, the seeds of the Tsitsak pepper are carefully distributed in the grooves and sprinkled with soil. Crops are slightly moistened using a conventional spray bottle, covered with foil or glass and left in a room with a temperature not lower than + 23 ... +25 degrees.

Proper care of the seedlings is very important, since the diseases affecting young shoots are largely due to the mistakes made in the care. For example, many put seedling containers on window sills, since, in winter, this is the most illuminated place. This is certainly true, but in winter the glass blows cold and, as a result, the soil temperature drops below the permissible level, the seedlings stop growing and developing.

• Also, you need to monitor the level of soil moisture, avoiding either drying out or waterlogging. It is also best to use room temperature water for watering.
• In order to prevent various diseases affecting seedlings, it is recommended to spill seedlings with a solution of a biological fungicide every two weeks.
• Also, before the emergence of seedlings, it is recommended to ventilate the crops, removing the shelter for several hours.
• Seedlings dive when the plant already has 2-3 true leaves. Plants are planted very carefully, together with an earthen lump, trying not to damage the fragile roots. Otherwise, the seedlings will get sick, adapt for a long time, which, accordingly, will affect their development and growth.
• After picking seedlings, fertilizer should be applied. Having received useful nutrients, the seedlings will root faster and easier. Top dressing is done using potassium phosphate fertilizers.

Pepper Tsitsak: photo of the variety

Diseases and pests affecting pepper

Tsitsak bitter pepper is slightly susceptible to diseases, but if the plant is not properly cared for, problems such as pepper stolbur and fusarium can be encountered.

In any case, as a prevention of infection of vegetable plantings with pathogenic fungi, it is recommended to periodically treat the soil and plants with biological fungicides.

Of the pests, Tsitsak pepper is the most commonly annoying aphid. To combat this insect, an ash solution with the addition of liquid soap is used. To prepare such a "preparation", two tablespoons of ash are poured with 15 liters of water and about 100 ml of soap is poured in. The solution is applied to the leaves and stems of the bush.

Sometimes, a spider mite can be found on Tsitsak pepper. As a rule, it settles on a leaf, on its reverse side, and a white cobweb is visible on the foliage itself. You can cope with it by applying insecticides.

Slugs also cause a lot of problems, depriving us of some of the vegetable harvest. In addition to fruits, they do not mind eating the foliage of plants. The traces of the presence of slugs cannot be confused with anyone else, eating fruits and leaves, they leave characteristic holes. In the fight against them, one cannot do without chemical insecticides like Karbofos and Keltan.

Now, having learned the rules for growing Tsitsak pepper, as well as ways to prevent and control various pests and diseases, you can get an excellent harvest of this pepper. And it is not difficult to "attach" such wealth. There are many dishes, recipes for canning and preparations of hot Tsitsak pepper, not to mention the fact that you can simply dry it and use it as a seasoning in the future.