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To select the best varieties and hybrids of pepper, you need to weigh several important factors. Sweet pepper belongs to the southern heat-loving crops, therefore, when growing it in the climatic conditions of Our Country, a number of rules must be observed. Despite the apparent complexity, many domestic gardeners and summer residents are engaged in the cultivation of sweet pepper on their own plots. It’s so nice to pick a fresh juicy vegetable from the garden, add it to a salad or just eat it.
Let’s try to understand the features of varieties and hybrids (F1) of pepper, name the best peppers for 2019 and determine the most promising variety.
What are the criteria for choosing a variety of pepper
In order for the fruits grown in the garden to be exactly as shown on the package with seeds, you should buy material only from a trusted manufacturer. Quality seeds are sorted, treated with antiseptics, sometimes sealed in granules with a growth stimulator. Such planting material will give a high percentage of healthy and strong seedlings.
Before buying seeds, you need to choose several suitable varieties of bell pepper. The choice will depend on several factors:
- The appearance of the fruit. Peppers can be oblong, cubic or conical, round and flattened, ribbed or smooth. Another trait is the color of the peppers. They come in green, red, orange, yellow, purple and even brown.
- Pepper size. You can choose a variety that produces compact peppers suitable for pickling whole fruits or stuffing them. Large fruits are great for salads, because they are more fleshy and juicy.
- Pepper wall thickness. The thicker the fruit walls, the juicier and tastier the peppers. But thin-skinned fruits are better saturated with brine, they cook faster.
- Taste qualities. Although pepper is called sweet, the fruits can have a different aroma and significantly differ in taste. There are sour or neutral fruits.
- Plant characteristics. The pepper bush itself can be high or low, sprawling, leafy, with a developed or compact root system.
- Plant resistance to diseases, pests, climatic features (humidity, low temperatures, strong winds).
- Breeding features. Sweet pepper can be varietal or hybrid.
What is the difference between a variety and a hybrid
Varietal crops are obtained as a result of natural or artificial selection. These peppers can be adapted to certain conditions (climate, soil composition), which allows you to choose zoned varieties that are most suitable for growing in a particular region.
One of the advantages of the variety is that seeds can be collected from the fruits. Seed material is collected from the most beautiful peppers grown on the healthiest bushes. This approach allows you to save on seed, as well as grow exactly the pepper that the owner of the garden liked the most.
Scientists are engaged in the selection of hybrids. These cultures are obtained by crossing different species, highlighting and developing their strongest points. A hybrid plant is always better than its “parents”. You can get high-quality seed only after a few years – the maximum accumulation of positive qualities occurs in the 5-7th summer.
The disadvantages of hybrid peppers are their inability to adapt to certain conditions and the inability to collect seeds.
There are more advantages, among them:
- earlier terms of fruit ripening;
- resistance to common diseases;
- good adaptation after transferring seedlings to a permanent place and diving;
- unpretentiousness in care;
- high yields of large fruits.
How sweet peppers are grown
Only by adhering to certain rules, you can grow a good crop of bell pepper. After all, this culture is quite capricious, requiring special care.
So, in order to harvest a good crop of pepper, you need to go through the following steps:
- Choose a sunny, wind- and draft-protected spot in your garden. If possible, it is better to grow pepper in a greenhouse: it can be an ordinary film or a heated greenhouse.
- The best soils for bell peppers are fertile and loose. Chernozem, loam or sandstone is suitable. Groundwater should be deep, because pepper does not like too wet soils. The acidity level of the earth should be neutral.
- In the climate, Bulgarian pepper is grown in seedlings. The growing season of this crop is two to three months, the pepper will not have time to ripen in a short summer. Seeds for seedlings are sown around mid-March.
- Pepper does not tolerate transplanting well, so as not to swoop down, it is better to immediately plant the seeds in disposable containers.
- Three weeks before planting seedlings in a permanent place, it must be hardened off. First, the window is opened for a few minutes, and then, the containers with plants are taken out into the yard or onto the balcony.
- By mid-May, the first buds should form on the seedlings. The plants themselves are small and strong. It is better to plant seedlings in the ground in the morning, while there is no strong heat.
- The best temperature for bell pepper is the range from 20 to 25 degrees. Prolonged low temperatures will lead to the shedding of leaves and flowers. Therefore, at night it is better to cover the pepper with a film or agrofiber.
- Water the plants with warm water, especially if the day was hot. The best method of watering is sprinkling.
- For the entire period of growth, vegetables need to be fed 3 to 5 times. To do this, use mullein diluted in water, bird droppings, ash, herbal infusions.
- It is better to tie up even undersized pepper bushes – their branches are quite brittle. For low plants, pegs will be enough, you can still protect them from the wind by planting taller crops nearby.
“Lumina”
Gardeners appreciate this variety for its unpretentiousness. The culture can be grown on any soil, plants are able to withstand low temperatures and resist a number of viruses and diseases.
Even under the most unfavorable conditions, the Lumina variety will give a stable harvest, so this pepper is most often grown for sale. It is the fruits of the Lumina variety that are among the first to appear after winter on the shelves of shops and markets. Their shape is cone-shaped, and the color is very unusual – pale green with a white tint.
The wall thickness is only 5 mm, and the weight of one fruit rarely exceeds 110 grams. The palatability of pepper is average, it is moderately sweet, juicy, not too fragrant. But such vegetables can be stored for a very long time – up to three months. They also perfectly tolerate transportation and are suitable for cooking any dishes.
Ivanhoe
An early ripe variety that can be grown in any part of Our Country – the fruits will have time to ripen even in a short northern summer. The vegetable is well suited for growing both in the greenhouse and in the garden.
The fruits ripen by the 110th day after sowing the seeds into the soil. The bushes grow compact, their height reaches 70 cm, and the side shoots are short. The fruits are quite large, their weight reaches 140 grams. The shape of the fruit is conical, with a weak rib.
At the stage of technical maturity, the pepper is colored in a creamy yellow hue, and after biological ripening it turns red.
Bushes reach an average height, they must be tied up. Plants are resistant to low temperatures and even short-term frosts, but they do not tolerate drought well.
The flesh of the fruit is juicy and very aromatic. The wall thickness is 7 mm. Harvest perfectly tolerates transportation, can be stored for up to two months.
The vegetable is suitable for any purpose: canning, fresh consumption, and more.
“Marinkin tongue”
One of the most productive varieties was bred in Ukraine. A distinctive feature of the variety is unpretentiousness. Under any weather conditions and the most minimal care, the culture will give a consistently high yield.
Bushes grow medium – up to 70 cm, but sprawling. They must be tied up, because about 15 fruits will sing on each bush at the same time.
The pepper got its name due to the shape of the fruit – it is conical and slightly flattened. The color of the skin and flesh is bright cherry. The wall thickness is heterogeneous – from 10 to 5 mm (below the fruit is fleshier than that of the stalk).
The taste is excellent – the vegetable is juicy and very fragrant. Perfect for salads and fresh consumption, canning and pickling. The mass of one vegetable often exceeds 200 grams.
The plant tolerates low temperatures, therefore it is suitable for growing in open ground. The fruits of this variety are stored for a short time – about a month.
“Triton”
It belongs to the super-early and very productive varieties. In addition, the plant is characterized by increased resistance. This variety can be grown in any region of the country (in the north, of course, it is better to do this in greenhouses).
The plant is able to withstand prolonged rains, lack of sun, low temperatures or drought. At the same time, up to 50 fruits can ripen on each bush.
Bushes reach an average height – about 70 cm, they must be tied up so that a bountiful harvest does not break off the branches.
The peppers themselves are cone-shaped, slightly rounded. The color of the vegetable at the stage of technical maturity is green or yellow, after full ripening the vegetable becomes bright red.
The mass of each pepper is about 180 grams, the wall thickness is 6 mm. The palatability is quite high: the fruits are juicy and fragrant. Under the right storage conditions, vegetables will stay fresh for 30-40 days.
“Eroska”
These early ripe peppers can be grown in a thickened way – only 10-15 cm are left between plants. So, even on a small plot of land, you can grow a huge amount of vegetables.
The bushes themselves are very compact – their height does not exceed 35 cm. The fruits are cube-shaped, painted in rich red. The average fruit weight is 160 grams, the wall thickness is 5 mm.
The yield of the variety is quite high – about 16 fruits can be harvested from each small bush. Vegetables ripen together, sing quickly. The plant is resistant to the most dangerous nightshade diseases – blossom end rot, verticillium, tobacco mosaic virus.
Pepper “Eroshka”, thanks to thin walls, can be stored for about three months.
“Funtik”
The favorite of many summer residents and gardeners is characterized by early ripening – 100 days after sowing the seeds, you can enjoy the taste of fresh vegetables.
The fruits are cone-shaped, fleshy and heavy. The mass of each is about 200 grams, the wall thickness is 8 mm. Painted “Funtik” first in green, and after full maturation – in red.
The taste of the vegetable is quite high – the pulp is sweet and juicy. You can cook any dishes from this variety; in canned form, it is also quite tasty.
Bushes reach an average height of 60 cm, not sprawling. The plant is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.
The main advantages of pepper: high yield, large fruits, taste.
“Star of the East Chocolate F1”
This exotic pepper is distinguished, first of all, by an unusual shade – the fruits are colored in chocolate brown.
The hybrid belongs to early ripening – peppers ripen by the 110th day after planting in the ground. At this point, the peel is bright green in color, after the onset of biological maturity, it turns brown.
The shape of the fruit is standard – conical. The surface is smooth and shiny. The fruits grow large – about 200 grams, their wall is thick – 10 mm. The hybrid differs in excellent taste, the increased crunchiness and juiciness of pulp.
From each square meter of the garden, you can collect up to 10 kg of pepper. Fruits can be stored for a long time without loss of presentation and taste. The plant is resistant to a number of diseases and viruses.
“Apricot Favorite”
Early ripe pepper is intended for growing in a greenhouse. However, many gardeners plant this variety in open ground. I ripen vegetables on the 110-120th day after sowing seeds for seedlings.
The bushes are very compact, their height rarely exceeds 50 cm. The fruits themselves are quite small and fleshy, the wall thickness is 7 mm. The weight of the fetus ranges from 110 to 140 grams.
The fruits are first painted green, and by the onset of biological maturity they become bright orange. The variety is loved for its high yield (up to 20 kg per square meter) and the taste of the fruit. They can be preserved and consumed fresh.
«Belladonna F1»
The hybrid belongs to the superearly ones – the fruits become ripe on the 80-90th day after sowing the seeds into the soil. These peppers must be grown in greenhouses, it is possible in film greenhouses. In the southern regions, gardeners plant a hybrid even in open ground.
Bushes of medium height, quite compact – their height reaches 65 cm. The fruits are cube-shaped, first painted in a pale green color, and after full ripening they become yellowish. Their surface is shiny and smooth.
The pulp is quite juicy, the wall thickness is about 6 cm. The vegetables taste fragrant and sweet. Suitable for cooking various dishes, often used in salads and fresh.
The plant is resistant to most diseases, in particular, to the tobacco mosaic virus. However, it is afraid of the cold, so it is better to grow a hybrid in a greenhouse. With proper care, pepper yields up to 15 kgm².
What to choose: hybrid or variety
As can be seen from the description of the best varieties and hybrids of pepper, they do not have significant differences. It cannot be unequivocally stated that hybrid peppers are less tasty, and varietal ones are poorly protected from diseases and viruses.
By purchasing high-quality seed material from well-known breeding companies, you can surely provide yourself and your family with an excellent harvest of tasty and fragrant pepper. At the same time, it is not so important whether it is a hybrid or a variety, growing conditions and proper care of plants are much more important.
