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Bell peppers are a popular vegetable crop among gardeners. It can be seen in almost every garden area. In the southern regions of our country there are many farms that specialize in the commercial cultivation of sweet peppers. For them, in addition to consumer qualities, the yield of this vegetable is very important. Therefore, their choice is hybrid varieties.
The benefits of sweet pepper
Sweet pepper is the record holder among vegetables for the content of ascorbic acid. 100 g of this vegetable contains a double daily dose of vitamin C. And if we consider that this amount also contains a third of the daily intake of vitamin A, it becomes clear that there is no better vegetable for the prevention of many diseases.
This popular crop has not only many varieties, but also hybrids.
Advantages and disadvantages of hybrid varieties
Hybridization is the crossing of two or more varieties of peppers or other crops in order to obtain new predetermined properties. Attention! Heterotic pepper hybrids have more vitality than conventional varieties.
The following advantages of hybrids can be noted.
- High resilience.
- Even fruit and excellent appearance, both of these qualities do not change as the crop matures.
- High plasticity - hybrid plants adapt well to any growing conditions and perfectly tolerate the vagaries of the weather.
- Disease resistance.
The hybrids have few drawbacks: the seeds are more expensive than the varieties, they cannot be harvested for sowing, since the seedlings will not repeat the parental traits and will not give a good harvest next season.
Many foreign producers have long been sowing only seeds of pepper hybrids, despite their high cost. This approach is fully justified by the higher cost of the resulting quality products. In our country, it is also hybrid seeds that are increasingly chosen for sowing. One of these hybrids is Madonna F 1 sweet pepper, reviews of which are mostly positive. What are its features and advantages? To understand this, we will give a full description and compose a description of the Madonna F 1 pepper, which is shown in the photo.
Description and characteristics
This pepper hybrid was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2008 and is recommended for the North Caucasus region. It is grown both in the open field and in the greenhouse. The Madonna F 1 pepper seeds are produced by the French company Tezier, which has been seed production for more than two hundred years.
What can be said about Madonna F 1 pepper hybrid:
- the variety belongs to the early, some sellers position it as ultra-early - the first fruits reach technical ripeness after 2 months from germination; biological ripeness is observed after 40 days from the formation of the ovary;
- the bush is powerful, in the open field it grows up to 60 cm, in the greenhouse it is much higher, there it can reach a meter height;
- the plant has short internodes and is well leafy - the fruits will not suffer from sunburn;
- they have a cordate-elongated shape, almost cuboid;
- the color of the fruits in technical and biological ripeness is very different: at the first stage they have the color of ivory, at the second stage they turn completely red; this hybrid of pepper is also beautiful in the transition period, when a delicate blush appears on the pale yellow surface of the fruit;
- the wall thickness is large - in technical ripeness it reaches 5.7 mm, in fully ripe fruits - up to 7 mm;
- the size of the fruits also did not disappoint - 7x11 cm, with a weight of up to 220 g;
- the taste in both technical and biological ripeness is very good, soft and sweet, the sugar content of the fruit of Madonna F1 pepper reaches 5.7%;
- they are characterized by a high vitamin content: 165 g of ascorbic acid per 100 g of fully ripe fruits;
- the purpose of the Madonna F 1 hybrid pepper is universal; fruits harvested in technical ripeness are good for fresh salads, stuffing and stews, fully ripe - excellent in marinade;
- in commercial cultivation, peppers are in demand at all stages of maturity: those harvested in technical ripeness sell well on the market for early products, fully ripe peppers are successfully sold at a later date;
Description of pepper Madonna F 1 will not be complete, if not to say about its yield. It is not inferior to the standard among white-fruited hybrid varieties - the Fisht f1 hybrid and is up to 352 centners per hectare. This is 50 centners more than the Podarok Moldova variety. If you adhere to a high level of agricultural technology, then you can collect 50 tons of Madonna F 1 pepper from each hectare. At the same time, the output of marketable products is very high - up to 97%.
This hybrid also has disadvantages, which are noted by both amateur vegetable growers and farmers.
- The shape is not entirely cuboid, and it is these fruits that are in greatest demand.
- Overripe fruits are prone to the formation of small cracks; during storage, the skin becomes wrinkled.
Often, gardeners remove all the fruits without waiting for biological ripeness, believing that the cream color indicates that the Madonna F1 pepper is already ripe.
Growing features
The Madonna F 1 pepper hybrid requires strict adherence to all agricultural rules. Only in this case it is possible to collect the large yield declared by the manufacturer. What does Madonna F 1 need?
At the seedling stage
The seeds of this pepper do not require preparation for sowing - Tezier takes care of everything and supplies fully processed seed material. Since the seeds are not soaked, they take a little longer to germinate.
Pepper seeds Madonna F 1 are best sown in separate cassettes or pots. This hybrid variety has great vigor and does not like competitors next to it. Seeds sown in separate containers make it easy to transplant seedlings into the ground without disturbing the roots.
Seedling keeping conditions:
- sowing in loose, moisture-consuming, nutritious soil to a depth of 1.5 cm;
- temperature at night - 21 degrees, during the day - from 23 to 27 degrees. A deviation from the temperature regime by 2 degrees leads to a growth retardation of 3 days.
- a lot of light - daylight hours for pepper should last 12 hours, if necessary, additional lighting with phytolamps is necessary;
- timely watering with warm, settled water - pepper does not tolerate the complete drying out of an earthen coma;
- double top dressing with full mineral fertilizer with microelements of low concentration.
Planting seedlings and care
Powerful bushes of pepper Madonna F 1 do not like thickened planting. In the greenhouse, it is planted with a row spacing of 60 cm, and between plants - from 40 to 50 cm. In the open ground, they have from 3 to 4 plants per square meter. m.
What does Madonna F 1 pepper need after disembarkation:
- Shine - Plants are planted only in areas that are fully illuminated during the day.
- Water... Pepper does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil, but loves watering very much.Watered only with water heated in the sun. After planting the seedlings and before the formation of the first fruits, the soil moisture should be about 90%, during growth - 80%. The easiest way to provide it is by installing drip irrigation. During the growth of fruits, it is impossible to reduce, and even more so to stop watering. The thickness of the fruit wall directly depends on the moisture content of the soil. A properly organized irrigation system and maintaining soil moisture at the desired level increase the yield of Madonna F 1 pepper by 3 times.
- Mulching... It stabilizes the temperature of the soil, protects it from drying out, keeps it loose and prevents it from growing weeds.
- Top dressing... You cannot get a good harvest of pepper without sufficient nutrition. This culture does not like nitrogen overfeeding - leaves begin to grow to the detriment of the harvest. Pepper is fed with a complex mineral fertilizer with the obligatory inclusion of microelements. The first feeding is carried out after rooting of the seedlings, further - with an interval of 2 weeks. The fertilizer is dissolved in accordance with the instructions. For each bush, you need about 1 liter of solution. If there are signs of top rot, calcium nitrate will be required. If chlorosis is observed, plants need iron, magnesium and boron.
- Garter and shaping... Plants heavily loaded with crops need to be tied to stakes or twine to keep them from being wrenched out of the ground. Pepper Madonna F 1 requires mandatory formation. In the open field, he is led into one stalk, cutting off all the stepsons. It is permissible to leave 2 or 3 trunks in the greenhouse, but each branch must be tied up. The crown flower is plucked at the seedling stage.
This delicious and beautiful pepper is loved by both gardeners and farmers. With good care, it produces a stable yield of fruit suitable for any use.
More information about growing Madonna F 1 pepper can be seen in the video:
