1. Ornamental Pepper for Fall Market 2009

2. Objective To test if Ornamental Peppers can fit into mum production program for Fall Market.

3. Material and Methods Variety –Sangria –Chilly Chilli –Calico –Purple Flash –Black Pearl

4. Materials and Methods Sowing date: 5/15/09 Plug tray size: 288 cells Transplant: 6/24/09 Move to outdoors: 7/7/09 Container size: 8x5” mum pot Number plant per pot: 1ppp, 2ppp, and 3ppp Production site: outdoor Fertilizer program: Constant fertilizer with 300ppm N, similar to Mum feed

5. Photo taken: 07/07/09

6. Calico (8/25/09) 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP

7. Purple Flash (8/25/09) 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP

8. Black Pearl (8/25/09) 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP

9. Photo taken: 9/16/09

10. Photo taken: 09/24/09

11. Sangria 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP Photo taken: 09/24/09

12. Chilly Chilli 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP Photo taken: 09/24/09

13. Calico 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP Photo taken: 09/24/09

14. Purple Flash 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP Photo taken: 09/24/09

15. Black Pearl 1 PPP 2 PPP 3 PPP Photo taken: 09/24/09

16. Crop Time Plug crop time (288 tray): 6 weeks Transplant to finish: –Foliage only: 9-10 weeks –With mature fruit: 12-13 weeks Total crop time: –Foliage only: 15-16 weeks –With mature fruit: 18-19 weeks

17. Summary The trial demonstrated that Ornamental Peppers can fit Mum production program with the same mum fertilizer regime. In 8x5” mum pot, while it is doable with 1 plant per pot, it is recommended to use 2 to 3 plants per pot for premium quality plants.

18. Comparison between outdoor and greenhouse production

19. Materials and Methods The plants were sown at the same time (5/15/09) and were grown under the same conditions until two weeks after transplanting. Afterward, plants were divided into two groups. One group was moved to the outdoors and grown with a similar fertilizer program as a mum. The other group was produced inside the greenhouse and treated with 200ppm N fertilizer once a week as other bedding plants. No PGR application for either inside and outside production. Pot size and number plants per pot: pot was 8x5” mum pot for outdoor and was gallon pot for inside greenhouse production. Both were with 3 plants per pot.

20. Sangria Outdoor Greenhouse

21. Chilly Chili Outdoor Greenhouse

22. Calico OutdoorGreenhouse

23. Purple Flash OutdoorGreenhouse

24. Black Pearl OutdoorGreenhouse

25. Summary O. Peppers grown outdoors with heavy fertilizer (mum feed program) were much more compact and with more fruits than the plants grown inside greenhouse. Plants grown inside the greenhouse were a little stretched or with a looser canopy. They may need some Sumagic applications (see O. Pepper PGR response). For Calico and Purple Flash, the foliage colors were darker in outdoor production than indoor. This may not be a benefit for variagated foliage items, like Calico.