AFRICAN BIRDS EYE CHILLI FARMING (kACHOLO)

African Birds eye Chilli (ABE), also known as Birds Eye Chilli(BEC) or Bird’s Eye Chilli is one of the hottest and pungent chillies in the world. Known by the scientific name, capsicum frutescens, the African Birds Eye Chilli originated from Mexico and introduced to the world by Portuguese and Spanish colonialist, traders and missionaries. It can be found growing in the wild, in small scale farms and commercial farms, for local consumption and export to Europe and America.  Grown mostly in Africa and Asia, with Malawi leading the African production of the Birds Eye Chilli. Other African countries that produce the African Bird’s Eye Chilli are Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa.  Something interesting about the African Bird’s Eye Chilli is the pungency or “hotness” depends on the climate where it is grown, with some countries producing more pungent African Bird’s Eye Chillies than others.  What do you need to start African Birds Eye Chilli Farming? In the article we look at the History of the Birds Eye Chilli, The health benefits, production planning, ecological requirements, intercropping and crop rotation, setting up a mother garden for seeds, propagation nursery and land preparation, transplanting, fertilizers, mulching, irrigation, diseases and pests, intercultural practices, yield per acre, harvesting, drying, grading, market requirements, labelling and storage of the African Birds Eye Chilli.  ADVANTAGES OF THE AFRICAN BIRDS EYE CHILLIThe African Bird’s Eye Chilli is popular among farmers because of its hardiness and low input costs. It can be grown in marginal areas.  As a perennial plant, the African Bird’s Eye Chilli is productive for 2 to 3 years. This means you do not need to uproot the plants after each harvest. You can harvest for several years, before planting a new crop.  PLANNING PRODUCTION OF THE AFICAN BIRDS EYES CHILLIYou need to plan well when venturing into African Birds Eye Chilli Farming.  The first thing you need to be sure of is the market. Who will buy your chilli after harvesting? Do you plan to do value addition? Do you have a contract with a buyer? Are you planting African bird’s eye chillies for export or for local production? Answering these questions will help you plan how much chilli to plant.  The second thing is you need to plan for the labour required, especially during harvesting. Harvesting African birds eye chilli is labour intensive and can irritate the labourers because of its pungency. You should only plant enough African Birds Eye Chilli that you will be able to harvest.  Whether you are buying seeds or getting seeds from your own seed mother garden, ensure you plant certified high-quality seeds. This will help you get high quality produce.  For disease control, ensure that no crop from the same family as the African Bird’s Eye Chillies has been grown for the past one year. These include other chillies, tobacco, brinjals, tomatoes, potatoes etc YIELDS PER ACRE OF THE AFRICAN BIRDS EYES CHILLIAfrican Bird’s Eye Chillies yield of 600 grams to 1000 grams of fresh chilli per plant per year, translating to about 200 grams of dried chilli per plant. This translates to between one tonne to three tonnes per acre. INTERCROPING AND CROP ROTATION FOR THE AFRICAN BIRDS EYES CHILLISAfrican Bird’s Eye Chillies belong in the solanaceous family. They are prone to the same soil diseases. It is advisable not to intercrop or rotate with crops from the same family.  Give the land a one year break from chillies after 2 to 3 years of having the chilli crop on the same patch of land. For rotation and intercropping, plant crops from another family e.g legumes and chillies. Examples of these are cowpeas, beans, cowpeas, soya, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, cassava etc. Legumes will provide an added advantage of improving soil fertility through fixing nitrogen.  ECOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AFRICAN BIRDS EYE CHILLIThese chillies will thrive well in organic-rich, light loamy, well-drained soils, with an optimal pH of 6.0 to 6.5. African Birds Eye Chillies can tolerate a wide range of PH of between 4.3 to 9.7. Low humidity hurts the buds, fruits and flowers.  The optimal temperatures for growing the African Bird’s Eye chilli is between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees celsius. Temperatures below 16 degrees celsius and above 32 degrees celsius will prevent the chilli fruit from developing.  African bird’s eye chillies require a 150 CM, 600 to 1200 cm per year. Too much rain will lead to rotting and leaf dropping and too little rainfall will lead to dropping of fruits and aborting of flowers.  We are located in Lusaka off Kasangula road near Heroes stadium plot B413

AFRICAN BIRDS EYE CHILLI FARMING (kACHOLO)

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