Excursion CGN 2011 NEW!!!Excursion CGN 2011
Date: July 19, 2011
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands
Background information
Article Excursion CGN 2010 http://www.wildchilli.eu/index.php/excursion-cgn
Excursion
WildChilli.EU organized this excursion to CGN together with the Curator Fruit Vegetable Crops\Chair ECPGR Solanaceae Working Group. His responsibility is to maintain the crops within the collection of CGN. Last years excursion to CGN was very interesting and we got an invitatation from the Curator of CGN to visit them again when they had more accessions growing
Tuesday afternoon 01.00 pm
Our excursion started at a small facility of CGN where they regenerate capsicum species. The Greenhouse is divided into several sections where different crops/plants are being regenerated.
Some Wild Chlli's are self-incompatible. Flowers must be pollinated with pollen of another plant. To achieve this they use bees.
Like other insects, bees pollinate plants as they forage on the flowers. As they gather pollen and nectar to return to their hives, they transfer pollen from one flower to another. Pollen sticks to a bee body from the anthers of the flowers. As the bee then moves on to other flowers, they take the pollen with them, transferring it onto the stigma of the next flower.
Inca, Gravira and the curator are checking the growlist
This row contains several C.annuum and C.chinense species. The plants are huge and reach op to 4 meter.
Plants grow on a Rockwool substrate. Rockwool (mineral wool) is the most widely used medium in hydroponics. Rockwool is an inert substrate suitable for both run to waste and recirculating systems.
Rock wool is made from molten rock, basalt or 'slag' that is spun into bundles of single filament fibers, and bonded into a medium capable of capillary action, and are in effect protected from most common microbiological degradation.
Rockwool has many advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include its proven efficiency and effectiveness as a commercial hydroponic substrate
Rockwool can hold large quantities of water and air that aids root growth and nutrient uptake in hydroponics; their fibrous nature also provides a good mechanical structure to hold the plant stable. The high natural pH of mineral wool makes them initially unsuitable to plant growth and requires "conditioning" to produce a wool with an appropriate, stable pH.
Various Capsicum species
Various Capsicum species
Various Capsicum species
Biological control of pests in agriculture is a method of controlling pests that relies on predation, parasitism, or other natural mechanisms. It can be an important component of integrated pest management programs.
Biological control is defined as the reduction of pest populations by natural enemies and typically involves an active human role. Natural enemies of insect pests include predators, parasitoids.
Parasitoids are species whose immature develops on or within a single insect host, ultimately killing or fatally infecting the host. Most have a very narrow host range. Many species of wasps and some flies are parasitoids.
More information:
We are actually more interested in the Wild species and this year they have several Wild accessions growing.
- C.cardenasii
- C.eximium
- C.galapagoense
- C.praetermissum
- C.tovarii
Like shown in the pictures the Wild species are very tall and have a sprawling growth habit. The C.cardenasii plants grow in containers and the growth habit is more compact.
Very dense foliage
C.tovarii. They have some troubles this year with C.tovarii and the plants are still relative very small.
