The Cultivation of Sweet Pepper (Capsicum Annuum) in Foumbot Agricultural Area, West Region, Cameroon

Abstract

This study aimed to get information on the cultivation of sweet pepper from the North West Region of Cameroon (Foumbot).  Data for the study were obtained from 92 farmers with the aid of well-structured questionnaires. Results obtained showed that among the sweet pepper farmers, males represented 80% of the sampled population and women 12%, all of them aged between 18 to 48 years old. Their level of education varies from primary school to University with the majority found between primary school (48%) and secondary school (30%).  41% of the sampled cultivators have the greatest level of experience in between 10 to 30 years and 52% with the lowest level of experience varying from 1 to 10 years. The sweetest pepper varieties cultivated was Yolo wonder and Simba. 89 % of respondents had a sweet pepper field with a surface area between 0.5 and 1 hectare.  According to farmers, the nursery is usually attacked by fungi after one week of growth, which always cause stems rot.  Fungicides (Mancostar 80WP) and insecticides (Mocap EC, Timik, Plantineb 80WP, Jumper and Ascot) are the most chemical products used to treat stems rot. Cypermethrin and Mancozeb represent respectively 63% and 85% of active ingredients used by the sampled growers to fight against sweet pepper diseases.  46 % of the sampled farmers said that they prefer spray pesticides in all stages while 44% of sweet pepper farmers did not take note of the number of times, they applied chemicals pesticides on their crops. NPK: 20.10.10 is the most chemical fertilizer used to grow sweet pepper. The major diseases and pests encountered in that region are (1) diseases: Mildew, cercospora leaf spot, phytophthora blight, fusarium wilt, anthracnose, ripe rot, tobacco mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus, and gal formations; (2) pests: flee beetles, cutworms, aphids, vegetable weevil, caterpillars, grasshoppers, pepper maggots and leaf miners.