When to plant Sweet pepper in Molqi

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Sweet pepper

Gash Barka, Eritrea

Sweet pepper (bell pepper, capsicum) is a warm-season vegetable grown for its thick-walled, mild, juicy fruit — the kind you slice into relish, stew and salad.

Sweet pepper in Molqi, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Moderate
When to plant 7 Jun 2027 – 27 Jun 2027 opens in 36 weeks 1 Jan 2027 – 31 Aug 2027
Expected harvest about 7.2 t/ha same
Harvest From 5 Oct 2027 to 24 Dec 2027, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 120–180 days after planting
Work it takes 100–210 days per hectare, by hand
Rain meets its needs 80%

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 7 Jun 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Molqi is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 27 Jun 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Molqi

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 30%

For sweet pepper in Molqi, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 30%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2027 season in Molqi

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedJune 2027 to September 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 405 mm
This season's rainRain close to usual — plan around about 405 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.8 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 77% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
77% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 87 growing days · about 480 mm · June to September
22% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 92 growing days · about 540 mm · June to September

last updated 16 September 2026

Sloping ground holds back about 65% of yield here.

What sweet pepper needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 6.0 and 6.5
Spacing 60 cm between rows, 40 cm between plants
Feed it most with potassium, nitrogen and calcium

What it takes to grow sweet pepper in Molqi

Planting materialAbout 38,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 14 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 4 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 25 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work100–210 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a sweet pepper crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH outside the crop's rangeCorrect soil pH (acidifier)

Grow Sweet pepper with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Molqi as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Sweet pepper in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will sweet pepper grow well in Molqi?

Molqi rates as moderate for sweet pepper.

When should I plant sweet pepper in Molqi?

Typically 7 Jun 2027 to 27 Jun 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Molqi, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Molqi

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.