Features of heterosis manifestation in interlinear hybrids of sweet pepper in unheated film greenhouses

The dynamics of changes in an important economic trait of sweet pepper “average fruit weight” and the manifestation of heterosis have been studied on the example of 10 hybrids and their parental lines with multiple harvests in an unheated film greenhouse. It was found that the average weight, regardless of its value, was maximum and relatively stable during the first 5 harvests, which corresponds to the return of an early yield in the first month of fruiting. At the last collection, there was a decrease in the average weight of the fruit by 1.3-2.5 times. It has been established that a decrease in fruit weight with late harvests in hybrids occurs at a later date and is less pronounced than in parental lines, which indicates their higher adaptive ability. With an early harvest in 3 combinations, the level of true heterosis was 5.4-19.7%, a hypothetical heterosis at the level of 5.4-24.4% was found in 7 hybrids. At an early harvest and a late harvest in 50% of sweet pepper hybrids, the value of heterosis varied, but had the same character; in 50% of hybrids, a change in the sign of heterosis to the opposite was noted.2 hybrid combinations with a more stable average fruit weight were identified with multiple harvests - (Bs1xF46Kt22706) and (San1xF46Kt2181) with varying traits within 77-99 g and 81-123 g. the effect in 80% of large-fruited (17.6-27.3%) and medium-fruited hybrids (8.5-49.3%) was noted after the early harvest on July 21.The maximum effect of heterosis does not correspond to the maximum value of fruit weight in the experiment and is associated with a more pronounced reaction of the parental lines compared to hybrids to extreme temperatures during the period of fruit formation.

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PRODUTIVIDADE DO PIMENTÃO SOB DIFERENTES LÂMINAS DE IRRIGAÇÃO E DOSES DE POTÁSSIO EM REGIÃO SEMIÁRIDA

Irriga ◽

10.15809/irriga.2018v23n3p518-534 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 518-534

Author(s):

Eduardo Silva dos Santos ◽

Ênio Farias de França Silva ◽

Abelardo Antônio de Assunção Montenegro ◽

Eduardo Soares de Souza ◽

Rodolfo Marcondes Silva Souza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Capsicum Annuum ◽

Maximum Yield ◽

Statistical Design ◽

Sweet Pepper ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Irrigated Agriculture ◽

Average Weight ◽

Crop Evapotranspiration ◽

Capsicum Annuum L ◽

Irrigation Levels

PRODUTIVIDADE DO PIMENTÃO SOB DIFERENTES LÂMINAS DE IRRIGAÇÃO E DOSES DE POTÁSSIO EM REGIÃO SEMIÁRIDA EDUARDO SILVA DOS SANTOS1; ÊNIO FARIAS DE FRANÇA E SILVA2; ABELARDO ANTÔNIO DE ASSUNÇÃO MONTENEGRO2; EDUARDO SOARES DE SOUZA3; RODOLFO MARCONDES SILVA SOUZA4 E JOSÉ RALIUSON INÁCIO SILVA5 1 Professor, Centro de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, UFMA, Boa Vista BR 222 km 4, s/n, Chapadinha – MA, Boa Vista, 65500-000, Brasil, [email protected] 2 Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, UFRPE, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Recife - PE, Dois Irmão, 52171-900, Brasil, [email protected]; [email protected] 3 Professor, Unidade Acadêmica de Serra Talhada, UFRPE, Av. Gregório Ferraz Nogueira, s/n, Serra Talhada-PE, José Tomé de Souza Ramos, 56909-535, Brasil [email protected] 4 Pós-doutorando, Departamento de Energia Nuclear, UFPE, Av. Professor Luiz Freire, 1000, Recife-PE, Cidade Universitária, 50740-540, Brasil, [email protected] 5 Mestrando, Programa de pós-graduação em Produção Vegetal, Unidade Acadêmica de Serra Talhada, UFRPE, Av. Gregório Ferraz Nogueira, s/n, Serra Talhada-PE, José Tomé de Souza Ramos, 56909-535, Brasil, [email protected] 1 RESUMO Objetivou-se, com este trabalho, avaliar o efeito de níveis de irrigação e doses de potássio na produção de pimentão híbrido Rubia. Os tratamentos foram compostos de quatro lâminas de irrigação: L1 = 80; L2 = 100; L3 = 110; L4 = 120% da evapotranspiração da cultura (ETc) e quatro doses de potássio: K1 = 80; K2 = 100; K3 = 150 e K4 = 200 kg ha-1 de K2O, totalizando 16 tratamentos, com 3 plantas efetivas por parcela. O delineamento estatístico adotado foi o inteiramente casualizado em parcela subdividida, com 4 repetições, sendo os tratamentos arranjados em esquema fatorial 4 x 4, num total de 64 parcelas experimentais. Foram avaliados a altura e diâmetro do colo da planta, peso médio do fruto, comprimento e diâmetro do fruto e produtividade. Fixando-se a dose de 150 kg ha-1 de K2O. O peso médio máximo alcançado foi de 106,69 g para lâmina de 100,48% da evapotranspiração da cultura. Para um rendimento máximo do pimentão, recomenda-se aplicar uma lâmina de 100% da evapotranspiração da cultura e uma dose de potássio de 80 kg ha-1 de K2O. Palavras-chave: evapotranspiração, agricultura irrigada, agricultura familiar, capsicum annuum L SANTOS, E. S.; SILVA, E. F. F.; MONTENEGRO, A. A. A.; SOUZA, E. S.; SOUZA, R. M. F.; SILVA, J. R. I. SWEET PEPPER PRODUCTIVITY UNDER DIFERENT IRRIGATION AND POTASSIUM DOSES IN SEMI-ARID REGION 2 ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of irrigation levels and potassium levels in the production of Rubia sweet pepper hybrid. The treatments comprised four irrigation levels: L1 = 80, L2 = 100 L3 = 110, L4 = 120% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and four potassium levels: K1 = 80, K2 = 100, K3 = 150 and K4 = 200 kg ha-1 of K2O, performing 16 treatments with three effective plants per plot. The statistical design was completely randomized in split plot with four replications, with treatments arranged in a 4 x 4 factorial, with a total of 64 experimental plots. We evaluated the height and diameter of the plant, average fruit weight, length and diameter, and productivity. The dose was set at 150 kg ha-1 K2O. The maximum average weight reached was 106.69g for 100.48% of the crop evapotranspiration. For maximum yield of peppers, it is recommended to apply a depth of 100% of crop evapotranspiration and potassium dose of 80 kg ha-1 of K2O. Keywords: evapotranspiration, irrigated agriculture, communal farming, Capsicum annuum L

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Morphogenesis, pigment content, phytohormones and productivity of sweet pepper under the action of gibberellin and tebuconazole

Regulatory Mechanisms in Biosystems ◽

10.15421/022139 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 294-300

Author(s):

V. V. Rogach ◽

V. G. Kuryata ◽

I. V. Kosakivska ◽

L. V. Voitenko ◽

M. M. Shcherbatiuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gibberellic Acid ◽

Chlorophyll Content ◽

Growth Regulators ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Sweet Pepper ◽

Sand Culture ◽

Cultivated Plants ◽

Average Weight ◽

Endogenous Phytohormones ◽

Pepper Plants

One of the main tasks of modern plant physiology is regulation of growth and development of cultivated plants in order to optimize the productive process. The attention of the scientific community is focused on the use of natural activators and growth inhibitors. We investigated the effect of foliar treatment with 0.005% solution of gibberellic acid (GA3) and 0.025% solution of the antigibberellic preparation tebuconazole (EW-250) on morphogenesis, leaf mesostructure, the content of photosynthetic pigments, the balance of endogenous phytohormones and productivity of Capsicum annuum L., Antey variety. The vegetation experiment was carried out in the conditions of soil-sand culture in vessels with a volume of 10 L. Treatment of plants was carried out in the budding phase. Morphometric parameters were determined every 10 days. The mesostructure of the middle tier leaves was studied in the fruit formation phase, and the chlorophyll content was determined in the raw material by spectrophotometric method. Analytical determination of endogenous phytohormones – indolyl-3-acetic (IAA), gibberellic (GA3) and abscisic (ABA) acids and cytokinins – zeatin (Z), zeatin-O-glucoside (ZG), zeatinribozide (ZR), isopentenyladenine (iP) and isopentenyladenosine (iPA) were performed by high performance liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). With GA3 treatment, plant height increased considerably, while with EW-250, it decreased. Both regulators led to an increase in the number of leaves on the plant, the leaf raw biomass, stems and roots and the dry matter of the whole plant, the area of a single leaf blade and the total area of leaves on the plant. Under the action of EW-250, the chlorophyll content in the leaves surged, while under the action of GA3 it tended to decrease or did not change at all. Both regulators thickened the chlorenchyma and boosted the volume of the columnar parenchyma cells. GA3 treatment induced a rise in the thickness of the upper and lower epidermis, and EW-250 led, on the contrary, to a decrease. It is shown that after treatment with exogenous GA3, the content of endogenous IAA and ABA decreased and GA3 in plant stems increased. Instead, EW-250 caused a decrease in the levels of GA3, IAA and ABA in the stems. Exogenous GA3 enhanced the accumulation of endogenous GA3 and IAA and inhibited ABA in the leaves. Under the action of the retardant, the level of ABA in the leaves did not change, while GA3 and IAA decreased. Treatment of plants with the studied growth regulators caused a decrease in the pool of cytokinins (CK) in stems. EW-250 showed a significant rise in the hormone content in the leaves. After spraying with GA3 solution, the level of ZG, Z and ZR grew. Under the action of the retardant, the increase in the CK pool occurred exclusively due to the iP. Growth regulators optimized the productivity of sweet pepper plants: under the action of GA3 there was an increase in the number of fruits per plant, and after the use of EW-250 there was a rise in the average weight of one fruit. The obtained results showed that anatomical-morphological and structural-functional rearrangements of sweet pepper plants under the action of exogenous gibberellic acid and EW-250 took place against the background of changes in the balance and distribution of endogenous hormones. Increased photosynthetic activity, stimulation of growth processes of some plant organs and inhibition of others enlarged biological productivity of the culture.

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Comparison Strawberry Field Production and Occurrence of Grey Mould at Strawberry Growing on System with Addition of Apple Tree Woody Chips

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis ◽

10.11118/actaun201765041253 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 65 (4) ◽

pp. 1253-1264

Author(s):

David Novotný ◽

Jana Brožová ◽

Pavla Růžičková ◽

Josef Sus ◽

Martin Koudela ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Botrytis Cinerea ◽

Apple Tree ◽

Grey Mould ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Wood Chips ◽

Average Weight ◽

Tree Wood ◽

Significant Difference ◽

And Control ◽

Field Production

In the years 2014 to 2016 the influence of apple tree wood chips and composted apple tree wood chips in which oyster mushroom grew and yielded which were supplemented into soil on strawberry field production and occurrence of grey mould at strawberry (cv. ‘Sonata’) was evaluated. Average weight and number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, average weight and number of fruits affected by Botrytis cinerea per plant, percentage of weight and number of fruits affected by Botrytis cinerea was calculated. There were recorded differences concerning strawberry yield among the investigated variants of plots, but mainly there were not statistically significant. In 2015 and 2016 the highest average weight of yield and the highest number of fruits was reached at plants cultivated on plots with apple tree wood chips. Average weight of yield on plots with apple tree wood chips was 663.72 g and 822.41 g in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Number of fruits per plant on plots with apple tree wood chips was 67.88 pieces and 65.29 pieces in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Occurrence of grey mould caused by Botrytis cinerea on all variants of plots was similar and small differences was found out only but statistically significant difference was among the years. Grey mould was the most frequently found out in the year 2016. B. cinerea affected 48.27, 56.89 and 55.94 grams of fruits per plant from plots with composted apple tree wood chips, plots with apple tree wood chips and control plots in 2016, respectively.

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Evaluation of Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annum L.) Varieties as Influnced by Nitrogen Levels in Chitwan, Nepal

Nepalese Horticulture ◽

10.3126/nh.v14i1.30602 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 33-42

Author(s):

Santosh Lohani ◽

Moha Dutta Sharma ◽

Shree Chandra Shah ◽

Arjun Kumar Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Block Design ◽

Total Yield ◽

Growth Yield ◽

Sweet Pepper ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Chemical Fertilizer ◽

Nitrogen Levels ◽

Randomized Complete Block Design ◽

Number Of Leaves ◽

Better Than

An experiment was conducted to assess the performance of sweet pepper varieties as influenced by nitrogen levels from August 2014 to February 2015 at Mangalpur, Chitwan. The experiment was laid out in two factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications having sixteen treatments. Varieties and levels of nitrogen significantly affected growth, yield and qualitative parameters of fruits. Hybrid Indra and NS 632 performed better than open pollinated varieties viz. Sagar and California Wonder. Days to fifty percent flowering of NS 632 were earlier than California Wonder. Indra variety had the highest plant height (52.18 cm), number of secondary branches per plant (13.51) from 250 kg N/ha through chemical fertilizer while number of leaves per plant was higher in NS 632 variety (57.22) than Sagar variety (47.37). Indra variety showed the highest fruit weight (87.59 g) and total yield (39.45 t/ha) but NS 632 variety produced more number of fruits per plant (9.25) than California Wonder variety. This study showed that sweet pepper yield of hybrid varieties applied with 250 kg N/ha through chemical fertilizer was appropriate dose to get optimum yield under Chitwan condition.

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Flowering Time and Productivity of Interspecific Grafts Between Pepper Species in Contrasting High Tunnel-sheltered and Open-field Production Environments in Costa Rica

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech04904-21 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Andrey Vega-Alfaro ◽

Carlos Ramírez-Vargas ◽

Germán Chávez ◽

Fernando Lacayo ◽

Paul C. Bethke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Open Field ◽

Bacterial Wilt ◽

Sweet Pepper ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

High Tunnel ◽

Fruit Number ◽

Tropical Environments ◽

Field Environment ◽

Virulent Strains ◽

Habanero Pepper

The production of sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum) is often constrained in tropical environments by susceptibility to persistent soil-borne diseases, including bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum). However, the production of sweet peppers in high tunnels using sterile soilless media irrigated with nutrient solution offers the potential to reduce the incidence of bacterial wilt. An additional strategy for disease management is the use of sweet pepper scions grafted onto rootstocks that are resistant to soil-borne pathogens. Two sweet pepper cultivars grown extensively in the tropics, Nathalie and 4212, were used as scions and grafted onto the habanero pepper cultivar Habanero TEC (Capsicum chinense) and the aji pepper cultivar Baccatum TEC (Capsicum baccatum). Two cultivars related to the two rootstocks were prescreened for susceptibility to two virulent strains of bacterial wilt. Graft combinations were grown in two environments, a high tunnel with automatic nutrient solution irrigation of containers filled with sterile coconut fiber and an open field with known high levels of bacterial wilt inoculum. Self-grafted and nongrafted plants of scions were included as checks. The disease susceptibility screening showed that the area under the disease progress curve was consistently low for ‘Habanero TEC’ and ‘Baccatum TEC’ when inoculated with two virulent strains of bacterial wilt, suggesting that habanero pepper cultivars and, to a lesser degree, aji pepper cultivars may be useful as rootstocks in soils with bacterial wilt inoculum. Significant increases in yield, fruit number, and reduced time to flowering were observed in the high tunnel compared with the open-field environment. Individual fruit weight was reduced in the high tunnel compared with the field. Yield, fruit number, fruit weight, and time to flowering were consistent between scions regardless of rootstock. No differences were observed for yield, fruit number, fruit weight, or time to flowering of self-grafted and nongrafted scion checks. In the high tunnel, yield was higher in scions grafted onto ‘Habanero TEC’ compared with self-grafted and nongrafted checks. In the open field, yield and fruit number were highest on scions grafted onto ‘Habanero TEC’. Regardless of graft treatment, high-tunnel production in tropical environments can result in significant increases in yield and fruit number compared with open-field production. No advantage of grafted plants was observed in the high-tunnel production environment. In contrast, in the open-field environment, grafting sweet pepper scions onto pungent habanero rootstocks resulted in a significant increase in yield, fruit number, and fruit size compared with self-grafted and nongrafted checks. The increase was likely attributable to the resistance of habanero pepper cultivars to soil-borne diseases, including bacterial wilt.

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STUDIES ON THE VARIABILITY OF THE PRODUCTIVITY COMPONENTS IN A COLLECTION OF HOT PEPPER LANDRACES (CAPSICUM ANUUM VAR. MICROCARPUM)

Current Trends in Natural Sciences ◽

10.47068/ctns.2021.v10i19.027 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (19) ◽

pp. 201-208

Author(s):

Emilian Madoşă ◽

Lavinia Sasu ◽

Sorin Ciulca ◽

Constantin Avădanei ◽

Adriana Ciulca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Plant Production ◽

Average Weight ◽

Hot Pepper ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Hot Peppers ◽

Biometric Measurements ◽

Western Romania

The aim of the research was to evaluate the variability value of the main characters that contribute to the achievement of plant production to a collection of hot pepper genotypes. The biological material was composed of 17 landraces of hot peppers collected from western Romania. The study was conducted for two years, with biometric measurements on the morphological characteristics of fruit production on the plant. Intra-population variability was assessed (mean, standard deviation of mean and coefficient of variability) and differences between populations for these characters. The results show that the variability within the collection is high. Within populations, fruit sizes (length, diameter) are uniform, but the number of fruits and their weight per plant show greater variability. Within the collection, variations in morphological characteristics are large, especially for fruit length, fruit weight, number and weight of fruit per plant. Among the landraces studied, some may be recommended for breeding programs, as parents or as material for the application of selection: for long fruits (Juliţa, Aldeşti I and Satchinez I), for short fruits (Satchinez III), but also the landraces Rieni III (17.07 g average weight of the fruit), Temerești II (89.82 fruits per plant), Aldești I (931.17 g fruits per plant).

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Day-neutral Strawberries for High Tunnel Production in the Central United States

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech03937-17 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 154-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kelly Gude ◽

Cary L. Rivard ◽

Sara E. Gragg ◽

Kimberly Oxley ◽

Petros Xanthopoulos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Production System ◽

Gray Mold ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Fruit Yield ◽

Average Weight ◽

High Tunnel ◽

San Andreas ◽

Production Space ◽

Central United States

Specialty crop production in high tunnel systems has greatly expanded in the central United States. Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) may be a viable high-value crop for high tunnel growers, but fall-planted production systems have a high opportunity cost in regard to winter production space. This study investigates the feasibility of spring-planted day-neutral strawberry cultivars in a high tunnel production system in Kansas. Furthermore, the goals of this report are to identify day-neutral cultivars that are successful in this production system and investigate the utility of evaporative cooling (EC), as they relate to fruit yield and marketability as well as incidence of gray mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea). High tunnel trials were conducted at the Kansas State University Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center during 2014 and 2015. Six commercially available cultivars were evaluated: Albion, Evie 2, Monterey, Portola, San Andreas, and Seascape in both years. Mature fruit (90% to 100% red) were harvested twice weekly for total and marketable (fruit with no defects) fruit yield. The results indicate that ‘Portola’ had the highest total fruit weight in both years at 0.60 and 0.51 kg/plant, respectively, and was significantly higher than ‘Monterey’, ‘Albion’, and ‘San Andreas’ in both years (P < 0.05). In 2014, ‘Portola’, ‘San Andreas’, and ‘Albion’ produced the largest total fruit average weight (grams/fruit) and were significantly larger than ‘Seascape’ and ‘Evie 2’ (P < 0.05). In 2015, ‘Portola’ had significantly larger fruit than all the other cultivars except San Andreas (P < 0.05). Marketability percent by weight ranged from 76.5% to 88.6% across both years and the highest marketability was observed with ‘Albion’ (89% and 83%) and ‘Monterey’ (85% and 84%) in 2014 and 2015, respectively. An examination of fruit production during the early, mid-, and late seasons was used to determine seasonal dynamics of each cultivar and the high tunnel system. The overall trend was that total fruit weight was highest during the midseason and total average fruit weight was largest in the early season. However, ‘San Andreas’ and ‘Seascape’ had similar levels of production between the early and midseason and had the lowest level of production in the midseason, particularly in the 2015 trial. In our trials, the use of EC did not affect fruit weight or gray mold incidence on strawberry fruit. Based on the crop productivity observed in our study, this production system has the potential to extend the season for strawberry growers in the central United States or provide a high-value rotational crop for existing high tunnel growers that does not require winter production space.

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Elemental Composition and Some Nutritional Parameters of Sweet Pepper from Organic and Conventional Agriculture

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9070863 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 863

Author(s):

Rosa Guilherme ◽

Fernando Reboredo ◽

Mauro Guerra ◽

Sandrine Ressurreição ◽

Nuno Alvarenga

Keyword(s):

Principal Component ◽

Sweet Pepper ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Agricultural Products ◽

Ripening Stage ◽

Pca Analysis ◽

Conventional Agriculture ◽

A Value ◽

Increasing Demand ◽

Nutritional Studies

The increasing demand of organic agriculture (OA) is based on the consumer’s belief that organic agricultural products are healthier, tastier and more nutritious. The effect of OA and conventional agriculture (CA) methods on the elemental compositions of green and red sweet peppers were studied. The highest concentrations of Ca, Cu, K and P occur in peppers from OA in both states of ripeness, with emphasis on Ca and K contents. Furthermore, the principal component analysis (PCA), points out to a clear separation, regarding concentrations, between peppers from OA and CA. The average fruit weight is higher in OA, 141 g versus 112 g in CA. Regarding productivity, CA reaches a value of 30.1 t/ha, 7% higher than the value observed for OA, i.e., 28 t/ha. Peppers from CA, exhibited greater protein content than those which originated from OA, regardless of the ripening stage, but not more ashes. Regarding nutritional ratios, the ripening stage and the production mode, can be important for an adequate choice regarding a more balanced Ca/P ratio, and the studied variety contained high Ca values ranging between 1009 and 1930 mg.kg−1. The PCA analysis also revealed that Mn and Fe are inversely correlated, confirming the importance of the Mn/Fe ratio evaluation in nutritional studies.

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Effects of different soil amendments and age of transplant on the post-harvest quality and shelf life of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits

Bulletin of the National Research Centre ◽

10.1186/s42269-021-00630-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Isaac Addo ◽

Kwadwo Gyasi Santo ◽

Abdul Aziz Khalid ◽

Emmanuel Ackah

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

Shelf Life ◽

Block Design ◽

Poultry Manure ◽

Storage Period ◽

Sweet Pepper ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Post Harvest ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Quality And Shelf Life

Abstract Background Two separate experiments were conducted in the minor season from September to November, 2019 and major season from March to May, 2020 to determining the type of soil amendment and transplanting age that can best improve the post-harvest quality and shelf life of sweet pepper fruits at Benso oil palm plantation of Adum Banso Estate in the Mpohor District of the Western Region of Ghana. The experiments were conducted as a 4 × 2 factorial, arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design. Four fertilizer treatments including no fertilizer (control), 10 tons/ha of poultry manure, 300 kg/ha of NPK 15-15-15 and 5 t/ha of poultry manure + 150 kg/ha of NPK 15-15-15 and two ages of transplants including 6-week-old seedlings and 7-week-old seedlings were applied during the cultivation periods and were later evaluated of their effects on the post-harvest quality and shelf life of harvested fruits after a two-weeks storage period. Data collected on weight loss, shrinkage, decayed fruits and shelf life of harvested fruits were subjected to analysis of variance using the Genstat Statistical package. The least significant difference criterion was used to separate treatment means at 5% probability. Results Post-harvest qualities of sweet pepper fruits were not significantly influenced by age of transplant throughout the study. Fertilizer application generally increased percentage fruit weight loss, fruit shrinkage, fruit decay and reduced shelf life of sweet pepper fruits in the major season. Sole application of poultry manure mostly enhanced post-harvest quality of sweet pepper fruits in the minor rainy season, but fruit shelf life was improved if no fertilizer was applied. Application of a combination of poultry manure and NPK 15-15-15 to 6-week-old transplants gave relatively low fruit weight loss and shrinkage values. Generally, fruit quality and shelf life were enhanced in 6-week-old transplants treated with no fertilizer. Conclusions The use of poultry manure alone should be encouraged to probably increase yield while improving the quality and shelf life of harvested sweet pepper fruits. Transplanting of 6-week-old seedlings is also encouraged for quality harvested fruits and extended shelf life.

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Impact of Intercropping Sorghum and Okra on the Incidence of Flea Beetles of Okra Podagrica spp in Dalwa, Maiduguri Semi-Arid Zone of Nigeria

International Letters of Natural Sciences ◽

10.18052/www.scipress.com/ilns.14.51 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 51-58

Author(s):

M.M. Degri ◽

I.B. Richard

Keyword(s):

Field Experiments ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Flea Beetle ◽

Fruit Weight ◽

Fruit Yield ◽

Leaf Damage ◽

The Impact ◽

Fruit Formation ◽

Semi Arid

Field experiments were conducted at faculty of Agriculture teaching and research farm, university of Maiduguri in 2010 and 2011 rainy seasons. The aim was to investigate the impact of intercropping sorghum with okra on the incidence of flea beetle of okra (Podagrica spp) in the semi-Arid zone of Nigeria. The results showed that sole crop okra suffered flea beetle attack which affected its growth, fruit formation, fruit weights and fruit yield. Intercropping okra with sorghum significantly reduced the flea beetle populations, leaf damage caused by Podagrica spp (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). While increasing number of leaves for photosynthetic activities, plant height, fruit formation, fresh fruit weight and total fruit yield. The study concluded that okra intercropping at 1:1, 1:2 and 2:2 are the most efficient and productive intercrop systems in flea beetle management. Okra intercropping with cereal sorghum was found to be good for sustainable agriculture and organic farming in Nigeria due to its numerous advantages, particularly with respect to insect pests’ control.

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