Growth and yield response of hot pepper (capsicum Annuum l.) To blended fertilizer rates and cultivars in Raya azebo, northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Hot pepper (Capsicum annum L.) is the most widely cultivated and economically important crop. However, its production and productivity are constrained by different factors among which variety and fertilizer level are the major ones. Thus, field experiment was conducted at Mehoni Agricultural Research Center using two hot pepper cultivars (Melka Shote and Melka Awaze) and five blended fertilizer rates (NPSZn) + urea and one without fertilizer (control) to determine the growth and yield response of hot pepper under Raya Azebo condition. A 2*6 factorial experiment was laid in RCBD with three replications. Data on plant height, canopy diameter, total leaf area, leaf area index, number of branches plant-1 , above ground dry biomass, days to 50% flowering, days to first harvest, number of pods plant-1 , marketable, unmarketable, and total dry pod yield, pod size and thousand seed weight were taken and analyzed using SAS version 9.3. ANOVA revealed that plant height, days to first harvest, total leaf area, leaf area index, days to 50% flowering, number of pods plant-1 , marketable, unmarketable and total dry pod yield and pod length were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the interaction effect of cultivars and NPSZn + urea rates. Number of primary and secondary branches were highly significantly (p<0.01) affected by the main effect of cultivars and NPSZn + urea, respectively. The tallest plant height (61.27 cm) and the widest canopy diameter (59.63 cm) were recorded from the combination of Melka Awaze with 104NPSZn + 168 urea kg ha-1 . The maximum leaf area index (5.57) and total leaf area (9184.4 cm2 ) were observed when Melka Shote was combined with 104 NPSZn + 168 urea kg ha-1 . The highest above ground total dry biomass (121.13 g) was recorded at the combination of Melka Shote with 84.5 NPSZn + urea kg ha-1 . The highest (11.71) number of primary branches were recorded from Melka Shote cultivar. The maximum number of secondary branches (12.10) plant-1 and thousand seed weight (8.52 g) was obtained at the rate of 84.5 NPSZn + 136.5 urea kg ha-1 . The interaction of Melka Awaze cultivar with 104 NPSZn + 168 urea kg ha-1 and 84.5 NPSZn + 136.5 urea kg ha-1 extended days to 50% flowering (both 99.33 days). The combination of Melka Shote with the control delayed days to first harvest (177.33 days). The highest average number of pods plant-1 (43.47), marketable dry pod yield (2.29 t ha-1 ) and total dry pod yield ha-1 (2.44 t ha-1 ) were recorded when Melka Shote interacted with 84.5 NPSZn +136.5 urea kg ha-1 . The longest pod length (10.99 cm) was noted at the combination of Melka Awaze with 65 NPSZn + 105 urea kg ha-1 . The application of 84.5 NPSZn + 136.5 urea kg ha-1 to Melka Shote cultivar was the most profitable. In general, the growth, phenological and yield of Melka Shote and Melka Awaze cultivars significantly influenced by NPSZn + urea rates whereby the highest marketable dry pod yield (2.29 t ha-1 ) and the most economically profitable yield was recorded when Melka Shote combined with 84.5 NPSZn +136.5 urea kg ha-1 . So, the combination of Melka Shote cultivar with 84.5 NPSZn +136.5 urea kg ha-1 can be recommended for the growers around the study area and other areas having similar agroecology. Since, this result is based on one season data, it is suggested to repeat the study to come up with sound recommendation suitable for the area.