Growth and production of cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) on various concentrations of bio-fertilizer and NPK fertilizer

Abstract

This study aims to study the effect of various concentration of biological fertilizers and NPK dosages on the growth and production of cayenne pepper. The study was conducted at the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, from January to April 2019. The study was set as a two-factor factorial experiment using a randomized block design. The first factor was the concentration of the biological fertilizers, consisted of 0, 5, 10, and 15 mL L−1 water. The second factor was the NPK fertilizer dosages, consisted of 0, 2, and 4 g per plant. The results show that the interaction between the application of 10 ml L−1 water of the biological fertilizer and NPK fertilizer dosage of 4 g per plant resulted in the highest number of productive branches (50.78 branches) and production (1.17 tons ha−1). Application of the biological fertilizer of 5 mL L−1 water and NPK fertilizer dosage of 2 g per plant at the age of 15 days after planting (DAP) tended to provide the highest average plant height (13.94 cm), but higher concentration and dosage of 10 mL L−1 water and 4 g per plant of bio-fertilizer and NPK, respectively, resulted in the highest plant at the 35 DAP (33.78 cm). The application of 2 g per plant NPK fertilizer gave the highest yield on the number of fruits per plant (68.00 fruits), and the weight of fruits per plant (64.14 g).