Impact of Organic Manure on Growth, Nutrient Content and Yield of Chilli Pepper under Various Temperature Environments.

Abstract

Expected climatic changes likely elicit serious challenges for crop production. Therefore, it is indispensable to investigate the response of crop growth parameters and yield under temperature variability environments. The current experiment on chilli pepper growth was conducted in a field, rain-shelter plastic house, and plastic greenhouse, with accumulated temperatures of 2832 °C, 2967 °C, and 3105 °C in 2017; and 2944 °C, 3091 °C, and 3168 °C in 2018 growing seasons. Based on soil analysis, 132.7 kg ha−1 (1× of livestock manure compost as an optimum and 265.4 kg ha−1 (2×) as a double amount of organic matter were applied to each simulated temperature condition. The results showed that organic manure application favorably affects the growth attributes and nutrient uptake of chilli pepper with the highest values found in the plastic greenhouse, followed by the rain-shelter house, over the open field cultivation condition. The highest growth of chilli pepper was at the 2× rate of organic manure application, whereas the highest yield was found at the 1× rate of organic manure application. The application of organic manure at the 1× rate in the greenhouse increased root, shoot, and fruit dry weights of chilli pepper by 21.4%, 52.4%, and 79.7%, respectively, compared to the control values. These results indicate that the rational use of organic amendments might be the best solution for chilli pepper production under variable climate conditions.