Abstract
Modern greenhouse pepper production should evolve towards more sustainable systems. The growing technique which combines soilless culture and biostimulants may reduce nutrient and water use with beneficial impact on the environment. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate effects of biostimulants application on hydroponically produced pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) in conditions of reduced fertilization. Positive influence of biostimulant treatment on yield parameters was observed along with significant decrease in incidence of blossom-end rot (BER) in two pepper cultivars. Biostimulants application resulted in overall increase in macro- and microelement content in fruits of treated pepper cultivars. Generally, biostimulants improved the yield of pepper plants grown hydroponically by increasing the nutrient uptake and decreasing the occurrence of BER. Thus, the application of biostimulants could be considered as a good production strategy for obtaining high yields of nutritionally valuable vegetables with lower impact on the environment.
Highlights
Sweet bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), an important vegetable for our daily consumption, is a horticultural crop that is traditionally supplied with high levels of chemical fertilizers, contributing to an increased contamination in environmental water bodies (del Amor 2007)
The objective of this research was to evaluate four different biostimulants for their effects on yield and incidence of blossom-end rot (BER) in sweet bell pepper grown under hydroponically greenhouse conditions
The pepper transplants were produced in rockwool blocks in commercial glasshouses of Grow Group located in Felgyo, Hungary specialized for hydroponic transplants production of various vegetable species
Summary
Sweet bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), an important vegetable for our daily consumption, is a horticultural crop that is traditionally supplied with high levels of chemical fertilizers, contributing to an increased contamination in environmental water bodies (del Amor 2007). The hydroponic system substitutes the soil, allowing crop cultivation in different environments, where the traditional agriculture cannot be performed (Vernieri et al 2005). During the hydroponic cultivation of vegetables, growth disorders caused by different factors are often noticed. A common physiological disorder in modern greenhouse pepper production is a blossom-end rot (BER). BER is related to many factors including substrate salinity, high Mg, NH4+ and/or K concentration, disturbed xylem function, fast plant growth rate, unfavorable water regime, low availability of Ca, high temperature, high and low transpiration intensity, which may result in suppressed transport of Ca in the blossom end of the fruit (Ho and White 2005)
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