ORNAMENTAL PEPPER ON REFLECTIVE BENCH UNDER PROTECTED ENVIRONMENTS

Edilson Costa,Flávio F Da S Binotti,Abimael G Da Silva,Tiago Zoz,Murilo B Martins,Ranna S R Reche

doi:10.1590/1809-4430-eng.agric.v41n3p271-278/2021

Abstract

Plant ambiance studies the environmental condition favorable to plant growth at the initial stage of seedlings or the complete production cycle. This study aimed to evaluate the cultivation of the ornamental pepper ‘Pyramid’ under protected environments and growing benches with and without reflective material. The protected environments consisted of a greenhouse covered with low-density polyethylene film and 42/50% shading thermo-reflective screen under the film, structure with 35% shading thermo-reflective aluminized screen, and structure with 30% shading black screen. The growing benches were tested in environments without and with reflective material made of aluminized screen. The environment of the agricultural greenhouse covered with low-density polyethylene film and 42/50% thermo-reflective screen under the film favored the growth of ornamental pepper plants regarding height and diameter and provided early flowering and high fruit production. The use of the reflective material showed no significant results for plant height, stem diameter, and the number of leaves. The use of reflective material increased the number of fruits in plants under the environments with 35% shading aluminized screen and 30% shading black screen.

Highlights

Ornamental pepper (Capsicum spp.), belonging to the family Solanaceae and originating in tropical regions, is marketed as an annual potted plant, being appreciated for the color of its fruits, which is its main characteristic
The lowest photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was found in the greenhouse covered with low-density polyethylene film and a 42/50% shading screen under the film, followed by the 35% shading aluminized screen, both showing PAR values lower than that of the 30% shading screen (Figure 1)
These results show that the shading value does not correspond to the percentage of PAR inside the environment, as the 30% shading black screen and 35% aluminized screen allowed only 61 and 46% of the external PAR to pass, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Ornamental pepper (Capsicum spp.), belonging to the family Solanaceae and originating in tropical regions, is marketed as an annual potted plant, being appreciated for the color of its fruits, which is its main characteristic. It has a high acceptance in the consumer market, but its production is little studied. Studies on plant growth and production of pepper cultivars in pots (Tupã Bode Vermelha, Boyra Habanero Vermelha, Etna, and Pyramid) under different protected environments have found that the greenhouse was the most suitable for all cultivars, followed by the structure with 50% shading black screen for the cultivars Tupã and Boyra and the structure with 50% shading aluminized screen for the cultivar Pyramid (Costa et al, 2017). Studies conducted with the cultivar Pyramid in agricultural greenhouses and different pot colors showed that the greenhouse with the highest shade under the film promoted better initial growth and precocity in fruit production (Costa et al, 2020a)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion