Planting density and yield of sweet pepper grown in an organic system

André Wagner Barata Silva,Luiz Antônio Augusto Gomes,Kaique Castro Cézar,Bruno Diniz Nogueira Da Silva,Ariana Lemes Da Costa,Cleiton Lourenço De Oliveira

doi:10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2021.v56.02470

André Wagner Barata Silva, Luiz Antônio Augusto Gomes + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2021.v56.02470

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Abstract

Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate the yield and fruit quality of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) genotypes grown at various planting densities, in an organic production system under protected cultivation. The experiment was carried out in duplicate, to compare the yield and fruit quality of the 'TE 300', 'Mallorca', and ‘Timor’ sweet pepper genotypes, at the densities of 2, 4, 6, and 8 plants m-2. A randomized complete block design was used, with three replicates, in split plots. Mean fruit size and mass, yield per plant, and total yield were measured. Dunnett’s test was used to compare means between the standard density of 2 plants m-2 and the other densities. Scott-Knott’s test was used to compare the densities within each genotype. The increase of planting density in the organic production system provided a yield similar to that of the conventional system. A greater density increases yield and reduces the production cycle, without impairing the fruit size or quality of the ‘TE 300’ and ‘Timor’ genotypes. The densities of 8 plants m-2 for ‘TE 300’ and 'Timor', and of 6 plants m-2 for ‘Mallorca’ show the highest total yield per hectare.

Highlights

Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most produced vegetables worldwide, among the 10 most cultivated ones (Shahbandeh, 2021)
The objective of this work was to evaluate the yield and fruit quality of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) genotypes grown at various planting densities, in an organic production system under protected cultivation
The organic agriculture production data show that, on average, the reduction of the sweet pepper yield is 19.2%, in comparison with the conventional agriculture (Ponisio et al, 2015), some techniques are adopted for the cultivation of this crop, to minimize costs and production losses caused by other factors, such genotype adaptation (Ribes-Moya et al, 2018; Boyhan et al, 2020; Scalzo et al, 2020), balanced organic fertilization, soil salinization, mycorrhizal inoculation (Zayed et al, 2013), and ripening stage (Ribes-Moya et al, 2018)

Summary

Introduction

Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most produced vegetables worldwide, among the 10 most cultivated ones (Shahbandeh, 2021). Peppers from organic production systems have higher concentrations of these nutrients, in comparison with those produced in conventional system (Worthington, 2001; Hallmann & Rembiałkowska, 2012; Guilherme et al, 2020). Decreasing planting density of sweet pepper cultivation in conventional system increased plant vigor, as well as number of branches, leaves and fruit per plant (Islam et al, 2011). In less dense crops, fewer fruit of larger size may be produced, maintaining quality, in comparison with normally grown crops, which means that only the aesthetic traits of the product will be affected, something that should be taken into account to decide which will be the appropriate market niche (Silva, 2008; Abu & Odo, 2017)

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