Yield and nitrogen use efficiency of bell pepper grown in SLAB fertigated with different nitrogen rates

Abstract

Adequate plant nutrition is important to reduce costs and increase the crop yield. This study tried to verify the influence of Nitrogen (N) on plant biomass production and the yield of bell pepper grown in SLAB; quantify the N use efficiency (NUE), and to quantify the residual N concentration in the substrate after the end of the crop cycle. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment. Pepper seedlings were transplanted to SLAB bags containing 40 dm³ of substrate. The treatments consisted of six N rates (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, and 7.5 g plant⁻¹) split into 10 fortnightly applications, in a randomized block design with four replications. The fruit yield was evaluated throughout the experiment and after the final harvest, the dry mass of leaves, stem, and root of the plant, the N content and accumulated, the residual nitrate and ammonium in the substrate, and the NUE were evaluated. The rate of 5.51 g plant⁻¹ of N, corresponding to 355.5 kg ha⁻¹, provided the maximum yield of commercial fruits of 1.57 kg plant⁻¹ or 101.2 t ha⁻¹. With increasing N rate, the residual nitrate concentration in the substrate increased and the NUE decreased.

Keywords:

• bag culture
• Capsicum annuum L
• greenhouse
• lay flat bag
• nitrate

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq – Process 303.448/2018), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) Finance Code 001.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq – Process 303.448/2018), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) Finance Code 001.