Effects of biological and mineral fertilization on the growth, nutrition, and yield of Capsicum chinense under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

Habanero peppers (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) are cultivated in the American continent and consumed around the world for their flavor, aroma, and biofunctional compounds in addition to being used as a food colorant. Increasing the production and quality of peppers using biological and mineral fertilization represents a challenge for producers. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the application of microorganism consortia on the plant growth, nutrition, and fruit yield of C. chinense under greenhouse conditions. Bonasol^® (Azotobacter sp., Azospirillum brasilense, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus subtilis, and Rhizophagus intraradices) and Lilasol^® (Bacillus popilliae, Bacillus thuringiensis, and Purpureocillium lilacinum) consortia were added at two mineral fertilization levels (75% and 100%). The Bonasol^® consortium increased the plant height and stem diameter of C. chinense plants by 16.7–18.7% and 20.1–25.2%, respectively, and the number of flowers per plant by 84.7%. Consequently, fruit yield expressed as t ha⁻¹ was enhanced by 32.4% and 46.1%, regarding to the mineral fertilization at 75% and 100%, respectively. Additionally, fruit quality was improved, as evidenced by heavier (17.8%) and longer (5.19%) fruits. Aerial (65.6%) and root (116.5%) biomass were also higher compared to non-inoculated plants. The microorganism consortia did not increase the N and P content in C. chinense leaves, but the Lilasol^® consortium did increase the foliar K content. In conclusion, the mixture of the plant growth-promoting and mycorrhizal fungus in the Bonasol^® consortium increased the plant growth and production of C. chinense.

Keywords:

• Bacillus spp
• biofertilizers
• habanero pepper
• Pseudomonas spp
• Purpureocillium lilacinum

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Miguel A. Barreto-Torres by its help in the data collection.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.