Effect of NPK on Plant Growth, Yield and Quality of Capsicum (Capsicum annum L.) c.v. Swarna Under Shade Net Condition

Abstract

A field experiment entitled “Effect of NPK on plant growth, yield and quality of Capsicum (Capsicum annum L.) c.v. Swarna under shade net Condition” was conducted during Rabi season (October to March) in the year 2014-15 at Horticulture Experimental field, Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture Technology and Sciences Allahabad. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications and 9 treatments vizT1: N1P1K1, T2: N1P1K3, T3: N1P2K2, T4: N2P1K1, T5: N2P2K2, T6: N2P2K3, T7: N3P2K2, T8: N3P3K1, T9: N3P3K3. The treatment combination of N.P.K. T7 (175:55:45 kg/ha) found superior overall other treatments in relation to growth parameters but low in production and quality, N.P.K. T5 (155:55:45 kg/ha) found superior in terms of yield and N.P.K. T6 (155:55:55 kg/ha) was superior in relation to quality (fruit length, fruit diameter, shelf life, TSS) of capsicum. Maximum plant height (116.70cm) and stem girth (54.32mm) was recorded in T7. The highest number of fruits/plant (8.70), fruit yield per plant (1.99kg), fruit yield(kg)/green house (321.84kg) was observed in T5 and maximum fruit length (9.61cm), fruit diameter (8.01cm), TSS (5.820B), shelf life (7.60 days) and fruit weight (230.99gm) was reported in T6. T5 was found to be the most viable economically in terms of net returns (9724914Rs/ha) and cost: benefit ratio (1:5.22). Thus, application of optimum doses of NPK was found highly beneficial for plant growth, yield and quality of capsicum.