Response of coloured sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. Grossum) to fertigation and irrigation levels under naturally ventilated greenhouse

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of coloured sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. grossum) under naturally ventilated greenhouse during 2012–13 at the research farm of Department of Soil and water Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana to determine the effect of different fertigation and irrigation levels on crop parameters, yield, water use efficiency (WUE), fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) and quality parameters. Fertigation levels used were F1: 120 percent, F2: 100 percent and F3: 80 percent of targeted dose of fertilizer; irrigation levels were I1: 100 percent, I2: 80 percent and I3: 60 percent replenishment of ETC; and varieties were Syngenta yellow and Syngenta Red. The study revealed that different levels of fertigation and irrigation had significant effect on plant parameters, yield, WUE, FUE and quality parameters. Fertigation and irrigation having combination of 120 percent targeted dose of fertilizer and 100 percent replenishment of ETC i.e. F1I1 showed superiority over all other treatment combinations. Syngenta yellow variety produced maximum plant height (191.77 cm), leaf area index (4.34), dry matter (24.15%) and yield (168.74 ton ha⁻¹). Syngenta Red variety produced better quality parameters under the treatment F1I1; the fruit length (10.37 cm), fruit width (9.20 cm), fruit girth (32.13 cm), pericarp thickness (0.84 cm) and fruit weight (221.80 g) were also found maximum in Syngenta Red. But the maximum ascorbic acid content (167.40 mg 100g⁻¹ fresh wt.) was recorded in Syngenta yellow variety. Maximum wUE (14.60 q ha⁻¹ cm⁻¹) and FUE (1.23 q kg⁻¹ of NPK) were recorded in Syngenta yellow variety. The least values of all parameters were recorded in F3I3 (80 percent targeted dose of fertilizer and 60 percent replenishment of ETC) treatment.