PERFORMANCE AND QUALITIES OF TWO VARIETIES OF PEPPER (Capsicum chinense) UNDER DIFFERENT SOIL AMENDMENTS AND SEASONS

This research was conducted at the Landmark University Teaching and Research Farm in Omu-Aran, Kwara State. The experiment was carried out to examine the performance and quality of two varieties of pepper (capsicum chinense) under different soil amendments and seasons (dry season planting November 2021, wet season planting March 2022). The following amendments were used: Poultry manure (PM), Tithonia diversifolia (TD), cattle manure (CM), NPK 15:15:15, and Control (CTRL). Organic amendments were applied at a rate of 20 t ha-1, whereas NPK 15:15:15 was applied at a rate of 180 kg ha-1. The experiment was a 2 x 5 x 2 factorial with three replications laid out in a Randomised Complete Block Design. The following data were collected: plant height, number of leaves, number of primary and secondary branches, shelf-life, yield, and fruit mineral composition. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on data collected using Genstat software at a 0.05 level of probability. Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was employed to compare significant treatment means. The results of the study shows plots treated with PM had higher values for the vegetative parameters when compared with other amendments. The highest value for yield (t/ha) was obtained from the Caribbean red variety. The first season (dry season) yield (505,667 t ha-1) performed better than the second season (wet season) yield (270,000 t ha-1). When the values of the various amendments were compared, the PM treated plots produced the best results in term of the vegetative, yield and quality attributes. This concludes that PM application at 20 t ha-1 increased pepper yield and quality parameters in both seasons, and that pepper cultivation can be done more successfully in the dry season than during the wet season.