Abstract:
The research was conducted in a protected house at the faculty of Agriculture,
University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka, during June -
October 2004 to assess
the performance of bell pepper plant (Capsicum annum) in’a newly formulated
hydroponics solution compared to Albert’s solution in two different production
systems (coir dust medium and direct dipped method).
The temperatures during the experiment period fluctuated between 29 °C - 34
°C and it was above the optimum temperature requirement (26 °C - 30 °C) of
the plant. The light intensity inside the protected house was well enough for
bell pepper and varied within the range of 9 000 Lux - 65 000 Lux and relative
humidity was between 64 % and 92 %.
The plant height, number of leaves, number of flowers and fruits, average dry
weight of shoots and roots of bell pepper plants were comparatively high in
coir dust medium supplied with Albert’s solution. The yields when plants were
grown in coir dust medium with Albert’s solution, coir dust medium with New
solution, direct dipped plants in Albert’s solution and direct dipped plants in
New solution were 275 g, 145.8 g, 108.35 g and 66.7 g respectively. When
plant roots were directly dipped, the yield decrease compared to coir dust
medium is 58.4 %. It was also evident that when plants were grown in the New
solution, the yield reduction was 44.5 % compared to the Albert’s solution.
The plants in direct dipped method did not perform well and the New solution
formulated for bell pepper needs further adjustments and improvements.
