Response of Greenhouse Perennial Sweet Pepper Plants to Spraying with Silicate Levels Under Varying Nitrogen and Potassium Fertilizers Levels

Document Type : Original Article

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1 Department of Vegetable, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, 21545- El Shatby, Alexandria, Egypt

2 Faculty of agriculture Alexandria university

Abstract

There are many problems in the field of agriculture to improve the sustainability of farmed products. Increasing the production costs are one of these problems. In order to investigate the effects of silicate under varying nitrogen and potassium fertilizer levels on perennial sweet pepper plants cultivated in a greenhouses for two consecutive years of (2018/2019 and 2019/2020)  by maintaining a balance between vegetative and fruit growth. The experiments were conducted in four greenhouses; the area of each greenhouse was 240 m2. Each experiment included 12 treatments, three potassium silicate concentrations (0.0, 0.5 and 1.0 g l-1) under four combined treatments of NK ( 25, 50, 100, 125% ) of the recommended dose. Nitrogen doses were 47.5, 71.25, 95.0 and 118.75 kg N fed-1 added via irrigation water while K doses were 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 g as K2O doses, which was added by spraying on the leaves of sweet pepper plants (Marvel F1). The results showed that sweet pepper plants fertilized with NK fertilizers at 125 % with potassium silicate at concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 g l-1 achieved the highest significant increases in mean values of total leaf area plant-1 compared to untreated plants in both seasons. In addition, increasing levels of NK fertilizers from 50 to 125% of the recommended dose led to increases in relative fruit yield. Furthermore, the results showed that the addition of 0.5 g l-1 of potassium silicate to sweet pepper plants led to a significant increase in the total yield and average fruit weight.
 

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