Producing Hot Pepper in Pots Using Different Substrate Mixtures

Abstract

In substrate culture, determine the suitable raw materials that can be used as a substrate even alone or mixed together for vegetable production it’s not an easy process; because of the potential impacts of these substances, which may have an impact on plant development and productivity directly or indirectly. Consequently, select the best substrate mixture that consists of various materials is
imperative to plant productivity. In this context, an experiment has been carried out in the rooftop garden of Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate (CLAC), Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Dokki, Giza, Egypt during two summer seasons of 2021 and 2022. The aim of this work was to determine the most suitable substrate mixture for producing hot
pepper. Different substrate mixtures have been examined in this experiment with regard to both growth and yield of hot pepper, their description was as follow; mixture of perlite : coco peat 1:1 v/v (PeCo), mixture of sand : rice husk 1:1 v/v (SRh), mixture of sand : coco peat 1:1 v/v (SCo) and mixture of sand : coco peat : rice husk 1:1:1 v/v/v (SCoRh).The obtained results indicated that mixture of perlite : coco peat recorded the highest values for plant hight, number of leaves per plant, fresh and dry weights of aerial parts, root fresh and dry weights and yield per m2.Furthermore,a close result have been recorded by mixture of sand : rice husk. For that, both substrate mixtures (mixture of perlite: coco peat and mixture of sand: rice husk) can be considered as a suitable substrate mixture for producing hot pepper grown in pot system.