Induction of seedless red bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruit by plant growth regulators
Consumption of fresh-cut bell pepper is increasing in popularity.
Cooking and processing of the bell pepper fruits involve deseeding, thus production of seedless bell pepper fruits would allow more efficient handling of the fruit, leading to further increase in its consumption.
We tested several plant growth regulators (PGRs) treatments for their effect on seed development in ʻSONIA REDʼ red bell pepper grown in greenhouse.
Three PGR treatments were examined: (1) GA3 + GA3 treatment where 50 ppm of gibberellic acid (GA3) solution was applied by drops on the flower buds about one week before anthesis and sprayed on the flowers one week after anthesis; (2) 4-CPA treatment where 30 ppm of 4-CPA solution was sprayed on the flowers at anthesis; (3) GA3 + 4-CPA + GA3 treatment where the GA3 + GA3 treatment was combined with the 4-CPA treatment; and (4) hand-pollinated plants using a brush at anthesis were used as a control.
The three PGRs treatments did not reduce fruit-setting percentage.
The number of seeds per fruit in the PGRs treatments ranged from 6 to 14% compared to the pollination treatment.
Fruit weight was decreased in the GA3 + GA3 treatment and the GA3 + 4-CPA + GA3 treatment but not in the 4-CPA treatment.
There were no differences in fruit height/diameter among the four treatments.
Blossom-end rot was apparently reduced in the three PGRs treatments compared to the pollination treatment.
Our results strongly suggest that the three PGRs treatments enable production of virtually seedless bell peppers, and that the 4-CPA treatment is likely to be most practical as it does not cause a reduction in fruit size.
Takahata, K. and Miura, H. (2018). Induction of seedless red bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruit by plant growth regulators. Acta Hortic. 1206, 219-224
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1206.30
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1206.30
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1206.30
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1206.30
fresh-cut pepper, fruit size, GA3, 4-CPA
English
1206_30
219-224