Response of sweet pepper to different culture media under soilless growing techniques (open system) in cooled greenhouse (270 m²) at Rumais

Three different media NDASH sand, date palm straw, and wood straw NDASH were tested for the production of a sweet pepper cultivar namely 'Hercules F₁' in respect of growth, yield, and quality performance under soilless growing technique in a 270-m² cooled greenhouse for two consecutive seasons 2012/2013-2013/2014. The three growth media were arranged in randomized complete design (RCD) with five replications. The results indicated significant (p<0.05) differences in nutrient concentration percentages between the tested media in both seasons. The sand medium had the lowest nutrient concentration compared to the other two media - wood straw and date palm straw. The same trend was found for nutrient concentration percentage in shoot and roots of the plants grown in these media. There were no significant differences in fruit number m^‑2, fruit weight (g), and yield (t ha^‑1) among the plants grown in three media tested. The crop responded highest under sand medium with an average yield of 3.6 tonnes greenhouse^-1 (t gh^‑1) over two seasons followed by that in wood straw medium (3.4 t gh^‑1)