EFFECT OF PHOTOSELECTIVE SCREENS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RED AND YELLOW SWEET PEPPER

J.Q. Santana, M.A. Balbino, T.R. Tavares, R.S. Bezerra, J.G. Farias , R.C. Ferreira
Photoselective screens promote better solar radiation quality and attenuate the extreme climatic conditions allowing greater efficiency in the vegetables production in protected crops. In Brazil the sweet pepper is traditionally cultivated in field conditions, but recently there have been investments in screenhouses and greenhouses. This research evaluated the effect of photoselective blue and red screens on the vegetative development and productivity of yellow and red sweet peppers. The experiment was conducted from 19 June to 29 October 2011, in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil (16°35’47”S; 49°16’47”W, 730 m). The ‘Eppo’ (yellow) and ‘Margarita’ (red) hybrids from Syngenta Seeds were cultivated in three treatments: two shading screenhouses with field plots as control. Stem diameter and length, number of leaves, leaf area, total plant mass and mass of leaves were measured. At 40 days the total number, weight, length, diameter and number of fruits lost by sunscald or rotting were measured. The blue and red screens have promoted greater stem growth and smaller number of leaves and fruits. There was no statistical difference for leaf area, showing there is compensation between number and leaf area. The total fruit production per plant occurred in decreasing order from field conditions, to red screen followed of blue. However, the losses by sunscald and rotting was greater than 35% in field conditions, while in the screenhouses the losses were less than 5%. In this way, the production of commercial fruits per plant was higher under red screenhouse than under the blue screenhouse and in the field. The photoselective red screen promoted greater plant growth and a slight increase (4%) in the commercial fruits yield for Brazilian Midwest climatic conditions.
Santana, J.Q., Balbino, M.A., Tavares, T.R., Bezerra, R.S., Farias , J.G. and Ferreira, R.C. (2012). EFFECT OF PHOTOSELECTIVE SCREENS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RED AND YELLOW SWEET PEPPER. Acta Hortic. 956, 493-500
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.956.58
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.956.58
Capsicum annuum var. annuum, protected cultivation, crop ecology, photosynthetically active radiation
English

Acta Horticulturae