MSc

The present study entitiled “Nutrient scheduling in bush pepper (Piper nigrum
L.) was taken up with the specific objective to standardize potting media and nutrient
level in bush pepper for yield.
The pot culture experiment on bush pepper was carried in the Department of
Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period
2017-18 using variety Panniyur 1.The efficacy of different combinations of organic
manures and different levels and intervals of inorganic fertilizers were evaluated. The
experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with three different types
of potting media (P1, P2, P3), five inorganic fertilizer treatments (I1, I2, I3, I4, I5) and a
control. The different types of potting media used were soil + FYM + neem cake +
coir pith compost (P1), soil + FYM + vermicompost + coir pith compost ( P2) and soil
+ FYM + leaf compost + coir pith compost (P3) in the ratio 3:3:1:1. Inorganic
fertilizers applied at different levels and intervals were I1- 37.5: 37.5: 50.0 g of NPK
plant-1 year-1at monthly splits, I2 - 37.5: 37.5: 50.0 g of NPK plant-1 year-1 at quarterly
splits, I3 - 25.0: 25.0: 50.0 g of NPK plant-1 year-1 at monthly splits, I4 - 25.0: 25.0:
50.0 g of NPK plant-1 year-1 at quarterly splits and I5 - 12.5:12.5:25.0 g of NPK plant-1
year-1 as soil application at equal monthly splits up to 3 MAP and foliar application of
13:0:45 (0.5 %) at fortnightly intervals from 4th MAP. The control treatment
contained soil + sand+ FYM, (1:1:1) as potting mixture and inorganic fertilizer
applied as per package of practices recommendations of KAU (1.0, 0.5, 2 g NPK
plant-1 at bimonthly interval). Trichoderma @ 1 g kg-1 of potting medium and lime @
50 g plant-1 were applied to all the treatments.
The results of the study revealed that potting media containing soil + FYM +
vermicompost + coir pith compost (3:3:1:1) and inorganic fertilizers applied at the
rate of 25.0: 25.0: 50.0 g of NPK plant-1 year-1at quarterly splits (p2i4) recorded
significantly higher plant growth characters like number of secondary branches,
length of primary branches, length of secondary branches, number of leaves and leaf
area from 8MAP to 12 MAP. Fresh weight, dry weight and volume of roots at 12
MAP were also significantly higher for the treatment combination, p2i4
Significantly higher dry matter production (150.92 g plant-1) at 12 MAP and
chlorophyll content at 6 MAP was noticed in p2i4 while dry matter production was the
least in control (72.42 g plant-1). The yield attributes like number of spikes plant-1,
length of spike, number of berries spike-1, hundred berry weight, hundred berry
volume, fresh and dry weight of berries were significantly higher for p2i4 recording a
dry yield increase of 98 per cent over the control. Quality parameters of berries
revealed that essential oil, oleoresin and piperine were highest in p2i4 while highest
starch content was obtained in p1i5.
. The total uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by bush pepper was
significantly superior with a higher uptake of N (2.159 g plant-1), P (155.17 mg plant-
1
), K (2.367 g plant-1), Ca (1.577 g plant-1), Mg (296.64 mg plant-1) and S (253.34 mg
plant-1) in p2i4. Higher nitrogen harvest index (33.58 %), phosphorous harvest index
(41.03 %) and potassium harvest index (31.41 %) were recorded from p2i4, indicating
that nutrient removal in bush pepper was proportional to the yield. The discounted
benefit-cost ratio was 2.51 with 67 % of Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for p2i4
implied that investments made in bush pepper following the above treatment was
highly profitable.
The results of the study indicated that growing bush pepper in potting medium
containing soil + FYM + vermicompost + coir pith compost ( 3:3:1:1) with the
application of inorganic fertilizers @
25.0: 25.0: 50.0 g of NPK plant-1 year-1
scheduled at quarterly intervals produced better growth characters like number of
secondary branches, length of primary and secondary branches, number of leaves,
total leaf area , root dry weight and yield parameters like number of spikes and
number of berries spike-1 which ultimately doubled the yield compared to the package
of practices recommendations of KAU.