BELL PEPPER SEEDLING GROWTH AND YIELD FOLLOWING PRETRANSPLANT NUTRITIONAL CONDITIONING

To reduce transplant shock of bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), we te sted the effectiveness of pretransplant nutritional conditioning (PNC) as a promoter of earliness and yield. In Expt. 1, 'Gatorbelle' bell p epper seedlings were fertilized with N from Ca(NO3)2 at 25, 75, or 225 mg.liter-1 and P from Ca(H2PO4)2 at 5, 15, or 45 mg.liter-1. Nitrogen interacted with P, affecting shoot fresh and dry weight, leaf area, r oot dry weight, seedling height, and leaf count. In Expt. 2, transplan ts conditioned with N from 50, 100, and 200 mg.liter-4 and P at 15,30, and 60 mg-liter-1 were field-planted in Charleston, S.C., and Clinton , N.C. Nitrogen- and P-PNC did not greatly affect recovery from transp lant shock. Although N- and P-PNC affected seedling growth in the gree nhouse, earliness, total yield, and quality were similar in field stud ies among all PNC treatments at both locations. PNC with 50 mg N and 1 5 mg P/liter can be used with this variety and not have any long-term detrimental effects on yield and quality.