Rj. Dufault et Jr. Schultheis, BELL PEPPER SEEDLING GROWTH AND YIELD FOLLOWING PRETRANSPLANT NUTRITIONAL CONDITIONING, HortScience, 29(9), 1994, pp. 999-1001
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.