Publication #HS819

Topics: Horticultural Sciences� |�PEPPER� |�Alex A. Csizinszky� |�Pepper Fertilization and Nutrition� |�Csizinszky, Alexander A�

Yield Response of Bell Pepper Cultivars to Foliar-applied 'Atonik' Biostimulant¹

A.A. Csizinszky²

Introduction

The effect of a foliar-applied Atonik biostimulant (Asahi Chemical Co., Mfg. Ltd. Japan) containing 0.6% mono-nitrophenolates as active ingredients was evaluated in replicated trials on Brigadier and X3R Camelot bell pepper cultivars in summer-fall (August-December) 2000 at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Bradenton. The effect of Atonik sprays on fruit size and earliness were of special interest.

Materials and Methods

Production system was the full-bed polyethylene mulch (Geraldson et al., 1965) with micro-(trickle) irrigation. Raised beds of Eau Gallie fine sand (USDA, 1983) were formed on 9 August 2000. The 32-inch wide, 8 inch high beds were formed on 5-ft centers with drainage ditches spaced every 6 beds (8,712 linear ft of bed per acre). Prior to land preparation, soil samples were taken and analyzed at the IFAS Analytical Research Laboratory at Gainesville, FL. The pH 5.9, total soluble salts (TSS) = 1400 ppm, NH₄-N = 1.1, and NO₃-N = 1.0 ppm were determined from the water extract. The P = 51.9 (high), K = 27.4 (low), Ca = 665 (very high) and Mg = 46.6 (high) were determined from the Melich-I extract (Hanlon et al., 1990).

Pre-plant nutrients applied at land preparation in lb per acre were: 88N, 30.5P and 101K. Phosphorous source was a 0-8.74-0 (N-P-K) superphosphate that was placed in a 6-inch wide band on the pre-bed. The superphosphate also contained micronutrients (F503) at 80 lb per ton (10.4 lb per acre F503). The N and K source was an 18-0-20.75 (N-P-K) that was placed in the bed center in a 2-inch deep narrow furrow. The remaining amounts of N, 174 lbs per acre, and K, 145 lbs per acre, were injected through the microirrigation tubing from a liquid 8-0-6.64 (N-P-K) analysis fertilizer during the season. Soil was fumigated with Terr-0-Gas (66% methyl bromide and 33% chloropicrin) at 213 lbs per acre.

Irrigation through a T-tape (8 inch emitter spacing, 0.67 gallon per minute at 8 psi) was applied at the previous days open pan evaporation. The T-tape was placed 2 inches deep in the soil, 3 inches from the bed center. Beds were covered with a white on black polyethylene film.

On 6 September, five-week old Brigadier and X3R Camelot seedlings raised in 1-inch cell size planter flats by a commercial company were transplanted at 12 inches between and 14 inches within-row spacing in the 12-foot-long plots (20 plants per plot). Biostimulant and control treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block experimental design and replicated four times.

The Atonik biostimulant spray was applied at a rate equivalent to 6.84 fluid ozs per acre in 30 gallons of water by a portable backpack sprayer at 40 psi. A biodegradable sticker/spreader (Sun spray 11E) was added to the spray to facilitate better spray cover of the plants. Plants were sprayed four times: early bud stage [30 days after planting (DAP)] at first bloom (42 DAP), flowering and first fruits (49 DAP) and after the 1^st harvest (64 DAP). In the last two applications the amount of water in the spray was increased to 60 gallons per acre as plant size increased. In the control plots, the plants were sprayed with water only.

During the season plants were treated with approved pesticides on a preventive weekly basis to control pathogens and insects.

Soil samples for pH, TSS, and macro- and microelement analyses were taken after transplanting and after the last harvest.

Plant heights were measured on 24 October (50 DAP). Shoot samples, fully expanded young leaves, were taken near first harvest (58 DAP) for dry matter determination and macro- and microelemental analyses (Hanlon and DeVore, 1989). Fruit samples for dry matter and elemental analyses were taken at harvest. Fruits were harvested 6 times, on 7, 14 and 22 November and 6, 13 and 20 December. Fruits were graded according to USDA standards for sweet peppers (USDA, 1981).

Results and Discussion

In September, minimum daily temperature and rainfall were above the 45-year average (Table 1). For the rest of the growing season, maximum and minimum daily temperatures and monthly rainfall were below the 45-year average. Due to the favorable weather conditions and timely applications of pesticides there were no serious insect or disease problems that had adverse effects on the crop.

Plant heights were not affected by spray treatments but Brigadier plants were taller than the X3R Camelot plants. Brigadier plants were 15.2 inches with Atonik and 15.1 inches with water sprays. X3R Camelot plants were 12.7 inches with Atonik and 12.6 inches with water sprays.

In the first harvest U.S. Fancy and marketable total yields of Brigadier were higher (P< 0.05) with Atonik than with water treatment. Cumulative yield of U.S. fancy fruits in harvests 1-4 were also higher with Atonik than with water sprays (Table 2). Fruit yields of X3R Camelot peppers were similar with Atonik or water sprays (Tables 2). Number of fruits harvested had shown similar trends to the weight of fruit yields for both bell pepper cultivars (Tables 3).

Dry matter (DM) content in the leaves and fruits of Atonik treated Brigadier plants were lower (P<0.05) than in the water treated plants (Tables 4 and 5). Macro- and microelemental concentrations in leaves and fruits of both bell pepper cultivars were similar with Atonik or water sprays (Tables 4 and 5).

The results of this study on the effect of Atonik foliar sprays on bell peppers are similar to our earlier studies on the effect of Atonik and several other biostimulant products on peppers: plants treated with foliar biostimulant sprays had slightly higher yields of U.S. Fancy or marketable grade fruits than plants sprayed with water only (Csizinszky, 1990; 1994; Csizinszky et al., 1990). The effect of biostimulant treatment in this study as reported in previous studies also depended on the cultivar (Csizinszky 1988; 1990; Csizinszky et al., 1990). Therefore, the beneficial effect of biostimulant products on pepper yields has to be weighed against the cost of biostimulant applications. Furthermore, it is advisable for the growers to test the effect of biostimulant sprays on a small area and preferably on a few cultivars before treating a large acreage of peppers with biostimulants.

Relevant Publications

Csizinszky, A. A. 1988. Yield response of green peppers to biostimulants. Florida Pepper Institute 1988. Univ. of Fla., IFAS, Veg. Crops Extension Report SSVEC-802.

Csizinszky, A. A. 1990. Response of two bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars to foliar- and soil-applied biostimulants. Soil and Crop Sci. Soc. Fla. Proc. 49:199-203.

Csizinszky, A. A. 1994. Yield response of Jupiter bell pepper to foliar biostimulant spray. Bradenton GCREC Research Report BRA-1994-4.

Csizinszky, A. A., C. D. Stanley, and G. A. Clark. 1990. Foliar and soil-applied biostimulant studies with microirrigated pepper and tomato. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 103:113-117.

Geraldson, C. M., A. J. Overman, and J. P. Jones. 1965. Combination of high analysis fertilizer, plastic mulch, and fumigation for tomato production on old agricultural land. Proc. Soil and Crop Sci. Soc. Fla. 28:18-24.

Hanlon, E. A., G. Kidder and B. L. McNeal. 1990. Soil, container and water testing. Fla. Coop. Ext. Serv. Circ. 817. Gainesville, FL.

United States Department of Agriculture. 1981. United States Standards for Grades of Sweet Peppers. USDA Agric. Marketing Service, Washington, D.C.

Tables

Table 1.

Temperature and rainfall at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center during the fall of 2000 and the 45-year average (fawn.ifas.ufl.edu).


	Maximum		Minimum		Rainfall (in.)
Month	2000¹	45-yr avg.	2000¹	45-yr avg.	2000¹	45-yr avg.
September	90	90	73	71	9.63	8.03
October	83	85	62	64	0.14	3.02
November	77	79	55	58	1.33	1.99
¹Transplanted 6 September 2000. Last harvest 20 December 2000.

Table 2.

Cumulative yield (28 lb cartons/A) of 'Atonik' biostimulant treated bell peppers. Fall 2000.

		Cultivar
		Brigadier		X3R Camelot
Harvest	Grade	Atonik	Control	Atonik	Control
		cnt/A¹
1	U.S. Fancy	144 a²	90 b	111 a²
	U.S. No. 1	89 a	89 a	61 a	68 a
	U.S. No. 2	8 a	4 a	9 a	13 a
	Marketable Total	241 a	183 b	181 a	209 a
	Cull	3 a	3 a	0 a	2 a

1-2	U.S. Fancy	353 a	338 a	296 a	302 a
	U.S. No. 1	421 a	414 a	217 a	309 a
	U.S. No. 2	30 a	30 a	24 a	25 a
	Marketable Total	804 a	782 a	537 a	636 a
	Cull	16 a	8 a	4 a	3 a

1-3	U.S. Fancy	430 a	364 a	418 a	400 a
	U.S. No. 1	569 a	541 a	272 b	367 a
	U.S. No. 2	41 a	46 a	27 a	27 a
	Marketable Total	1040 a	951 a	717 a	794 a
	Cull	18 a	12 b	7 a	3 b

1-4	U.S. Fancy	470 a	391 b	540 a	493 a
	U.S. No. 1	669 a	634 a	328 b	394 a
	U.S. No. 2	64 a	58 a	30 a	35 a
	Marketable Total	1203 a	1083 a	898 a	922 a
	Cull	22 a	18 a	9 a	4 b

1-5	U.S. Fancy	524 a	460 a	612	560
	U.S. No. 1	746 a	682 a	408 a	436 a
	U.S. No. 2	68 a	69 a	33 a	36 a
	Marketable Total	1338 a	1211 a	1053 a	1032 a
	Cull	24 a	19 a	8 a	5 a

1-6	U.S. Fancy	539 a	468 a	619 a	575 a
	U.S. No. 1	774 a	742 a	419 a	460 a
	U.S. No. 2	78 a	74 a	36 a	38 a
	Marketable Total	1391 a	1284 a	1074 a	1073 a
	Cull	26 a	30 a	9 a	6 a
¹Acre=8712 linear bed ft. (14, 935 plants/A).
²Mean separation between columns of the same cultivar by Duncan's Multiple Range Test, P<0.05.

Table 3.

Yield (number per acre x 1000) by harvest of 'Atonik' biostimulant treated bell peppers. Fall 2000.

		Cultivar
		Brigadier		X3R Camelot
Harvest	Grade	Atonik	Control	Atonik	Control
		no/A (x1000)¹
1	U.S. Fancy	10.3 a²	6.4 b	8.4 a²	9.3 a
	U.S. No. 1	8.5 a	8.3 a	6.3 a	6.5 a
	U.S. No. 2	0.9 a	0.4 b	1.1 a	1.3 a
	Marketable Total	19.7 a	15.1 b	15.8 a	17.1 a
	Cull	0.4 a	0.4 a	0.0 a	0.2 a

1-2	U.S. Fancy	24.9 a	23.2 a	22.7 a	22.9 a
	U.S. No. 1	40.6 a	40.8 a	23.1 a	33.2 a
	U.S. No. 2	3.5 a	3.9 a	3.3 a	2.5 a
	Marketable Total	69.0 a	67.9 a	49.1 a	58.6 a
	Cull	1.8 a	1.3 a	0.5 a	0.5 a

1-3	U.S. Fancy	30.0 a	24.9 a	31.2 a	29.8 a
	U.S. No. 1	53.1 a	51.5 a	28.3 a	38.8 a
	U.S. No. 2	5.8 a	6.0 a	3.6 a	2.7 a
	Marketable Total	88.9 a	82.4 a	63.1 a	71.3 a
	Cull	2.2 a	2.1 a	0.9 a	0.5 a

1-4	U.S. Fancy	32.6 a	26.9 b	39.6 a	36.5 a
	U.S. No. 1	61.0 a	59.6 a	33.4 a	41.4 a
	U.S. No. 2	8.1 a	7.3 a	4.2 a	3.5 a
	Marketable Total	101.7 a	93.8 a	77.2 a	81.4 a
	Cull	2.9 a	2.8 a	1.1 a	0.7 a

1-5	U.S. Fancy	36.4 a	31.9 a	45.4 a	41.2 a
	U.S. No. 1	68.9 a	64.1 a	42.1 a	45.7 a
	U.S. No. 2	8.6 a	8.7 a	4.7 a	3.6 a
	Marketable Total	113.9 a	104.7 a	92.2 a	90.5 a
	Cull	3.3 a	3.0 a	1.1 a	0.9 a

1-6	U.S. Fancy	37.6 a	32.5 a	46.1 a	42.3 a
	U.S. No. 1	71.5 a	68.8 a	43.2 a	47.9 a
	U.S. No. 2	10.0 a	9.3 a	5.1 a	3.8 a
	Marketable Total	119.1 a	110.6 a	94.4 a	94.0 a
	Cull	3.7 a	4.6 a	1.3 a	1.1 a
¹Acre=8712 linear bed ft. (14, 935 plants/A).
²Mean separation between columns of the same cultivar by Duncan's Multiple Range Test, P<0.05.

Table 4.

Dry matter (DM) and elemental concentrations in 'Atonik' biostimulant treated bell pepper leaves. Fall 2000.

Cultivar and		Element
Treatment	DM	N	P	K	Ca	Mg
	-------------------------------------------------- % -----------------------------------------------
Brigadier
Atonik	15.6	4.1	0.3	5.1	3.3	1.1
Control	16.6	3.8	0.3	4.9	3.3	1.1
Signif.¹	*	ns	ns	ns	ns	ns

X3R Camelot
Atonik	16.2	4.5	0.3	5.1	3.1	1.0
Control	16.6	4.3	0.3	5.0	3.1	1.0
Signif.¹	ns	ns	ns	ns	ns	ns


		B	Cu	Fe	Mn	Zn
		-------------------------------------- ppm ----------------------------------------
Brigadier
Atonik		61.3	857.9	109.8	425.6	483.4
Control		58.1	862.5	106.9	422.3	485.9
Signif.¹		ns	ns	ns	ns	ns

X3R Camelot
Atonik		58.5	788.8	107.3	376.1	489.1
Control		56.5	724.0	106.1	361.5	475.1
Signif.¹		ns	ns	ns	ns	ns
1Signif.=mean differences are significant at P<0.05 (*) or non-significant (ns).

Table 5.

Dry matter (DM) and elemental concentrations in 'Atonik' biostimulant treated bell pepper fruits. Fall 2000.

Cultivars and		Element
Treatments	DM	N	P	K	Ca	Mg
	---------------------------------------------------%--------------------------------------------------
Brigadier
Atonik	5.26	2.68	0.35	2.77	0.22	0.19
Control	5.80	2.89	0.36	2.64	0.22	0.20
Signif.1	*	ns	ns	ns	ns	ns

X3R Camelot
Atonik	5.07	2.63	0.34	3.18	0.19	0.19
Control	5.40	3.00	0.37	3.17	0.19	0.20
Signif.1	ns	ns	ns	ns	ns	ns

		B	Cu	Fe	Mn	Zn
		----------------------------------------ppm----------------------------------------
Brigadier
Atonik		16.1	30.4	66.5	28.8	44.9
Control		15.4	31.5	71.6	27.0	49.5
Signif.1		ns	ns	ns	ns	ns

X3R Camelot
Atonik		14.0	29.9	60.6	27.0	40.9
Control		15.4	28.4	58.5	28.0	40.9
Signif.1		ns	ns	ns	ns	ns
¹Signif.=mean differences are significant at P<0.05 (*) or non-significant (ns).

Footnotes

This document is HS819, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date September 2001. Reviewed May 2003. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

A.A. Csizinszky, associate professor, Horticultural Sciences, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center - Bradenton, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.

Yield Response of Bell Pepper Cultivars to Foliar-applied 'Atonik' Biostimulant1