Effect of Soil Amendment and Seed Extraction Techniques on Seed Yield and Quality of Pepper (Capsicum Chinensis) in Southern Senegal

Abstract

Vegetable production in general and pepper production in particular are of paramount importance in the economic life of rural and peri-urban farmers in Senegal. However, high input costs such as seeds and chemical fertilizers are a limitation to the sector's growth. In order to find technologies capable of producing quality seeds with cheaper inputs, this study was conducted at the Djibelor Agricultural Research Centre in the southern region of Senegal. Six treatments T1 (NPK 300 kg/ha and urea 200 kg/ha), T2 (NPK 150 kg/ha, urea 200 kg/ha and compost 10 tons/ha), T3 (NPK 100 kg/ha, urea 200 kg/ha and compost 15 kg/ha), T4 (NPK 50 kg/ha, urea 200 kg/ha and compost 20 tons/ha), T5 (compost 25 tons/ha) and T6 (control) made from the combination of compost and chemical fertilizer were tested in a randomized complete block with four replicates. The results of this study revealed a positive effect of the combined fertilizer at different rates on pepper growth and reproduction parameters. The height of the plants, the number of branches, the thickness of the stems, the size of the fruits and the biomass were significantly increased with the mixture of compost and chemical fertilizers. In addition, these fertilizers had the effect of shortening days of the reproductive stages (50% flowering, 50% fruiting and 50% ripening) of the Big Sun pepper variety (Capsicum chinensis) used for this study. Also, after harvest two seed extraction techniques were used (Fresh fruit extraction and dry fruit extraction). With the two extraction techniques used, fruit drying prior to seed extraction played an important role in seed quality. The seeds from the dried fruits showed germination rates and germination vigour well above that of seeds from fresh fruits. These results suggest that the mixt of compost and low rate of chemical fertilizers in the south region of Senegal should be encouraged for use as a substitute to the high level cost of chemical fertilizers for optimum pepper fruits production. Furthermore, dried pepper berries prior to seed extraction is the best technique that maintains seed quality.

Keywords: Capsicum chinensis, compost, chemical fertilizer, growth, yield, seed extraction and quality