Evaluation of Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Cultivars

Grown Under an Open Shaded Structure

University of Florida IFAS Extension - County FacultyFenneman , D.K., A. Gazula, R.C . Hochmuth , S.R. McCoy, and W.L. Laughlin.

Florida produces nearly 20,000 acres of green bell peppers in the field annually. Field grown Florida bell peppers are not available in large supply during the late summer and early fall (July - September) due to high temperature, high humidity and frequent rainfall du ring that time. The marketplace prefers that growers consistently suppl y high quality product for as long as possible. This entices large wholesa le growers to produce in multiple field locations to extend their season. Sm all, direct market farmers extend the season through the adoption of season -extending cultural practices rather than changing locations. Most of t he season extension practices lengthen the season into the cooler part of the year. Yet, few practices are used to extend the season into the ho ttest part of the year.

This research trial was conducted to continue the i nitial work with bell peppers under shade production and to evaluate seve ral bell pepper cultivars for their performance in this system.

Background & Objective

Materials & MethodsThe trials were conducted under an open 40x40 ft com mercial shade structure (Atlas, Alapaha , GA) (Figure a). Peppers were grown in 3 -gallon plastic pots filled with a soilless media. P ots were arranged in single rows with 4 foot spacing between the centers of the rows. Plants were spaced 12 inches apart in the row (Figure b). The bell pepper crop was established on April 3, 2012 using transplants. The trial was established with one transplant per pot. Pepper cul tivars were selected because of their performance as a vigorous field cu ltivar and likelihood to perform well over a long production period of 7 to 8 months with mature green fruit as the target maturity for harve st. The crop was irrigated and fertilized using standard hydroponic production practices.

Plants were trellised with string and plastic plant clips supporting each plant to an overhead cable trellis system. Three we eks after transplanting, the pepper plants were pruned to for m a double stem system over each row. Plant height measurements wer e taken on 20 June, 5 July and 15 Aug, and mature green fruit wer e harvested every two to three weeks from 11 June through 19 Nov 2012 . Fruit were graded into USDA grades and each grade was counted and weighed. The yield for the peppers grown under shade was con verted to yield per acre.

CultivarFruit Length

(in)Plant Height

(in)

4288A 3.69 bcd 52.8

8302 3.70 abcd 52.5

9325 3.79 abcd 69.5

2815 3.86 abc 56.3

Aristotle 4.09 ab 46.8

Godzilla 3.90 abc 55.3

Vanguard 3.77 abcd 54.5

Heritage 3.75 abcd 61.0

20896 3.61 cd 58.5

50169 3.77 abcd 60.8

Olympus 4.17 a 58.0

20854 3.35 d 62.3

Tomcat 3.79 abcd 54.0

Crusader 3.50 cd 49.8

Cutlass 3.80 abcd 49.0

Phoenix 3.34 d 62.5

Colossal 3.52 cd 63.8

Significance p<0.002 NS

CultivarEarly Season Yield

(Boxes/A)Mid Season Yield

(Boxes/A)

4288A 682 c 1,011 abcd

8302 735 bcd 966 bcd

9325 740 bcd 1,422 ab

2815 784 abcd 980 bcd

Aristotle 757 bcd 956 bcd

Godzilla 949 ab 1,323 abc

Vanguard 788 abcd 980 bcd

Heritage 680 cd 1,327 abc

20896 662 d 1,102 abcd

50169 811 abcd 1,330 abc

Olympus 807 abcd 883 cd

20854 898 abc 1,481 a

Tomcat 796 abcd 818 d

Crusader 998 a 1,093 abcd

Cutlass 995 a 879 cd

Phoenix 822 abcd 1,125 abcd

Colossal 837 abcd 1,396 ab

Significance p<0.02 p<0.02

CultivarTotal Yield (Boxes/A)

Total Fancy Yield (Boxes/A)

4288A 2,637 1,651 bcd

8302 2,426 2,111 abc

9325 3,094 2,273 abc

2815 2,611 2,092 abc

Aristotle 2,385 1,599 cd

Godzilla 3,127 2,553 a

Vanguard 2,299 1,884 abcd

Heritage 2,829 2,246 abc

20896 2,667 1,836 bcd

50169 2,899 2,330 ab

Olympus 2,255 1,830 bcd

20854 3,315 2,271 abc

Tomcat 1,967 1,332 d

Crusader 2,659 1,896 abcd

Cutlass 2,394 1,722 bcd

Phoenix 2,475 1,833 bcd

Colossal 3,300 2,250 abc

Significance NS p<0.01

Production of bell peppers in an open shade structu re resulted in mostly US Fancy fruit, especially durin g the early and mid -season harvests , but much less during late season harvests. Fruit length was significantly dif ferent among cultivars and varied from 3.35 inches in ‘Pho enix’ to 4.17 inches in ‘Olympus’ (Table 1). Several cultiva rs had fruit length similar to ‘Olympus’.

Total season marketable yields ranged from 1967 to 3315 boxes per acre (28 -lb boxes), but yield differences were not significant (Table 2). The total season marketable fruit were mainly in the Fancy category. Total season Fancy yi elds varied from 1332 boxes per acre with ‘Tomcat’ to 25 53 boxes per acre with ‘Godzilla’ (Table 2). Nine cult ivars had similar total season Fancy yields to ‘Godzilla’.

Yields reported here were lower than in a 2006 tria l due to increased number of days with extended cloudy and r ainy weather, especially during June and July, including tropical storm Debby.

Differences in early and mid -season yields among cultivars were significant, however, late season yields were similar among cultivars (Table 3). Overall fruit size decre ased in the late summer and early fall harvests. The percentage of the total fruit graded as Fancy was typically over 95% among all cultivars during early season harvests, but decreas ed to 80% during mid -season harvests, and was about 35% or less during late season harvests.

During the long growing season another important fa ctor in selecting a cultivar is plant height. In this trial , the plant heights did not show significant differences. There was a trend in plant height among cultivars, but a high d egree of variability within cultivars, largely due to stem b reakage during storms, led to no significant differences (T able 1).

Overall top performers are listed in Table 4 . The results from this trial were presented at educational field days (Figure c). Shade structures allow small farmers to extend the growing season of not only peppers (Figure d) b ut with other crops as well (Figure e).

Results & DiscussionTable 1: Effect of cultivar on fruit height & fruit width.

Table 2: Effect of cultivar on Total & USDA Fancy fruit yield.

Table 3: Effect of cultivar on early & mid season yield.

Top Total Season Fancy Yielding

Largest Fruit (L and W)

8302 8302

9325 9325

2815 2815

Vanguard Vanguard

50169 50169

Heritage Aristotle

Godzilla Tomcat

20854

Crusader

Colossal

Table 4: Top performing pepper cultivars.

Figure a: Commercial shade structure used in trial.

Figure b: Pepper plant setup in shade structure.

Figure e: Small farmer growing mixed vegetables under a shade structure.

Figure d: Small farmer growing green peppers under a shade structure.

Figure c: UF/IFAS Extension field days demonstrating shade production systems.