2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Hot pepper intake in the U.S. has increased during the last decade due to increased interest in indigenous food. The impact of Soil-Set® (a soil amendment that contains natural enzymatic compounds and balanced nutrients), Grain-Set® (a foliar fertilizer that supplies Mn, S, and Zn to growing plants), and Liqui-Plex® Bonder WP (a foliar fertilizer that comprises minerals complexed with amino acids) on pepper, Capsicum annuum var. Georgia Flame yield, fruit and plant quality characteristics, and soil enzymes (urease and invertase) activity were investigated. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) experiment was conducted at Kentucky State University Research Farm. Four treatments (Soil-Set, Grain-Set, Liqui-Plex, and a control) were replicated four times. Pepper seedlings of 52 d old were planted and drip-irrigated as needed. Mature red fruits were collected at three harvests, weighted, counted, and their quality characteristics (length, width, and wall-thickness) and antioxidants (vitamin C, β-carotene, total phenols), and soluble sugars content were determined. In harvest 1, results revealed that the plants treated with Soil-Set and Grain-Set formulations during the growing season produced the greatest fruit length (12.2 cm), whereas plants treated with Liqui-Plex formulation produced the greatest yield and greatest number of ripe fruits compared to the other treatments. Overall three harvests, results revealed that Liqui-Plex produced the greatest yield, greatest number of ripe fruits, and highest fruit wall thickness. These results could recommended to promote the use of Soil-Set and Liqui-Plex new formulations in growing pepper and other vegetables in the U.S.