Effect of Chlormequat chloride on cultivation of capsicum (<em>Capsicum annuum</em> L.)

Abstract

Yield reduction in Capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.), which occurs due to physiological and hormonal imbalances in the plants, particularly under unfavourable environments, is one of the main problems in Sri Lanka. Plant growth regulator has the potential to reduce fruit and flower drops. A preliminary experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Crop Research and Development Institute at Gannoruwa to determine the effect of plant growth regulators on capsicum cultivation. Chlormequat chloride was used as plant growth regulator and sprayed as foliar spray at one (T2), two (T3), and five (T4) weeks after transplanting and one, two and five weeks after transplanting (T5), respectively. The plants sprayed with water served as the control (T1). Treatments were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block design. There was no significant difference (P&gt;0.05) among tested treatments in plant height, chlorophyll content, number of days taken to 50% flowering, number of days taken to first fruit and the number of flowers per branch, average canopy width and number of fruits per plant. All treatments had the first flower at 34 days after transplanting. Further, marketable, non-marketable, and total capsicum yields were statistically the same in all tested treatments. Therefore, the present study concluded that applying chlormequat chloride at different time intervals in different growth stages did not positively impact the growth and yield of capsicum.