Effect of Soil Application of Organic Amendments on Flowering and Yield Parameters of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

The present investigation was conducted at Department of Plant physiology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period from January 2023 to May 2023 with an objective to evaluate the effect of soil application of organic amendments on flowering and yield parameters of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). Research was conducted to identify the best organic soil amendment suited to the chilli variety, Vellayani Athulya. Work consisted of 8 treatments and 3 replications with the design simple CRD. The treatments were T1-Control 1 [KAU Organic POP (OPOP) (2017) with FYM (25 t ha-1)], T2-Control 2 [KAU POP (2016)], T3-FYM substituted with vermicompost (12.5 t ha-1) as per KAU OPOP (2017), T4 -FYM substituted with goat manure (1t ha-1) as per KAU OPOP (2017), T5 -T1+ Rice husk biochar (0.5% w/w), T6- T2+ Rice husk biochar (0.5% w/w), T7- T3+ Rice husk biochar (0.5% w/w ) and T8- T4+ Rice husk biochar (0.5% w/w). The results revealed that the treatment T8-FYM substituted with goat manure (1t ha-1) as per KAU Organic POP(OPOP) (2017)+ rice husk biochar (0.5% w/w) resulted in better flowering and yield attributes in chilli. Also the same treatment showed superior performance in terms of number of flowers plant-1 (44.67), days to first flowering (22 days), days to first harvest (41 days), percentage of fruit setting (64.18%), number of fruits plant-1 (28.67), fruit length (15.30cm), fruit girth (9.30cm), fruit weight (17.70 g fruit -1) and yield (507.41 g plant-1). Thus, the combined application of goat manure (1t ha-1) as per KAU OPOP + rice husk biochar (0.5% w/w) proved to be a better soil organic amendment for chilli variety Vellayani Athulya.