COMPARISON OF PLANT ESTABLISHMENT METHOD, TRANSPLANT, OR DIRECT SEEDING ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF BELL PEPPER

Transplants produced with overhead or subirrigation and plants from direct seeding using prime or nontreated 'Jupiter' bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seeds were evaluated for growth and yield in the yield for 3 years. Early in development, overhead-irrigated (OI) transplants had more basal root elongation than subirrigated (SI) transplants; however, root growth differences caused by irrigation systems in the greenhouse were minimized during late ontogeny in the field. Basal, lateral, and taproot dry weights accounted for 81%, 15%, and 4% of the total for transplants and 25%, 57%, and 18% of the total for direct-seeded plants. Direct-seeded plants maintained a more-balanced root, stem, leaf, and fruit dry matter partitioning than transplants, which allocated more dry weight (per unit of root growth) to stems, leaves, and fruits. Over all seasons, transplants exhibited significantly higher and earlier yields than direct-seeded pepper plants, and total fields were similar between SI and OI transplants and between primed and nontreated seeds.