NITROGEN REQUIREMENTS OF DRIP-IRRIGATED PEPPERS

The response of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to five rates of N fertigation between 0 and 336 kg N/ha was studied at two drip-irrigated sites [Univ. of California, Davis (UCD) and West Side Field Station, Five Points (WSFS)] in California in 1992. Nitrogen application, in the form of a urea : ammonium nitrate mixture (UN-32), was applied in eight (WSFS) or 10 (UCD) equal weekly increments, beginning after transplant establishment. At both sites, fruit yield and mean fruit size peaked at 252 kg N/ha, with additional N retarding crop productivity. Maximum fruit yield was obtained by fertility treatments that maintained petiole NO3-N concentration >5000 mug.g-1 through the early fruit bulking period. Two techniques for monitoring crop N status, designed for field use, were evaluated. There was a close relationship between the NO3-N concentration of fresh petiole extracts, as measured by a portable, battery-operated nitrate selective electrode, and dry tissue analyzed by conventional laboratory technique (r2 = 0.89). Relative chlorophyll concentration, measured nondestructively by a dual-wavelength leaf absorbance meter, was poorly correlated with whole-leaf N concentration (r2 = 0.55). However, the ratio of such chlorophyll readings for a treatment compared to an in-field reference of known N sufficiency (252 kg.ha-1 treatment) showed promise as a technique for identifying N deficiency.