Evaluation of Jalapeño Peppers Under Different Shade Cloth
Abstract and Figures
The light quality management promises to provide a new technological alternative to horticultural crops. Although plants utilize the full spectrum of visible light, some colors of light have more important applications than others. The objective of this study was to investigate the growth response and the yield of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum ‘Jalapeño’) to different colored shade netting in the field condition in Homestead, Florida. The experimental monitored the response of Hot pepper Jalapeño in the shade house structures (1m X 1m X 1m) with full covering of Aluminet 50%, White 30%, Red 30%, Pearl 30%, Black 50% and control (without cover). To monitor plant growth under different treatments, the height, stem diameter and leaf chlorophyll index were measured during the cycle. The dry matter and net photosynthesis and were conducted to characterize the hot pepper response too. The stem diameter and plant height increased over time, showing typical plant growth and development. In both variables, the control treatment showed the worst values. The chlorophyll index was not consistent to indicate any effect of the treatments. The dry matter was not influenced by the treatments. However, the highest values of net photosynthesis and number of fruits were observed in the Aluminet 50%.
Key words: Capsicum annum, Jalapeño, cladding, colored films
Figures - uploaded by Bruce Schaffer
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Bruce Schaffer
Content may be subject to copyright.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Light quality (sunlight spectrum) management promises to provide a new technological alternative to sustainable production in horticultural crops. However, little information exists about physiological and technological aspects on light quality management in fruit crops. Sunlight composition changes widely in orchard canopies, inducing different plant responses in fruit trees mediated by phytochrome (PHY) and cryptochrome (CRY) activity. High proportion of far-red (FR) in relation to red (R) light increases shoot elongation, while blue (B) light induces shoot dwarfng. Red and ultraviolet (UV) light increases fruit skin anthocyanin synthesis, while FR light shows a negative effect. Red and B light can also alter leaf morpho-physiological traits in fruit trees, such palisade thickness, stomatal aperture, and chlorophyll content. Besides improvement of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) availability, the use of refective flms improves UV and R light proportion, with positive effects on PHY mediated-responses (fruit color, fruit weight, shoot growth), as reported in apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch), and sweet cherry (Prunus avium [L.] L.). Colored nets widely alter spectral light composition with effects on plant growth, yield, and quality in apple, kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa [A. Chev.] C.F. Liang & A.R. Ferguson), peach, and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) orchards. Mechanisms of colored nets seem to be associated to photosynthetic and morphogenetic process regulated by PAR availability, R/B light proportion, and CRY activity. Alteration of light quality affects signifcantly fruit tree plant responses and could be a useful tool for sustainable (e.g. lower use of chemicals and labor-practices) management of yield and quality in modern orchards.
A capillary-irrigation system using porous membrane with different negative pressures was successfully developed and tested by growing jalapeno hot peppers. The water drawn into the root zone from this irrigation system was controlled exclusively by the plant water demand. In order to find a moderately negative pressure that is suitable for jalapeno peppers, three different negative pressure irrigations namely -0.2, -0.4, and -0.6 m were tested and compared against a conventional manual irrigation. There was no significant difference in number of leaves, plant height, and leaf area between -0.2 m negative pressure and the manual irrigation treatment, but they were significantly lower in the -0.4 and -0.6 m treatments. A similar trend was also observed for pepper biomass yield. Moreover, pepper fruits were qualitatively analyzed for their hotness or pungency level using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that the hotness of fruits in water-starved plants were greater than in the plants receiving sufficient water. A 35% reduction in water consumption was observed in the -0.2 m treatment compared to manual irrigation. Overall, the -0.2 m capillary-irrigation had better performance in terms of growth and yield parameters when compared to manual irrigation while saving a substantial amount of water. The capillary-irrigation technique offers a precise water delivery with minimal labor requirement which is suitable for use in greenhouse pepper production and in areas with limited water supply and scarce labor. © 2010 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
The jalapeño is derived from the Capsicum genus of the family Solanaceae. Jalapeños are members of a diverse group, which also include ancho poblano, cayenne, serrano, Anaheim, banana, Asian, habanero, and Hungarian wax peppers. Hot peppers are classified by their heat and shape. The heat of the pepper comes from the chemical compound capsaicin, which is measured by the Scoville scale. This 8-page fact sheet is a guide of jalapeño and other hot pepper varieties used in Florida was written by Monica Ozores-Hampton and Gene McAvoy, and published by the UF Department of Horticultural Sciences, October 2014.
While a plant utilizes the full spectrum of visible light, some colours of light have more important applications than others. The aim of this study was to evaluate the responses of bell pepper plants grown under coloured covers. Bell pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) were grown hydroponically in a greenhouse in Tunja, Colombia, under different light quality regimes that were obtained with polypropylene films (yellow, green, blue, transparent, red, and a control without a plastic film cover). Conventional growth indices were calculated or measured as response variables. All of the evaluated parameters were influenced in a different ways by the colour of the covers, e.g. the leaf area was higher under the green and blue covers. The highest water uptake was found in the plants grown under the blue film. Plants under the yellow cover presented higher water use efficiency than the other treatments. The chlorophyll content index was higher under the blue, green and transparent covers. Based on these results, a coloured cover that favors most of the growth indices of plants cannot be selected; however, according to the needs of growers, the supplemental light quality can be used to achieve a specific effect.
To study effects of light quality on the growth of plants, lettuce and spinach were grown for 15 days by water culture in the growth cabinet in which white, red, yellow, green and blue lamps were used as artificial light sources and two levels of light intensities were maintained at 250 and 125μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ in photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD).
When lettuce were grown under high light intensity, leaf burning occurred under green light 3 to 4 days after treatment. Spinach, however, did not show such a injury. Both crops grown under red and yellow light showed downward curling of the leaf lamina until 5 to 6 days after treatment. The top dry weight of lettuce plant grown under yellow, green and blue light of high or low light intensity was 20 to 30% lower than that grown under white. Under high light intensity, tops dry weight of spinach under white and red light was highest and that under green light was lowest. Under low light intensity, 50 to 70% less top dry weight was obtained under yellow, green and blue light compared with white light.
Area, transpiration, RGR, NAR and SLA of leaves were also affected with light quality. Effects of light quality, however, were different in light intensity and/or vegetable plants. The relations between plant grown and light quality were discussed in the report.
Bell and Chili Peppers. AgMRC (Agricultural Marketing resource Center
- D Burden
- D Huntrods
Burden, D. and D. Huntrods. 2012. Bell and Chili Peppers. AgMRC
(Agricultural Marketing resource Center), Iowa State University.
Jalapeño and Other Hot Pepper Varieties for Florida. Series HS1241, Department of Horticultural Science
- M Ozores-Hampton
- G Mcavoy
Ozores-Hampton, M. and G. McAvoy. 2014. Jalapeño and Other Hot
Pepper Varieties for Florida. Series HS1241, Department of Horticultural Science, UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Stamps, R. 2009. Use of colored shade netting in horticulture. HortScience 44(2):239-241.