UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

THE EFFECTS OF NITROGEN, POTASSIUM AND CHICKEN DUNG ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF CHILLI (Capsicum annuum L.)

GROWN ON A BRIS SOIL

ZAHARAH BT. ARIFFIN

FP 1989 7

THE EFFECTS OF NITROGEN, POTASSIUM AND CHICKEN DUNG

ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF CHILLI (Capsicum annuum L.)

GROWN ON A BRIS SOIL

By

Zaharah bt. Ari ff i n

Thes i s Submitted i n Partial Fulf i lme nt o f the Requi reme nts for the Degree of Mas t e r of Agri cultural S c i e nce

U nive rs i t i P e rtanian Malays ia

Novembe r 1989

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wi she s to expre s s her s incere thanks and

grati tude to her supervisors , Associate Professor Dr . Mohammad

Md . Al i and Associate Prof e s sor Abdul Jabar Mohd . Kamal for

the i r guidance and encouragement throughout her cour s e of s tudy

and the preparat i on of thi s the s i s . Thei r availabi l i ty ,

patience and readiness i n the preparation of thi s the s i s are

invalua bl e and greatly apprec iated .

Special apprec iation i s expressed to Mr . Zul kifly Mohd

Zain , the Director of Tobacco Re s earch Divi s i on , Malays ian

Agr icul tural Research and Devel opment Institute ( MARDI) for his

permi s s i on and c o - operation in identifying the experimental

plots in Central Tobacco Re s earch S tation , Tel ong , Bacho k ,

Kel antan . The author would al s o l i ke t o extend her appreciat i on

to Mr . Ahmad Wahab and the s taff of the Central Analy t ical

Laboratory MARDI for the ir as s i s tance in the analyses of plant

and soil sampl e s . The assistanc e given by Ms . Sal biah Hus in and

Dr . Le e Ghoon Soon in the statistical analys e s of the data are

al so greatly apprec iated . Appreciation is al s o extended to

Mr . Mat Ti Ot hman for the field wor k .

i i

The author i s mo st grateful to MARDI for spons oring her

graduate s tudies at the Universiti Pertanian Mal aysia .

F inally. the author would l i ke to expr e s s her

appreciation to her hus band and children for the i r pat ience and

understanding during her graduat e s tudi e s .

i i i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " i i

LIST O F TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi i i

LIST OF F IGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x i i

ABSTRAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv

CHAPTER

I . INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 1

II. LITERATURE REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Bris Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Physical Proper t i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chemical Proper ti e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

N i trogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Plant Uptake of Nitrogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Effect of Nitrogen on Growth and Yield . . . . . B

Effect of Ni trogen on Qual i ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

i v

Potass ium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pl ant Uptake of Potass ium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Effect of K on G rowth and yield . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Effect of Potass ium on Qual ity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Farmya rd Manure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Effect of Farmyard Manure on the Soil prope rties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Effect of Farmyard Manure on G rowth , Yield and Qual ity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Effect of Farmyard Manure on Plant Nut ri ent Uptake . . ... . . . . . . . . . , .... . ...... . . . .. . . . '" 18

III. MATERIALS AND METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Experimental S i te . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Cul tural Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Nur s e ry P ract i c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Field Practices . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 22

Soil Analys is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Plant Tissue Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 22

Crop Growth and Yie ld Data . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . 23

Experimental Des ign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

v

IV . E XPERIMENTAL RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9

First Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Effect of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Yield , Fruit Number , Plant He ight a nd Days to Floweri ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Effec t of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Chill i Frui t Qual i ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Effec t of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Nutr i e nt Co nt e nt s of the Chill i Leaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3

Second Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 9

Effect of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Yield , Fruit Number , Plant Height a nd Days to Floweri ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Effec t of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Chilli Frui t Qual i ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2

Effec t o f N , K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Nutrie nt Co nte nt s of the Chill i Leaf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5

V . D ISCUSS ION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Effects of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Yield , Fruit Number , Plant He ight a nd Days to Floweri ng . . . . . . . 70

Effec t s of N, K a nd Chicke n Dung o n Chill i Fruit Qual i ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5

Fruit Le ngth, Fruit Diameter a nd Fruit Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5

Soluble Sol ids, Cap saic i n a nd Ascorbic Ac id Co nt e nt s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7

Nitroge n, P , K , Ca and Mg Co nte nt s of Fruit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8

vi

Effects of N , K and Chicken Dung on Chilli Chill i Nutr i ent Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUS IONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

APPENDICES

A Soil Analytical Procedure s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

B Plant Analytical Procedure s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

C Figures 7 and 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

vi i

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1 . Treatme nt Numbers a nd Treatme nt Comb i nati o ns . . . . 2 7

2 . A nalysis of Variance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

3 . The Phys ical Properties of Bris Soil Before Plant i ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4 . Analys i s of Soil for Ammo niacal N, Availabl e P , Exchangeabl e K , Ca , Mg , C . E . C . , Organic Carbo n a nd pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0

5 . F -values of the Mai n Effects a nd Interac t i o ns i n the Analyses o f Variance o n Yi eld, Fruit Number Per Hectare , Plant He ight a nd Days to Floweri ng of the First Chilli Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

6 . Mea n Values for Yield ( tjha ) , Fruit Number Per Hectare , Plant Height ( cm ) a nd Days to Fl oweri ng of the First Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . 3 3

7 . F -Value s of the Mai n Effects a nd Interactions i n the A nalyses o f Variance o n Fruit Le ngth , Fruit Diameter a nd Frui t We ight of the First Chi l l i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6

8 . Mea n Values for Fruit Le ngth ( cm ) , Fruit Diameter (mm) a nd Fruit We ight ( g ) of the First Chilli Crop 3 7

9 . F - Value s of the Mai n Effec t s a nd Interactions i n the Analyses of Varianc e o n Solubl e Sol ids , Capsaic i n a nd Ascorbic Acid Co ntent s of the First Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

10 . Mean Values for Solubl e Sol ids ( % ) , Capsaic i n ( pg/g Dry Weight ) a nd Ascorbic Ac id Co nte nts ( mg/lOOg Fresh Weight ) of the First Chill i Crop . . 40

1 1 . F-Value s of the Mai n Effe cts a nd Interac t i o ns i n the Analyses o f Variance o n N , P , K , Ca a nd Mg Contents i n the Fruit of the First Chill i Crop . . 41

vii i

1 2 . Mean Value s for N , P , K , Ca and Mg Content s ( Pe rc ent Dry We ight ) in the Fruit of the First Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

1 3 . F - Value s of the Main Effec t s and Interact ions in the Analy se s of Variance on N , P , K , Ca and Mg Content s in the Leaf of the F i r st Chill i Crop 46

14 . Mean Value s for N , P , K , Ca and Mg Content s ( Percent Dry Weight ) in the Leaf of the First Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

1 5 . F-Value s of the Main Effects and Interact i ons in the Analyse s of Variance on Yiel d , Fruit Number Per Hectare , Plant He ight and Days to Flowering of the Second Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 0

1 6 . Mean Value s for Yield ( tfha ) , Fruit Number Per Hectare , Plant He ight ( em ) and Days to Flowering of the Second Chilli Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1

1 7 . F - Value s of the Main Effect s and Interact i ons in the Analyse s of Variance on Fruit Length , Fruit Diameter and Frui t We ight of the Second Chilli Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3

1 8 . Mean Value s for Fruit Length ( em ) , Fruit Diameter ( mm ) and Fruit Weight (g) of the S econd Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5

1 9 . F - Value s of the Main Effects and Interac tions in the Analyse s of Variance on Solubl e Solids, Capsaicin and Ascorbic Ac id Content s of the Second Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8

20 . Mean Value s for Solubl e Sol ids ( % ) , Capsaicin ( pg/g Dry Weight ) and A scorbic Ac id Content s ( mg/lOOg Fre sh We ight ) of the Second Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 9

2 1 . F -Values of the Main Effects and Interactions in the Analyse s of Variance on N , P , K , Ca and Mg Content s in the Fruit of the Second Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 0

2 2 . Mean Value s for N , P , K , Ca and Mg Content s ( Percent Dry Weight ) in the Fruit of the Second Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1

ix

2 3 . F - Value s of the Main Eff e cts and Interactions in the Analyses of Variance on N , P, K , Ca and Mg Contents in the Leaf of the Se cond Chilli Crop 66

24 . Mean Values for N , P, K , Ca and Mg Contents ( Pe r cent Dry We ight) in the Leaf of the S e cond Chill i Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7

2 5 . Comparison of Yield ( t/ha ) , Frui t Number Per He ctare and Days to Flowering Be tween the Fir s t and S e cond Crop by Us ing t- te s t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8

x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

1 . Ni trogen x K Interactions for Chill i Plan t Heigh t ( F i r s t Crop ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5

2 . Potassium x Chi cken Dung Intera ctions for Chil l i Frui t K Content ( Firs t Crop ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

3 . Po tass ium x Chi cken Dung Interactions for Chill i Frui t Mg Content ( Firs t Crop ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5

4 . Ni trogen x K Interactions for Chill i Fruit Diame te r ( Se cond Crop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6

5 . Ni trogen x K Inter �ctions for Chil l i Frui t Ca Content ( Se cond Crop ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3

6 . Po tass ium x Chi cken Dung Interactions for Chill i Frui t C a Content ( Se cond Crop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

7 . Monthly Total Rainfall and Maximum / Minimum Temperature s During the Firs t Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

8 . Monthly Total Rainfall and Maximum / Minimum Temperature s During the S e cond Crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 7

x i

Abs t ract of the s i s p resented to the S enat e of Unive r s i t i Pe rtanian Malays ia i n partial ful f il ment of the requir ements

for the degre e of Mast e r of Agr i cul tural S c i ence

THE EFFECTS OF NITROGEN, POTASSIUM AND CHICKEN DUNG ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF CHILLI (Capsicum annuum L . )

GROWN ON A BRIS SOIL

Supe rvisor Co - Supervi s o r Facul ty

by

Zaharah bt. Ariffin

Novembe r 1989

Assoc . Prof . Dr . Mohammad Md . Al i Assoc . P rof . Abdul Jabar Mohd . Kamal Agricul ture

Field expe riments were conducted to determine the

requi rements of N, K and chicken dung f o r chi l l i ( Caps i cum

annuum L.) grown on a b ri s sandy soil . The t reatments that were

evaluated c omprised three l evel s of N ( 100, 200 and 300 kg

Njha) , three l evel s of K ( 100 , 200 and 300 kg Kjha) and two

l eve l s of chicken dung ( 0 and 10 tjha) . The s tudy was conducted

for two consecutive c ropping seasons .

The re we re diffe rences in c rop response pattern for the

two c ropping s easons . In the f i rs t c rop, re sponse to N was

l inearly significant only for fruit number and N , P and K

contents in the l eaf and P contents in the f rui t . In cont ras t ,

re sponse to N in the second c rop was obtained f o r yield , f ruit

number , f ruit weight , N and Ca contents in the fruit and N , K ,

xii

Ca and Mg in the l eaf . Onl y fruit Ca content had a significant

quadratic response to N whi l s t others had l inear response to N

ferti l i zer appl i cation . Between l evel s of appl ied N fertil izer

in the second crop , the second and third l evel of appl icat ion

provided higher yield , yield attributes and f rui t qual i t y

parameters . The differences i n response to N for the two

c ropping s easons are attributed to the soil and weather

conditions .

Appl ication of K fert i l i ze r be yond 1 0 0 kg Kjha had no

favourable influence on yield , growth parameters and frui t

qual i t y . I t onl y increased l eaf K content and decreased l eaf Ca

and Mg content s .

Appl icat i on of chi cken dung at 10 tjha increased the

yie ld , fruit number , plant height , fruit diameter , frui t

we ight , Ca and Mg contents of the l eaf and fruit Ca content .

Unl ike the other parameters , chicken dung appl ication reduced

the number of days to fl owering by as much as ten da ys .

xiii

Abst rak t e s i s yang dikemukakan kepada S enat Unive rs iti Pe rtanian Malays ia bagi memenuhi s ebahagian da ripada

sya rat - sya rat untuk i jazah Mas t e r Sains Pe rtanian

KESAN NITROGEN , KALIUM DAN TAHI AYAH: KE ATAS BASIL DAN KUTU CILI (Capsicum annuum L. ) YANG DITANAH:

DI TANAH BRIS

Ol eh

Zaharah bt. Ariffin

Penyel ia Penyel ia be rsama Fakul t i

Novembe r 1 9 8 9

P rof . Madya D r . Mohammad M d . Al i P rof . Madya Abdul Jaba r Mohd. Kamal Pe rtanian

Pe rcubaan di pe ringkat l a dang telah di jalankan untuk

menentukan kepe rluan N, K dan tahi ayam ke atas cil i ( Caps i cum

annuum L. ) yang ditanam di tanah b ri s be rpas i r . Rawatan-rawatan

yang diuj i mengandungi t iga paras N ( 100 , 200 dan 300 kg N/ha) ,

t iga paras K ( 100 , 200 dan 300 kg K/ha) dan dua pa ras tahi ayam

( 0 dan 1 0 tjha). Kaj ian ini telah di jal ankan bagi dua mus im

tanaman be rturut - turut .

Te rdapat p e rbezaan di dal am pola ge rak balas di antara

dua mus im tanaman . Bagi tanaman pe rtama , ge rak balas t e rhadap

N a dal ah be re rt i secara l inea r hanya untuk bilangan buah dan

kandungan unsur N, P dan K di dal am daun dan P di dal am buah .

Di sebal iknya , ge rak balas t e rhadap N da ri tanaman ke dua

dipe rolehi untuk has i l , bil angan buah, be rat buah, kandungan N

xiv

dan Ca di dalam buah dan kandungan N, K , Ca dan Mg di dal am

daun . Hanya kandungan Ca di dalam buah yang menunjukkan gerak

balas bererti s ecara kuadratik terhadap N manakala parame ter

l ain mempunya i gerak balas l inear . D i antara paras - paras ba ja

N yang digunakan bagi tanaman kedua , penggunaan ba ja pada paras

kedua dan ketiga mengeluarkan has i l , c i r i -c i r i has i l dan mutu

buah yang tinggi . Perbe zaan gerak balas terhadap N di an tara

dua mus im tanaman adalah disebabkan oleh perbe zaan keadaan ­

keadaan tanah dan cuaca .

Penggunaan baja K mel ebihi 100 kg Kjha t idak mempunyai

kesan yang baik ke atas has i 1 , parameter-parameter tumbe saran

dan mutu buah. Baja K hanya menambahkan kandungan K dan

mengurangkan kandungan Ca dan Mg di dalam daun .

Penggunaan baja tahi a yam pad a kadar 1 0 tjha meningkatkan

has i l , bilangan buah , tinggi pokok , gari spusat buah , berat

buah , kandungan Ca dan Mg di dalam daun dan kandungan Ca di

dalam buah . Penggunaan tahi a yam juga mengurangkan bi1angan

hari berbunga sehingga s epuluh har i , tidak s eperti parameter

l ain .

x v

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Chi l l i ( Capsicum annuum L. ) bel ongs to the family

Solanaceae . The chi l l i plant i s a perennial , but often g rown as

an annual . The p roduc tion pe riod range s f rom 2 - 1 2 months ,

depending on the va ri e ty , management and occurrence of

diseases . The pungency nature of chi l l i is due to the p resence

of the alkal oid capsaicin . The f ruit is rich in vitamins such

as vitamins A and C and mine ral s such as K and P .

Chi l l i i s a popula r ingredient in Malaysian cui s ine . The

dome stic c onsumpt i on of f re sh chill ie s in 1 9 8 5 was e s t imated to

be 2 6 , 600 tonnes ( Malays i a , 1 9 8 7 ) . Howeve r, thi s does not

project the real s i tuat ion of domestic demand for it does not

take into cons ide ration the ins ti tutional demands of hotel s and

res taurants . About 20% of the dome s t i c demand was impo rted in

1985 ( Malays ia , 1 9 8 5 ).

The extent of chi l l i cul t ivat i on in Peninsula r Malays ia

( 19 8 5 ) is es timated to be about 1 000 hectare s . The maj o r

growing a reas a re d i s t ributed i n the s tate s of Kelantan ( 2 3 0

ha ) , Pe rak ( 20 3 ha ) , Pahang ( 1 2 6 ha ) , Johore ( 9 7 ha ) and

1

2

Terengganu ( 9 3 ha) ( Malays ia , 1 9 8 1 ) . In Kel antan , i t i s mainly

grown on sandy bri s ( Beach Ridge Interspersed With Swal e s ) and

r iverine alluvium soil s .

Bri s i s a type of soi l deve loped on sandy coastal

deposits and hence the charac teristic feature is its sandy

textur e . Bri s s oi l s are e s timated to be about 1 6 2 , 000 hec tares

exclus ively occurring in the east coast of Peninsular Malays ia

(Ye oh, 1 9 8 6 ) . The hectarage for Ke1antan i s approximately

1 7 , 8 1 3 hec tare s . Bris soil is generally considered as a probl em

soil because of its poor phys ical and chemical properties . It

has poor wate r holding capaci ty , high nutrient losses due to

l eaching , high surface temperature , low nutrient reserve and

l ow organic matter c ontent .

Traditionally , bri s soil s have been cul t ivated with

cashew and coconut . Cul t ivat ion of miscellaneous fruit tree

crops have been attempted previously but with l imited success .

However , currently , with proper soil management technique s ,

high value crops such as chilli, cabbage and mustard can be

succes sfully grown.

Meticul ous fertil izer management t echnique s are required

for producing high yield and good qual i ty chill i on bri s soil s .

Thi s i s true for N and K which directly influence growth ,

3

maturi ty, yiel d and fruit qual ity . The use of chicken dung is

al s o important s ince i t can impro ve the physical and chemical

properties of the s oil . Cl imatic condi tions particul arly

rainfal l during the growing period al so influence the crop

growth .

Numerous s tudies on the nutritional r equirements of

chilli grown on various other soil type s ha ve been reported

( Ng , 1978 and S troehl e in and Oebke r , 1 9 7 9 ). Howe ver , there i s

a lack of knowl e dge o n the nutrient requirements of chil l i

grown o n bris s o i l with high l eaching l osses o f N and K . The

use of organi c manure s such as chicken dung woul d serve to

amel iorate the poor phys i cal c onditions of bris soils and to

compl ement as a fertil izer .

Thi s the s i s was confine d t o a s tudy us ing N , K and

chicken dung for chi l l i pro duction in a bri s soil . The

o bj e ct i ve s of the study were to determine the effe c t of N , K

and chicken dung on:

1 . Yiel d and crop growth parameters such as plant

he ight and number of days to fl owe ring of chill i .

2 . Frui t qual i ty of chill i , and

3 . Nutrient uptake by chil l i .

CHAPTER I I

LITERATURE REVIEW

Bris Soil

B ri s is a t ype of soil de vel ope d on sandy c oastal

depos i ts and it is charact e ri z e d by its sandy texture . The

parent mate rials are made up of marine sand deposits . I t can be

di vi de d into s e ven s e ri e s bas e d on the i r texture and drainage

clas s , namel y; Baging , Rompin , Rudua , Jambu , Melawi , Rus ila and

Rhu Tapai ( Yeoh , 1 9 8 6 ) . The pe rcentage of coars e and me dium

sands for Baging , Rudua and Rhu Tapai is 90 . 7 , 8 6 . 2 and 20 . 0% ,

respec t i vely ( Ye oh , 1 9 8 6 ) . S po dic ho ri zons we re not found in

Baging , Rompin and Rus ila s e rie s . The depth of spodic horizons

f rom the soil surface f o r Rhu Tapa i , Rudua and Jambu we re l e s s

than 50 cm , 50 to 1 0 0 cm and g reat e r than 1 50 cm , respec t i vely .

The spodic hori z on i s an alluvial ho ri z on in which act i ve

o rganic matter and amorphous oxi de s of aluminium and i ron ha ve

precipi tate d. The depth of the spodic hori z ons a re di re ctly

related to the depth of water table from the soil surface.

4

5

Physical Properties

Bris soil normally has very l ow silt and clay contents .

This make s bri s soil very infertile both in terms o f nutrient s

and water-hol ding capac ity . The mean capillary rise for bris

soil ranges from 8 cm for Baging series to 25 cm in Rhu Tapai

( Yeoh , 1986 ) . The s e value s largely depend on the percentage of

the c oarse , me dium and f ine sand.

The surface temperature recorde d by Abdul Wahab ( 1 984 )

was about 4 5°C during the dry months of February and March .

Chemical Properties

The cation exchange capac i ty for bris s oil i s general ly

l ow ( l e s s than 5 meq /lOO g soil ) c ompar e d to normal soil ( 5 to

20 meq/lOO g soil ) . Thi s indicates that bris s oil has a very

poor nutrient holding capac ity . As a resul t , the appl i e d

nutri ents t o the soil are eas ily l e ache d . S tudi e s showe d that

application of organic matter such as POME (Palm Oil Mill

Effluent ) increase d the C . E . C . of the soil (Abdul lah e t al . ,

1 9 88 ) . Exchangeabl e bases were found t o be l e s s than 1 meq/lOO

g soil for mos t of the cations .

6

Bris soil has l ow nutrient reserve and high l eaching rate

of nutrients . Depending on the soil serie s , Biot et al . ( 1 9 8 2 )

report e d that the percentages of C, N and free Fe from the top

soil ( 0 - 1 5 cm) range d from 1 . 08 to 8 . 71 , 0 . 06 to 0 . 30 and 0 . 1 6

to 0 . 18 , respectively . The C . E . C. , Ca , Mg , Na and K range d from

0 . 56 to 3 . 60 , 0 . 03 to 0 . 7 3 , 0 . 03 to 0 . 39 , 0 . 02 to 0 . 0 7 and 0 . 02

to 0 . 0 5 meq /100g soil , respect ively . The soil was ne i ther a c i d

nor alkaline and the p H value s range d from 4 . 5 to 5. 4 .

Conduc tivity reading of bris soil was extremely low ( l e s s

than 1 3 . 8 umhos /cm ) (Ye oh , 1 9 8 6 ) . Thi s indicates that the soil

was severely leache d and containe d very l ittle amount of

s oluble ions . Thi s i s due to the eluviat ion of s olubl e ions and

micros i ze particles of organic matter from the upper hori zons .

Nitrogen

Plant Uptake of Nitrogen

In sweet peppe r , Thomas and Hie1man ( 1 964 ) reported that

the amount of N in the l eaf tis sue was directly related to the

amount of N appl i e d . The critical l evel of N in the leaf tissue

was about 4% . Thi s value was higher than the critical l evel

reporte d by Miller ( 19 61 ) . He al so observe d that N deficiency

7

symptoms occurred in plants having a total N content of l e s s

than 1 . 2 6 % . The percentage o f N i n the bel l pepper frui t was

found to be 1 . 58% . For the l ow N plant s , the fruit s were

somewhat chlorotic although they would ha ve been salabl e from

the col our stand-point .

The N c ontent in the l eaf t is sue appeared to increase at

the ini t ial growth s tage and gradually decreased at frui ting .

Mil l e r et al . ( 1 9 7 9 ) reported that the concentrat i on of N in

capsicum fruit was highes t at fruit set and then decl ined as it

matured . Maximum rate of growth and the uptake rate for total

N and fruit N were found to be greate s t between 56 and 70 days

after t ransplanting .

Huett ( 19 8 6 ) working on tomato reported that appl ication

of N increased l eaf , s tem, and frui t N c oncentrations and leaf

and fruit Mg concentrations but reduced frui t K c oncentrations .

At the t ime of har ve s t , N appl ication resul ted in a sl ight

decrease in Ca , Mg, P and K c oncentrations in the vegetati ve

t i s sue s .

Ti s sue analys is carried out by Vimala e t al . ( 1 98 5)

showed that the N concentration in chill i was highe s t in the

leave s ( 4 . 6 6 % ) fol l owed by frui ts ( 3 . 14% ) and stems and

branches ( 1 . 6 7% ) . On the other hand , the remo val of N was

8

highes t from the fruit ( 9 . 11 g/plant ) fol l owe d by s tem and

petioles ( 2 .90 g/plant ) and leave s ( 1 . 8 5 g/plant ) .

Effect of Nitrogen on Growth and Yield

Nitrogen i s one of the mos t important el ement required

for a normal plant growth . It i s important for chl orophyll and

protein synthes i s . As a resul t , N defic iency i s normally

relate d with pal e green col our due to l ack of chlorophyll ,

s tunte d growth as a resul t of r e duce d cell di vi sion and cell

enlargement due to l ack of protein synthe s i s . Nitrogen def i ­

c iency al so del aye d maturi ty and caus e d premature death of

lower leave s .

In bell peppe r , Mil l e r ( 1 9 6 1 ) point e d out that N def i ­

ciency was characterized by s tunt e d , weak growth with necrotic

l ea ve s . Vi sual defic iency symptoms occurre d in plant s having a

total N of 1 . 26 % or l e s s in the vegetati ve t i s sue . S imilar

symptoms were obse r ve d by Maynard e t al . ( 1 9 6 2 ) . Their findings

showed that N ferti l i zation increased flower product i on but did

not increase fruit set . With respe c t to tomato , Huet t ( 1 9 8 6 )

observe d that N defic iency del aye d fruit s e t and re duce d l eaf ,

s tem and root de vel opment .

9

On the other hand, exc e s s of N exten s i vely increased

plant height and l odging but delayed maturi ty in some pl ants .

According to Mil l e r ( 1 9 6 1 ), bell pepper frui ts produced on the

high N plants wer e shor t , thi ck , rounded and gl o s sy dark green

in col our . Knavel ( 1 9 7 7 ) , report ing on the influence of N on

pepper transplant , obs e r ved that plants grown on higher N

l e vel s showed l arge r , darker and hea vier fresh we ight of green

l eave s and l arger fruit s but produced fewer number of matured

fruits . He further indicated that har ve s ting was more difficul t

because of the abundance of fol iage and taller plant s .

Experiments carried out by S troehl ein and Oebker ( 19 7 9 )

indicated that N appl ied a t high rate ( 2 80 kgjha ) on chill i

grown on loamy soil de layed frui t s e t . Moderate rates of N

( 100 - 1 50 kgjha ) tended t o produce more de s i rabl e type of plants

and produced the highe st yield . Sundstrom e t �l . ( 1 984) showed

that the yield of red pepper grown in sandy ol i vier s i l t l oam

( 0 . 41 % organic matte r ) increased with the increase in N when

the rate appl ied was increased from 0 to 1 1 2 kgjha . On f ine

sandy loam, Thomas and He i lman (1964) found that the highest

pepper yield was obtained at 1 3 5 kgjha N . Locascio et al .

( 1 9 8 1 ) stated that on sandy soil s , marketabl e frui t yield of

chill i inc reased as N was inc reased from 140 to 220 kg/ha . A

further increase to 308 kg Njha reduced the yield sharply ,

probably due to the s o lubl e sal t injury . Recent s tudies by