Author : Nejib Turki and Karima Kouki Khalfallah

Four types of organic amendments were evaluated on two varieties, Chargui and starter , of pepper (Capsicum annuum L. ) under greenhouse. Six treatments were given : cattle manure (DM) to 55T/Ha , German commercial compost (CG ) 1 T / Ha , mixture of 27.5 t DM 0.5 + T CG / Ha (MDMC ) , French commercial compost (CF) , Tunisian commercial compost (CT) and control (T0). Organic amendments allow to improve pepper growing, fruit set, yield in number and weight and earliness . The MDM , DM and CG led to the best yields in weight and number of fruit Chargui variety, with a maximum improvement of 38%in the fruit number and 40% in yield under CT compared to the control . CT, DM and MDMC generated the best yields for the starter variety, with a maximum improvement in the fruit number of 34% and 51% in yield of MDMC compared to control. The earliness of pepper was enhanced by organic amendments with a maximum of 64 % of DM compared to control for the variety Chargui and 61 % of CT versus control for var. starter. The behavior of pepper crop under organic amendments on plant height , flowering and fruit quality remains dependent on the varietal response . Amendment by different types of organic matter did not cause effects on stem diameter, number of bifurcation, leaf area and plant dry matter of pepper.

Keywords: Compost, organic amendment, pepper, crop parameters, yield, earliness.

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.4,No.3 (June- 2014)