Comparative performance of King chilli ( Capsicum chinense Jacq.) under naturally ventilated polyhouse and open field conditions for yield and earliness under agroclimatic conditions of Meghalaya

Abstract

A field study was carried out in King chilli (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) to evaluate the comparative performance of local lines viz., ML-1, ML-2, ML-3, ML-5, ML-6 and ML-7 under two growing environments viz., naturally ventilated polyhouse and open field conditions on the basis of their yield and other horticultural traits. The horticultural traits viz., no. of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit breadth and average fruit weight was recorded higher under naturally ventilated polyhouse comparative to open field condition for all the six lines evaluated under the study. Early flowering was observed under naturally ventilated polyhouse cultivation resulting in early harvest in all the lines studied. Extended period of harvesting was also observed inside naturally ventilated polyhouse conditions for all the lines evaluated. The fruit yield per plant was also higher inside naturally ventilated polyhouse for all the lines evaluated. It was observed that the per centage increase in yield per plant under naturally ventilated polyhouse condition is highest in the line ML-7 (138.36%) followed by ML-3 (134.67%) and ML-5 (133.75%) over open field conditions. The line ML-5 (1.87kg) and ML-3 (1.76kg) recorded the highest yield inside naturally ventilated polyhouse. The B:C ratio for these highest yielding lines inside naturally ventilated polyhouse is 2.86 (ML-5) and 2.63 (ML-3). It was also observed that the line ML-6 perform significantly well under open field conditions as compare to the other lines under study. From the present study it can be concluded that cultivation of King chilli inside naturally ventilated polyhouse resulted in higher economic and quality yield with extended period of harvest. Thus, under the agroclimatic conditions of Meghalaya with unprecedented rainfall and extended monsoon, naturally ventilated polyhouse cultivation of King chilli may promise quality yield with higher net returns and may be popularized amongst the farmers of the region.