Effect of Soil pH on Peppers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6911/WSRJ.202609_12(9).0015Keywords:
Soil pH; Peppers; Growth Traits; Fruit Quality.Abstract
Soil pH acts as a core environmental factor restricting crop growth and development, which alters the availability of mineral nutrients in soil and thereby affects plant vigor, yield and fruit quality. In this study, three soil treatments including acidic (pH=5.5), neutral (pH=7.1) and alkaline (pH=8.1) were set up to explore their influences on the growth, yield and fruit quality of line peppers. A total of 15 pepper seedlings were adopted for the 4-month outdoor cultivation experiment, with 5 replicates per treatment. Vegetative growth indicators, fruit setting quantity and fruit quality parameters were systematically measured. The findings showed that the number of fruits per plant was highest (14.2±0.96) when peppers were grown in neutral soil, with balanced growth of the plants. The mineral content, vitamin C and capsaicin of fruit all achieved their highest levels. Plants grown in acidic soil flowered and fruited earlier, and fruits contained more soluble sugar. However, root growth was limited and the percentage of fruits was higher. Peppers grew taller and had more leaves when planted in alkaline soil, exhibiting excessive vegetative growth. But the yield of fruit per plant was significantly reduced to 7.5±0.68. Fruit nutritional indicators were significantly reduced and fruits tasted weak and bland. There were significant differences between the three groups according to one‑way ANOVA (p<0.001).
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