Effect of Different Spacing on the Growth and Yield of California Wonder Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum) on Sandy Loam Soil in the Gambia
Landing Jadama
Gambia College Brikama Campus, School of Agriculture, West Coast Region, Brikama, The Gambia.
Pa Tamba Jammeh
Agricultural Engineering Service, Department of Agriculture, Yundum Agriculture Station, The Gambia.
Alhagie K. Cham *
Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Faculty of Agronomy, Street Francisco Villa S/N, Col. Ex Hacienda El Canada, Gral. Escobedo, Nuevo León, P. C. 66054, Mexico.
Idrissa Diedhiou
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Programa Multidisciplinario de Posgrado en Ciencias Ambientales (PMPCA), Avenida Manuel Nava 201, 2º piso, Zona Universitaria, CP: 78000, San Luis Potosí, México.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Optimum plant spacing ensures proper growth and development of crops resulting in maximum crop yield and economic use of land. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different planting spacing on the growth and yield of California Wonder Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum) on sandy loam soil of The Gambia, from January to May 2018. The design used for this experiment was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments (T1: 50 x 50 cm, T2: 50 x 40 cm, T3: 50 x 30 cm and T4: 50 x 20 cm) and three repetitions and the parameter of plant height, stem girth, number of leaves, fruit length, fruit circumference, individual fruit weight, yield per plant, and yield per hectare. The plant spacing had a significant effect on plant height, stem girth and the number of leaves of the growth parameters, whereas for the yield parameters, individual fruit weight, yield per plant and total biomass yield were found significantly in treatments with the highest plant spacing (50 x 50 cm). In conclusion, wider plant spacing (50 x 50 cm) boosts the plants to develop the maximum number of branches and fruits.
Keywords: Fruit, number, parameters, pepper, crop.