EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SOIL MIXTURES ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF CHILI FOR ROOFTOP GARDENING

Abstract

The pot experiment was carried out at Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur from August to November, 2023 to study the effect of different soil mixture on the growth and yield of chili in rooftop garden. The experiment was organized in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 7 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments were T1 Control (100% soil), T2 = 70% Soil + 20% vermicompost (VC) + 5% sand + 5% ash + 2.0 g kg-1 bone meal powder, T3 = 65% Soil + 25% VC + 5% sand + 5% ash + 1.5 g kg-1 bone meal powder, T4 = 70% Soil + 20% VC + 5% sand + 5% ash + 1.5 g kg-1 bone meal powder, T5 = 60% Soil + 20% VC + 15% sand + 5% ash +2.0 g kg-1 bone meal powder; T6 = 60% Soil + 25% VC + 10% sand + 5% ash + 1.0 gkg-1 bone meal powder, T7 = 60% Soil + 25% VC + 5% sand + 10% ash + 1.0 g kg-1 bone meal powder. Data were taken on growth and yield contributing characters were statistically analyzed for evaluation of the treatment effects. All the parameters were influenced significantly by the application of different soil mixture combinations. At 90 DAT the longest plant (83 cm) was found from T5, while the shortest plant (65.33 cm) was found from T1. The maximum number of leaves per plant (174.33) was found in T3, while the minimum leaves number per plant (125.67) was found in T1. The maximum number of branches per plant (11.33) was recorded from T2 while the minimum branches per plant (8) was recorded from T1. The highest diameter of stem (1.02 cm) was recorded from T3 while the lowest diameter of stem (0.73 cm) was recorded from T1. The maximum number of fruit per plant (36.67) was found in T3 while the minimum number of fruit per plant (9.00) was recorded from T1.The highest individual fruit weight, fruit length and diameter of fruit (4.19 g, 7.33 cm and 1.31 cm respectively) were recorded from T3 while the lowest individual fruit weight, fruit length (3.22 g, 6.14 cm respectively) were found in T1 and the lowest diameter of fruit (1.14 cm) was found in T6. The highest yield (156.22 g plant-1) was recorded from T3 and the lowest yield (29.07 g plant-1) was recorded from T1. Among the treatment combinations, the treatment which was applied as a mixture of 65% Soil + 25% VC + 5% Sand + 5% ash +1.5 g kg-1 bone meal found to be the most suitable regarding growth, yield contributing traits of Chili for rooftop production, though some other combinations were statistically very similar to this treatment.