EFFECT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER AND HARDENING SEEDLINGS ON FRUIT YIELD AND YIELD RELATED TRAITS OF HOT PEPPER (Capsicum annum L.) AT AGARFA, SOUTH - EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Hot pepper is an important spice and vegetable crop in Ethiopia, but its productivity is low due to poor agronomic practices including inappropriate nutrient supply and poor seedling management before transplanting. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted on the demonstration field at Agarfa Agricultural Technical Vocational and Education Training (ATVET) College in Bale Zone, south-eastern Ethiopia to evaluate the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and hardening seedlings on fruit yield and yield related traits of hot pepper (Capsicum annum L.) under supplementary irrigation. The experiment consisted of factorial combinations of five levels of nitrogen fertilizer rate (0, 23, 46, 69, 92 kg N ha-1), and four levels of hardening seedlings (No hardening, hardening one week before transplanting, hardening two weeks before transplanting, hardening three weeks before transplanting). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that the main effect of nitrogen application of 92 kg N ha-1 had the tallest plants (58.58 cm), highest numbers of primary branches (6.32), longest fruit (8.91 cm), highest fresh red fruit weight (16.59 g/fruit), dry red fruit weight (2.34 g/fruit). Nitrogen at this level improved plant height and numbers of primary branches by 25% and 37%, respectively compared to the control treatment Application of 69 kg N ha-1 led to the production of the highest dry mater content (14.70%), marketable yield (1.92 t ha-1), total dry fruit yield (1.94 t ha-1). Nitrogen at this level improved marketable yield and total dry fruit yield by about 67% and 62%, respectively compared to the control. Similarly, the main effect of hardened seedlings one week before transplanting resulted in the lowest number of days for 50% flowering (74.53 days) and the highest percent of field establishment (90.27%), tallest plants (55.06 cm) highest number of primary branches (5.88), number of fruits (29.72), longest fruit (8.5 cm), marketable yield (1.67 t ha-1) and total dry fruit yield (1.71 t ha-1). The interaction effect of nitrogen rate and hardening seedling had significant effects on total red fresh fruit yield and fruit width where the combined application rate of 69 kg N ha-1 and hardening seedlings one week before transplanting produced about 127% of total red fresh fruit yield and 64% more fruit width compared to the control and resulted the highest net benefits (80340 ETB ha-1). Therefore, application of 69 kg N ha-1 with hardening seedlings one week before transplanting is economically beneficial in the study area.