EVALUATION OF HYT BIOFERTILIZERS AND BIOCHAR ON THE GROWTH CHARACTERS AND YIELD OF HOT PEPPER

ABSTRACT

The research was conducted to investigate the effects of High Yield Technology (HYT) biofertilizers, biochar and inorganic fertilizer on the growth and yield of pepper. The studies were conducted at the University of Ghana Forest and Horticultural Crops Research Centre (FOHCREC), Kade from May 2011 to April 2012. The experiment consisted of three factors namely, HYT, Biochar and inorganic fertilizer at three levels each (HYT: 100%, 50% and 0%); Biochar: 7t/ha, 3.5t/ha and 0t/ha; inorganic fertilizer: 100%, 50% and 0% of recommended rate). There were twenty seven treatments with three replications arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Data were collected on plant height, plant diameter and leaf number, fruit number per plant and yield (t/ha) as well as soil chemical and microbial properties. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that application of HYT biofertilizers and biochar significantly affected plant height, stem girth, number of leaves and fruit yield and plant nutrients. The results revealed that 3.5t/ha to 7t/ha biochar + 50-100% HYT biofertilizer combination increased the yield of hot pepper. Microbial count before and after planting also showed significant increased with the application of biofertilizers.