Unveiling the Impact of Salinity Levels on Chilli: Growth, Yield and Quality Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of salinity on the growth, yield, and quality and disease infestation on Chilli. A factorial randomized block design with three replications was implemented, consisting of combinations of four salinity levels (0 dS/m, 3 dS/m, 6 dS/m, and 9 dS/m) and three genotypes (Surajmukhi, AVT-2 2019 CHIHYB-5, and AVT-2 2019 CHIHYB-6). The purpose of the study is to evaluate the plants in terms of various parameters such as plant height (at 30, 60, and 90 days after transplanting), number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, fruit yield per plant, fruit yield per hectare, total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid content, chlorophyll content, and disease infestation. Among all the genotypes, AVT-2 2019 CHIHYB-6 exhibited superior performance when grown under a salinity level of 0 dS/m. It demonstrated desirable plant height at 30, 60, and 90 days after transplanting (30.06 cm, 32.50 cm, and 78.00 cm, respectively), along with a higher number of fruits per plant (40), average fruit weight (94.86 g), fruit yield per plant (1769.20 g), fruit yield per hectare (65.52 tonn/ha), TSS (6.16 Brix), ascorbic acid content (113 mg/100g), chlorophyll content (34.4 mg/m2), and disease resistant (99%). Significant differences were observed among genotypes and their interactions concerning salinity levels across all attributes investigated.