Impact of Training System and Fruit Load on Seed Yield, Quality and Economics of Seed Production in Bell Pepper (Capsicum Annuum L)

Effect of training system and fruit load was studied on seed yield, quality and economics of capsicum using cv Solan Bharpur in the Department of Seed Science and Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh during kharif season of 2018. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (factorial) in the open field and in completely randomized design (factorial) in the laboratory. The treatment combination Tr₂FL₂ (Two-stem training with ten fruits/plant) proved superior in terms of number of seeds/fruit (187.77), 1,000-seed weight (6.21 g), germination (96.50%), speed of germination (15.95), seed vigour index-I (1,448.30), seed vigour index-II (284.77) and electrical conductivity of seeds (0.060 dS/m). However in terms of number of ripe fruits/plant (12.13), ripe fruit yield/plant (0.58 kg), seed yield/plant (10.34 g) and seed yield/hectare (306.22 kg), control treatment gave better results. Maximum B-C ratio (6.03:1) was obtained in treatment combination Tr₁FL₁ (No training and all fruits retained) followed by Tr₂FL₂ (5.23:1) which favoured all the seed quality characters. Therefore Tr₂FL₂ treatment combination can be recommended for quality seed production of bell pepper under mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh.