Effect of irrigation levels and frequencies on growth, yield and economics of capsicum production under naturally ventilated polyhouse

The present investigation was carried out with the objective to standardize irrigation scheduling for improving capsicum yieldfor higher benefit: costratiounder naturallyventilated polyhouse. The experiment was laid down in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) along with seven treatments comprising of three irrigation depths, two intervals and a farmers practice. The data were recorded on days to first flowering, plant height (cm), days to marketable picking, total harvest duration (days), number of fruits per plant and yield (kg/m²). A perusal of the pooled data (2011 and 2012) revealed that different levels and frequencies of irrigation produced significant differences with regards to different traits under study. The treatment with 0.25 cm irrigation at alternate day(T₂) and farmer's practice resulted in earliest flowering (41.71 days) and days tomarketable picking (72.49 days), respectively. However, application of 0.50 cm of irrigation at alternate day (T₄) resulted in maximum plant height (142.65 cm), total harvest duration (131.68 days), number of fruits per plant (18.26) and highest yield (12.76 kg/m²)alongwith maximum benefit: cost ratio(6.53: 1). Hence, treatment T₄maybe recommended for commercial cultivation ofcapsicumin thehillyregionsofthecountryunder naturally ventilated polyhouse.