Evaluación de la calidad de plántulas de pimiento (Capsicum annuum L.) en semilleros con diferente intensidad de luz artificial y sustratos en el cantón Riobamba.

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the quality of bell pepper seedlings (Capsicum annuum L.) in seedbeds with different light intensities and substrates in Riobamba canton, Yaruquíes parish, Santa Cruz community. It was evaluated under a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications and three light intensities (blue, red, and natural) with three bell pepper cultivars: Yolo wonder, 13LR62100, and Painita. In the seedbed, the following were evaluated: days to germination, germination percentage, days to the appearance of meristematic leaves, days to the presence of true leaves, seedling height at 30, 45, and 70 days, fresh weight, and dry weight of 10 randomly selected plants from each of the treatments. In the greenhouse, the following were evaluated: percentage of apprehension, height, stem diameter, and the number of leaves, the last three at 45 days. The results in the seedbed showed that the different cultivars placed under the blue LED light, after evaluating the different variables, were superior to those placed under the red LED light and natural light, highlighting the substrate_2_mix (60% black soil + 20% humus + 20% commercial substrate) in germination percentage with 74.30% with the Painita cultivar, height with 8.53 cm with the 13LR62100 cultivar and fresh weight with 2.25 grams with the Painita cultivar. In the greenhouse case, the seedlings of the variety Yolo wonder were the best adapted in the field. It was concluded that the substrate_2_mix with blue light obtained the best results, influencing 3 of the 8 variables evaluated in the seedbed and highlighted among the other light intensities and substrates. It is recommended to carry out tests with other intensities of LED light and apply them to other bell pepper varieties.