Soil cover with rice husk, polyethylene and biodegradable film in bell pepper (Capsicum annum L.) cultivation

Abstract

A field trial regarding the effect of different types of soil cover on the characteristics of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L. Yolo Wonder) fruit and incidence of weeds was conducted at the facilities of the Department of Agrarian Sciences (UNITAU), Taubaté -SP at 23º02'34" S and 45º31'02" W, with an average elevation of 577 m in a medium-textured dystrophic Yellow Red Latosol. The experimental design was a randomized block with five replicates and four treatments: 1) coat of rice husk (CRH); 2) black polyethylene film (BPF); 3) black biodegradable film (BBF); and 4) soil without cover (SWC), with five replicates. The treatments were distributed in flower beds with 1.2 m wide, 0.3 m high and 10 m long. Drip irrigation was placed on the surface of the beds, with a pipe line (dripping distance 0.4 m, measured flow rate of 1.67 L.h^-1, service pressure of 1.6 kPa). Harvesting occurred 90 days after planting the seedlings, and the length, number and weight of the bell pepper fruits were determined. The weed plants in the plot were evaluated in five samples of 0.25 m² randomly obtained per plot. The coverings had a significant effect on fruit length, number and weight, and black polyethylene film and biodegradable film obtained better results, compared to the coat of rice husk and soil without cover. In the coverings with polyethylene film and biodegradable film, the fruit length was above 12 cm, the number of fruit exceeded 10 fruit per plant and the weight of the fruit was superior to 1 kg per plant. Polyethylene film and biodegradable film reduced weed infestation by 75.4% on average when compared to soil without cover. It can be concluded that the biodegradable film presented the same efficiency as the polyethylene film as regards the productivity of the pepper crop and the reduction of weeds.