Abstract:
Bell pepper is a high valued crop that is
commonly grown in controlled environments in
the wet and intermediate zones of Sri Lanka.
However, lesser efforts have been made in
evaluating the field performances in the dry zones,
hence, this study aims to elucidate the field
performances of three commercial elite varieties
of bell pepper viz Ganga (green), Indra (red), and
Polarized (yellow). The field experiments were
carried out at Agrotech park, Malwatta in the
Ampara district was laid out in a randomized
complete block design with three replicates in
each plot size of 2.25m x 2.25m. The plant
morphological and fruit characteristics were
analysed at the harvesting stage. The results
showed that the variety Ganga (green) performed
superior to the remaining two varieties as it
possessed improved field plant survival rates
(78.6 %), fruit set, and significantly improved the
number of fruits (7 Nos/plant) hence, the overall
highest number of yields per plant (394.6 g/plant).
Therefore, this study hints that the farmers in the
dry zone may cultivate successfully the green bell
pepper varieties (var. Ganga) at home garden
levels or as commercial cultivation in the open
fields, which may serve as an alternative viable
source of income than the conventional cash
crops. Moreover, to confirm the quality of fruits
produced in this region, further researches are
needed to elucidate the fruit quality through
sensory evaluations and fruit pericarp chemical
compositions at laboratory levels.
