Figures (5)  Tables (3)

    • Figure 1. 

      Meteorological data (temperature and humidity) during the study.

    • Figure 2. 

      Crop yield as influenced by wood vinegar and inorganic fertiliz. The panel shows fruit weight (a) and yield per plant (b). Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among treatments. T0: Negative control; T1: WV; T2: RRF (90–0–60 kg NPK); T3: WV + RRF (45–0–30 kg NPK); T4: WV + RRF (135–0–90 kg NPK).

    • Figure 3. 

      Effect of different treatments on (a) fruit length, (b) fruit width of bell pepper. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among treatments. T0: Negative control; T1: WV; T2: RRF (90–0–60 kg NPK); T3: WV + RRF (45–0–30 kg NPK); T4: WV + RRF (135–0–90 kg NPK).

    • Figure 4. 

      Fruit morphology of bell pepper as influenced by different treatments. Panels represent (a) cylindrical fruit volume, (b) ellipsoid fruit volume, and (c) fruit shape index. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among treatments. T0: Negative control; T1: WV; T2: RRF (90–0–60 kg NPK); T3: WV + RRF (45–0–30 kg NPK); T4: WV + RRF (135–0–90 kg NPK).

    • Figure 5. 

      Pearson correlation analysis of selected growth and yield parameters in bell pepper. PH60: plant height; RHGR: relative growth rate; DTF: days to flowering; No. Fruits: number of fruits; Mkt. wt: marketable weight; Non Mkt.wt: non-marketable weight; YYP ;plant yield; FL :fruit length; FW: fruit width; Elli.V: ellipsoid fruit volume; Cyl. V: cylindrical fruit volume; FSI: fruit shape index.

    • Treatment Description Details of application
      T0 Negative control No input No fertilizer or WV applied
      T1 WV WV only WV applied at 1 mL per 20 mL water (1:20, v/v) as a weekly foliar spray; no synthetic fertilizer applied
      T2 RRF
      (90–0–60 kg NPK)      		 Recommended rate of fertilizer A total of 128.55 g AS (21–0–0) and 30 g MOP (0–0–60) were applied to 30 pots, with 24 g OF used as basal application. At early flowering, an additional 7 g AS per pot was applied as topdressing
      T3 WV + RRF
      (45–0–30 kg NPK)      		 WV + 50% RRF WV applied at 1 mL per 20 mL water, combined with 50% of the recommended fertilizer rate (64.27 g AS, 15 g MOP, and 24 g OF as basal application). At early flowering, 3.5 g AS per pot was applied as topdressing
      T4 WV + RRF
      (135–0–90 kg NPK)      		 WV + 150% RRF WV applied at 1 mL per 20 mL water, combined with 150% of the recommended fertilizer rate (192.82 g AS, 45 g MOP, and 24 g OF as basal application). At early flowering, 10.5 g AS per pot was applied as topdressing
      WV: wood vinegar; RRF: recommended rate of fertilizer; AS: ammonium sulphate; MOP: muriate of potash; OF: organic fertilizer.

      Table 1. 

      Description of WV and fertilizer treatments applied to bell pepper.

    • Treatment Relative height growth rate (cm day−1) Plant height 60 DAT (cm) Days to flowering
      T0 Negative control 0.11 ± 0.04a 47.95 ± 4.57a 31.50 ± 1.00d
      T1 WV 0.11 ± 0.08a 48.99 ± 4.54a 28.00 ± 0.82b
      T2 RRF (90–0–60 kg of NPK) 0.11 ± 0.02a 50.41 ± 6.44a 30.00 ± 0.82c
      T3 WV + RRF (45–0–30 kg of NPK) 0.10 ± 0.05a 48.44 ± 5.21a 26.25 ± 0.96a
      T4 WV + RRF (135–0–90 kg of NPK) 0.10 ± 0.04a 49.05 ± 5.54a 27.25 ± 0.50ab
      LSD (0.05) NS NS 1.13
      Means with the same letter within a column are not significantly different at the 5% level; NS = not significant. Values are presented as mean ± standard error (SE).

      Table 2. 

      Effect of wood vinegar and fertilizer on growth of bell pepper.

    • Treatment Number of fruits Marketable fruit weight (g) Non-marketable fruit weight (g)
      T0 Negative control 3.29 ± 1.15 cd 13.45 ± 4.27 c 3.49 ± 1.91 b
      T1 WV 2.82 ± 0.76 d 17.14 ± 3.67 b 2.74 ± 2.03 b
      T2 RRF (90–0–60 kg of NPK) 4.34 ± 1.55 a 17.50 ± 4.43 b 6.23 ± 3.61 a
      T3 WV + RRF (45–0–30 kg of NPK) 3.96 ± 1.39 ab 20.52 ± 3.83 a 5.28 ± 3.56 a
      T4 WV + RRF (135–0–90 kg of NPK) 3.48 ± 0.97 bc 22.12 ± 3.76 a 3.83 ± 2.23 b
      LSD (0.05) 0.52 1.76 1.38
      Means with the same letter within a column are not significantly different at the 5% level (LSD). Values are presented as mean ± standard error (SE).

      Table 3. 

      Effect of wood vinegar and synthetic fertilizer on fruit yield components of bell pepper.