Summer chilli, water logging, screening, irrigation
The study has been conducted during kharif season at Spices Research Centre, Shibgonj, Bogra. Eight (8) entries (E1=C-517, E2= C-541-2, E3=C-446, E4=C-503, E5= BARI Morich-1, E6= C-541-1, E7= C-612 and E8= C-525) were considered for this trial. Based on the wore performances of lines E4 (C-520) and E7 (C579-1) were discurded and 2 new lines C-503 and C-612 were included during this year. This study consists of two experiments, one for water logging at flowering stage and another at fruit setting stage. The experiments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated thrice with the treatments;
T1 = Water logged condition for 4 hours
T2 = Water logged condition for 8 hours
T3 = Water logged condition for 12 hours
Thirty two days old seedlings were transplanted on 25 April, 2011 with a spacing of 50cm x 50cm. Twelve seedlings were planted in each plot having size of 2m x 1.5m. Fertilizers were applied at the rate of 10.0 tons of cow dung, 210kg of urea, 300kg of TSP, 200kg of MP, 110kg of gypsum and 1.0 ton of mustard oil cake per hectare.
Before imposing the water logging treatments, the crop was irrigated three times on 07 May, 20 May and 31 May 2011. Artificial water logging was done on 05 June, 2011 during flowering stage and 23 June, 2011 at fruit setting stage. 79-105 mm of water was applied after full saturation as standing water for different water-logged duration. Data on plant population (different stages), days to 1st flowering, plant height, no. of flowers/plant, and no. of fruits/plant at 7 days intervals, fruit length, fruit diameter, unit fruit weight, disease and pest infestation, soil moisture, water application parameters, and % of survival of plants due to water logging were recorded regularly and analysed statistically.
The study reveals that the survivality of the entries decreased as the duration of water logging increased. The result also revealed that the fruiting stage was more sensitive compared to flowering stage and among the tested entries, irrespective of duration of water logging, E1 (C-517) showed best tolerance at flowering stage while E5(BARI Morich-1) showed best tolerance at fruit setting stage in both the years. In addition to those entries, E7 (C-612) showed the better performance in respect of water-logging and crop yield. Further, at flowering stage as high as 8 hours of water logging may be allowed without significant yield loss in chilli. But during fruiting stage, the crop may withstand as high as 4 hours of water logging. The promising three entires (E1, E5 and E7) should be considered for further study.