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Title: CHILE PEPPER RSPONSE TO NITROGEN FERTILIZATION IN THE ARKANSAS VALLEY OF COLORADO. COLORADO AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TECHNICAL BULLETIN TR05

Author
item Halvorson, Ardell
item BARTOLO, MICHAEL - AVRC, ROCKY FORD, CO
item Reule, Curtis

Submitted to: Agricultural Experiment Station Publication
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2005
Publication Date: 10/1/2007
Citation: Halvorson, A.D., Bartolo, M., Reule, C.A. 2007. Chile pepper rsponse to nitrogen fertilization in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado. Colorado Agric. Exp. Sta. Technical Report TR07-14, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. p. 65-68

Interpretive Summary: In 2004, we evaluated the effects of N fertilization (6 N rates) on chile pepper fresh yield and biomass accumulation following four years of continuous corn production. A controlled release N fertilizer (Polyon®3) was used. Fresh chile pepper yields increased with increasing N rate up to about 90 to 120 lb N/a then leveled off. Estimated gross economic returns reflected the fresh chile pepper yield. Total plant biomass production increased with increasing N rate. Plant size (stems + leaves) had maximized by the September 1 sampling date while pepper yield continued to increase until final harvest. Total N uptake increased from 101 lb N/a with no N fertilizer applied to 180 lb N/a with 120 lb/a of fertilizer N applied, resulting in an estimated N fertilizer use efficiency (NUE) of about 66%. Residual soil NO3-N levels were relatively low in the spring before planting chile pepper, but did increase slightly with higher N rate applied to the previous corn crops. Residual soil NO3-N levels were even lower after chile pepper harvest. This may indicate that chile pepper was effective in utilizing soil residual N from the root zone or that the residual N was leached out of the root zone by the frequent irrigations.

Technical Abstract: In 2004, we evaluated the effects of N fertilization (6 N rates) on chile pepper fresh yield and biomass accumulation following four years of continuous corn production. A controlled release N fertilizer (Polyon®3) was used. Fresh chile pepper yields increased with increasing N rate up to about 90 to 120 lb N/a then leveled off. Estimated gross economic returns reflected the fresh chile pepper yield. Total plant biomass production increased with increasing N rate. Plant size (stems + leaves) had maximized by the September 1 sampling date while pepper yield continued to increase until final harvest. Total N uptake increased from 101 lb N/a with no N fertilizer applied to 180 lb N/a with 120 lb/a of fertilizer N applied, resulting in an estimated N fertilizer use efficiency (NUE) of about 66%. Residual soil NO3-N levels were relatively low in the spring before planting chile pepper, but did increase slightly with higher N rate applied to the previous corn crops. Residual soil NO3-N levels were even lower after chile pepper harvest. This may indicate that chile pepper was effective in utilizing soil residual N from the root zone or that the residual N was leached out of the root zone by the frequent irrigations.