Preharvest Reduction in Nutrient Solution Supply of Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Contributes to Improve Fruit Quality and Fertilizer Efficiency While Stabilising Yields

Summary

Optimising fertilisation is an important part of maximising vegetable yield and quality whilst minimising environmental hazards. An accurate and efficient scheme of irrigation and fertiliser based on plants’ nutrient requirements at different growth stages is essential for the effective intensive production of greenhouse pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). In this study, the effects of reducing fertilisation rate by 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% from the day 6 to day 0 before harvest for each layer of peppers on growth, yield, quality and nutrient utilisation were evaluated. The results showed that the morphological indicators (plant height and stem diameter) and biomass of plants decreased gradually with the increase in fertiliser reduction rate. Compared with control (CK) plants, the 20–40% reduction i