title: Effects of vermicomposts produced from food waste on the growth and yields of greenhouse peppers.
abstract: Vermicomposts, produced commercially from food wastes, were substituted at a range of different concentrations into a soil-less commercial bedding plant container medium, Metro-Mix 360 (MM360), to evaluate their effects on the growth and yields of peppers in the greenhouse. Six-week-old peppers (Capsicum annum L. var. California) were transplanted into 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% or 10% MM360 substituted with 0%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% vermicompost. All plants were watered three times weekly with 200 ppm Peter's Nutrient Solution from the time of transplanting up to 107 days. Peppers grown in potting mixtures containing 40% food waste vermicomposts and 60% MM360 yielded 45% more fruit weights and had 17% greater mean number of fruits than those grown in MM360 only. The mean heights, numbers of buds and numbers of flowers of peppers grown in potting mixtures containing 10-80% vermicompost although greater did not differ significantly from those of peppers grown in MM360. There were no positive correlations between the increases in pepper yields, and the amounts of mineral-N and microbial biomass-N in the potting mixtures, or the concentrations of nitrogen in the shoot tissues of peppers. Factors such as: an improvement of the physical structure of the potting medium, increases in populations of beneficial microorganisms and the potential availability of plant growth-influencing-substances produced by microorganisms in vermicomposts, could have contributed to the increased pepper yields obtained.
authors.affiliation: Soil Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 400 Aronoff Laboratory, 318 W 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. arancon.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: Norman Q
authors.initials: NQ
authors.lastname: Arancon
authors.forename: Clive A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Rola
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Atiyeh
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Metzger
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002212:Capsicum / Q000254:growth & development*; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D009584:Nitrogen