Effect of Ozonated Fertigation in Pepper Cultivation under Greenhouse Conditions
Julian Colunje, Pedro García‐Caparrós, Jorge Francisco Moreira, María Teresa Lao
Abstract
Ozone has a high oxidizing power avoiding the presence of residues, so it is a good candidate for use in organic farming. However, its application in fertigation has been little studied. Two experiments were conducted simultaneously to check the aims of this work. The aim of the first experiment was to study pepper response under the nutrient solution supply and the application of O3 and its interactions, and the aim of the second experiment was to determine the optimal dosage of O3 to be supplied, from the point of view of plant development and nutritional and physiological status in both experiments. We conclude that O3 supply via fertigation increased pepper biomass production. According to the results obtained, we recommend that the optimal dosage of O3 in pepper plants be from 0.18 to 0.36 mg L−1 due to its higher associated biomass production. Under these dosages, pepper plants showed a higher leaf area and higher photosynthetic pigment concentration. Similarly, under these dosages, N, P, and K plant uptake were higher, allowing a higher synthesis of bioassimilates.