Abstract:
Sweet pepper (capsicum annuum L.var.califonia wonder) belongs to the solanaceae family and
is commonly referred to as capsicum, sweet pepper or green pepper. Among vegetables the crop
ranks second after tomato in Kenya. In Kenya the crop is commonly grown by small holder
farmers in mixed farming systems as a source of income. The crop has high demand and is
largely consumed and sold domestically but has export potential. The crop is rich in potassium,
fiber and vitamins. Farmers grow the crop using various spacings determined by the number and
type of the dominant crops in the specific farms they are grown in. The crop yield obtained by
peasant farmers is often very low due to various production constrains, such as poor husbandry
practices such as poor spacing. The objective of this study was to determine the appropriate
spacing for optimum growth and yield per plant and per hectare. The experiment was carried out
at the University of Embu demonstration farm. The treatments comprised of four levels of
spacings i.e. T1 -50cm by 50cm,T2- 50 by 40cm,T3- 40cm b 40cm and T4-40by 30cm. The test
crop was bell pepper variety California wonder. The experiment was set out in a randomized
complete block design replicated thrice. Each plot measured 2m by 2m. The seeds were obtained
from a KEPHIS accredited agro-vet shop at Embu town. The seedlings were raised in a nursery
bed and later transplanted to the main field. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized
Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Data collected included plant height
(cm),number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant ,stem girth(cm) ,fruit length and
breadth (cm), ,days to first harvest ;number of fruits per plant, individual fruit weight (g) yield
per plant(g) and yield per plot (kg) was measured and was subjected to statistical analysis using
Genstat statistical software. Mean separation was done using least significant differences (LSD)
at p<0.05. The results indicated that lant spacing had significant variation in almost all growth
but not on yield components. Number of branches per plant, number of leaves per plant, stem
girth, significantly increased with increased plant spacing. Number of fruits per plot, days to
50% flowering, fruit breadth, yield per plot and yield per hectare were found to have no
significance difference under various spacing levels. It is recommended that the study be
repeated for another season to confirm these results.
