ABSTRACT
296Field experiment was conducted in 2013-14 at Precision Farming Development Centre Research Farm, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effect of drip fertigation (DF) and plastic mulching (PM) on the plant growth and yield attributes of chilli (Capsicum annuum L). The experiment laid out factorial randomized block design which included three fertigation levels 80%, 100%, and 120% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) and three different mulching treatments such as 25, 50 pm black plastic mulch (BPM), and no mulch which were replicated thrice. In chilli, maximum yield of 128 numbers of fruits per plant which is worked out as 12.27 t ha-1 was observed for the treatments T3. The total quantity of water applied uniformly to all the treatments was 75.83 L as per the crop water requirement. Maximum water use efficiency observed in T3 (66.36 kg ha-1 mm-1). The maximum N, P, and K fertilizer use efficiency of 109.95, 164.94, and 164.94 kg ha-1, respectively, was observed in T1. The highest benefit-cost ratio was recorded under both T2 (BPM of 25 pm thickness with 100% RDF) and T3 (BPM of 25 pm thickness with 120% RDF). From economic viability point, the T2 treatment registered results that were economically viable with highest profit. Increased yield in fertigation treatments might be due to better availability of plant nutrients and irrigation water throughout the crop growth period under drip fertigation system.
