Fruit Yield and Quality of Greenhouse-grown Bell Pepper as Influenced by Density, Container, and Trellis System

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Capsicum annuum, protected agriculture, prun- ing, training, soilless culture, blos- som-end rot SUMMARY. Production and quality of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruit were evaluated in a passively venti- lated greenhouse, in soilless media trellised to a "V" system (two-stem- pruned plants) or the "Spanish" system (nonpruned plants) in fl at bags or nursery pot containers; and densities of 1.5, 1.9, 3.0, and 3.8 plants/m 2 (0.14, 0.18, 0.28, and 0.35 plants/ft 2 ), in a winter-to-summer- crop in Gainesville, Fla. The trellis systems did not affect total market- able fruit yields but production of extra-large fruit was higher (38%) in non-pruned than in pruned plants. Marketable fruit yields were similar in plants grown in bags and pots, and had positive linear responses to increased plant density. Not prun- ing reduced by half the percentage of fruit with blossom-end rot. Pruned plants produced 50% fewer fl ower bud supporting nodes than non-pruned plants but had a greater percentage of fruit set. Regardless of trellis systems, fruit set per plant decreased linearly as plant density increased. Overall, the