OPTIMAL ENVIRONMENT FOR SET AND DEVELOPMENT OF SWEET PEPPER FRUIT

Temperature has a great influence on fruit set as well as on the shape and the size of sweet pepper cv.California Wonder.
Low temperatures give an increase in the percentage of fruit set and in parthenocarpic fruit development.
High daytime temperatures and low light intensity, mainly at the early stage of flower development, promoted flower drop.
This emphasizes the importance of ventilation in plastic tunnels.

Low night temperatures at the flower-opening stage reduce pollen viability but promote the formation of parthenocarpic seedless fruits or seed-deficient fruits.

High correlation between fruit size and the number of seeds was found in fruits under high and low night temperatures.
High (20°C) temperature during flower development i a prerequisite for the formation of good-shaped elongeated fruit.
The highest length/diameter ratio in both fertilized and non-fertilized fruit was obtained with a high night temperature up to anthesis and a low temperature (8–10°C) there after.

Symposium on Cultivation of Vegetables under Protection in the Mediterranean Regions

I. Rylski, A.H. Halevy

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1974.42.4