Yield potential and soil quality under alternative crop production practices for fresh market pepper

This study was conducted in Florida in 1999 and 2000 to examine the impact of alternative crop production practices on soil quality and yields of fresh market pepper (Capsicum annuum). Replicated field plots were established on an organic vegetable farm that had been under certification for 5 years and on a conventional pepper farm that had been fumigated with methyl bromide for 25 consecutive years. Production practices evaluated included raised beds covered by white plastic mulch, soil solarization, no-till in a stubble crop of sunn hemp (Crotolaria juncea) or iron-clay pea (Vigna unguiculata) and the addition of 67 t ha of urban plant debris (UPD). Soil fumigation with methyl bromide–chloropicrin was also evaluated at the conventional farm site. Soil organic carbon significantly increased following the addition of UPD in both years at the organic site but only in the second year at the conventional site. Cation exchange capacity increased significantly after addition of UPD in both years at both sites and a significant interaction with production practices was observed in the second year at the organic site. Soil phosphorus levels were high at both sites but were not impacted by production practices or UPD. In 1999, the addition of UPD significantly decreased soil nitrate levels at the organic site and the conventional site, except under the no-till treatments. In 2000, soil nitrate levels were not affected by UPD or production practice. Stand counts, determined by the number of surviving pepper plants 21–28 days after transplanting, were severely impacted in notill treatments due to intense competition from weeds. Marketable yields equal to, or above, the 1999/2000 statewide average for conventional production systems were obtained with soil fumigation and soil solarization at the conventional site in 1999. In 2000, an epidemic of Phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici) eliminated production at the conventional site. Marketable yield at the organic site approached the statewide average for conventional systems under the solarization treatment. Yields under plastic mulch were increased at both sites with the addition of UPD. The results demonstrated that organic pepper yields from soil-solarized plots were similar to yields obtained by conventional farmers using high inputs of rapidly mobile nitrogen sources. However, no-till systems for fall production do not appear to be a viable alternative under Florida conditions due to the rapid proliferation of weeds under the cover crop stubble. The addition of urban plant debris was associated with an increase in soil organic carbon and cation exchange capacity in sandy soils typical of those found in Florida.