Effects of fertilizers on shelf life of bell pepper under different storage conditions

Experiment was carried out at the horticulture laboratory of agronomy Department, University of Ibadan to evaluate effects of fertilizer treatments on shelf life of bell pepper fruits kept under different storage conditions. Treatments consisted of three fertilizer treatments (control, 100 % NPK and 100 % poultry Manure) and three storage conditions (ambient, evaporative coolant structure (ECS) and refrigeration). These were factorially combined and laid in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Results showed that ECS gave significantly higher performance ensuring best firmness of stored pepper fruits for 12 days, while pepper fruits stored in refrigerator had better firmness of 9 days than ambient condition which stored pepper fruits for 6 days. There was an increase in crude protein, crude fat, nitrogen and iron from the application of 100 % poultry manure while best result of crude fibre, percentage ash, potassium, magnesium and zinc were observed in 100 % NPK fertilizer application. Also, the fertilizer treatments had no significant effect on postharvest quality of bell pepper. In conclusion, ECS can be effectively used in the storage of bell pepper fruits to circumvent poor availability of electricity in order to improve postharvest quality, extend shelf life of bell pepper.