Optimisation of seaweed-based biostimulant application to improve bell pepper yield and quality using Topsis-Shannon entropy.
Mayingisane D, Mafeo TP, Gruda NS, Satekge TK
Biostimulants
Spraying your pepper plants with diluted seaweed extract at three key growth moments — just after transplanting, when fruits start forming, and two weeks before harvest — could more than double your harvest while skipping the chemical fertilizer bag entirely.
Researchers tested a liquid extract made from a type of seaweed on bell pepper plants, trying different strengths and spray schedules. They found that spraying at 0.4% strength three times during the growing season nearly doubled the amount of peppers produced and made the fruit sweeter and richer in health-promoting compounds. The best part: no chemical fertilizers were used at all.
Key Findings
Yield more than doubled from 2.01 to 4.43 kg per square meter using 0.4% seaweed extract applied at three growth stages.
Fruit sweetness-to-acidity ratio improved by 47% (1.85 vs. 1.26), and total phenolic (antioxidant) content rose from 173 to 238.9 mg per 100g fresh weight.
Timing mattered as much as concentration — combining applications at 14 days after transplanting, fruit set, and 14 days before harvest outperformed any single application or other combination.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Applying a seaweed extract at the right concentration and timing more than doubled bell pepper yields and boosted fruit nutrition — without any synthetic fertilizers.
Abstract Preview
The effectiveness of seaweed-based biostimulants is strongly influenced by application concentration and phenology-based timing. This study aimed to optimise these factors to improve the yield and ...
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The bell pepper is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange, green, white, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent chili varieties as "sweet peppers". ...