Abstract

The effect of salinity on seed yield and quality of pepper plants were evaluated. Plants were grown in five salt levels (electrical conductivity, EC): 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.0 to 6.0 dSm^-1 in glasshouse. Seed yield was assessed by seed weight/fruit, seed weight/plant and individual seed weight. Seed quality was measured by germination, mean germination time, seedling growth and germination percentages after cold (10°C, 7 days, 25°C 10 days) accelerated ageing (45°C, 48 h) and high temperature germination (35°C, 14 days) tests. Results indicate that seed yield per fruit greatly reduced from 1990 mg at control to 460 mg at 4 dSm^-1 but individual seed weight did not change until 1.5 dSm^-1 EC. Seed quality concerning all criteria maintained high up to 2.0 dSm^-1 EC while seed germination and vigour were significantly reduced at 4.0 dSm^-1 EC. Pepper plants did not yield seeds at 6 dSm^-1 EC. It can be concluded that pepper seed yield reduced significantly at even very low salinity (1 dSm^-1), however, quality began to decline after 2.0 dSm^-1 EC.

Key words: Pepper, fruit yield, seed quality, salinity.