Vol. 8, Issue 11, Part B (2024)

The present study, conducted at the instructional farm, Center of Excellence (CoE) for Vegetables, Dr. Sharadchandra Pawar College of Agriculture, Baramati, Maharashtra, during Kharif 2023-2024. The aim of this work was to evaluated the comparative performance of grafted and non-grafted sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) under protected cultivation. The primary objective was to assess the compatibility of various chilli rootstocks with two commercial sweet pepper F1 hybrids (Inspiration and Bachata) and their impact on growth, fruit quality and yield. The experiment followed a Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) with 20 treatments, three replications, and nine chilli rootstocks (CAR-1 to CAR-9) using the splice grafting method. Results indicated that the hybrid Bachata recorded the least time to germination (4.67 days) and the highest germination percentage (100%). Hybrid Inspiration reached the grafting stage earliest (18.67 days). Among the rootstocks, CAR-9 demonstrated superior graft compatibility, achieving 100% graft success and the shortest healing time (5.67 days) when grafted with both hybrids. Grafted plants exhibited earlier flowering and significantly greater plant height and stem girth compared to non-grafted controls, with Inspiration grafted on CAR-9 showing the maximum plant height (123.44 cm). In terms of yield parameters, Inspiration grafted on CAR-9 recorded the highest average fruit weight (178.63 g), number of fruits per plant (26.78) and yield per hectare (79.85 t/ha). Overall, CAR-9 rootstock grafted with Inspiration, demonstrated superior growth, fruit quality and yield, showing potential for commercial sweet pepper cultivation under protected conditions. It was observed that the rootstock CAR-9 reported superior performance over the most growth and yield attributing parameters. It includes graft success, flowering, plant height, stem girth, root length, fruit yield.