Effect of Spacing and Poultry Manure Rates on Growth, Yield and Quality of Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum frutescens. L) in Southern Rain Forest of Nigeria

Field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Agriculture, Ndele Campus, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to study the effects of poultry manure rates and crop spacing on growth, yield and quality of Cayenne pepper. The 3 x 3 factorial experiment with three replicates was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design. The main plots were three poultry manure rates (0, 10, 20tons/ha-1) and sub plots, three spacing (50cm x 50cm, 100cm x 50cm and 100cm x 100cm). Data collected were plant height, number of leaf per plant, leaf area; number of fruits per plot, fruit weight per plot, fruit yield per hectare, fruit lycopene and vitamin C contents. Results showed plant height increased with reducing planting distance and increasing Poultry manure rate; 50cm by 50cm fertilized at 20tons/ha produced the tallest plants with most number of leaves but least leaf area LA. Number of fruits, fruit weight and yield per plot, per hectare increased with increasing planting density and increasing Poultry manure rates lycopene and vitamin c contents increased with Poultry manure levels within the different spacing. Spacing of 50cm by 50cm fertilized with poultry manure at 20 tons per hectare is recommended.