THE EFFECT OF A WINDBREAK AND MULCH ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF PEPPER (Capsicum annuum L.)
Experiments using an artificial windbreak and polyethylene mulch were conducted in 1983 and 1984 with sweet pepper in Ste-Anne de Bellevue, Quebec. When analyses were conducted on pooled distance data plant fresh weight was increased by sheltering but not by mulching. In 1983, the windbreak increased yields up to a distance 24 times the windbreak height but only if plants were not mulched. Yield increases were due to greater fruit number per plant rather than a greater mean fruit weight. The windbreak had no influence on yield in 1984. Mulching resulted in a significant increase in yield in both years and appeared to be a more reliable practice than the use of windbreaks to increase pepper yields.Key words: Windbreak, paraweb, pepper, Capsicum annuum L.