Chitin Nanofiber as A Substitute for Urea for the Growth and Yield of Capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.)

An experiment was conducted at the nursery of Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, from January 2025 to March 2025, in order to investigate the possibility of substituting urea with chitin nanofiber (CNF) on the growth and yield of capsicum. The experiment was set up using a completely randomized design (CRD). Since the experiment was conducted in pots, each pot resembled a single replication. 30 pots were prepared for the six treatments with five replications. In this experiment, the treatments were T0 = Water (control), T1= urea, T2= 0.01% CNF, T3= 75% urea & 25% CNF, T4= 50% urea & 50% CNF, and T5= 25% urea & 75% CNF. The purpose of this experiment was to use CNF as a replacement for urea to reduce the huge cost of fertilizers. The result showed that the highest plant height (41.90 ± 0.72 cm), stem diameter (10.23 ± 0.32 mm), fruit weight (74.08 ± 2.57 g), number of flower clusters plant -1 (10.80 ± 0.73), number of flowers cluster-1 (4.80 ± 0.37), number of fruits plant-1 (8.40 ± 0.68), and marketable fruits (5.40 ± 0.68) were obtained from 25% urea & 75% CNF. The highest average fruit diameter (70.89 ± 0.98 mm), plant dry weight (15.40 ± 0.98 g), and non-marketable fruits (3.20 ± 0.66) were observed from 50% urea & 50% CNF. The maximum number of leaves (67.00 ± 1.38) and leaf chlorophyll content (65.60 ± 1.39) were measured from urea. The highest average fruit length (87.40 ± 3.39 mm) and plant fresh weight (61.38 ± 0.76 g) were obtained from 0.01% CNF and 75% urea & 25% CNF, respectively. In this experiment, we obtained higher results in most parameters in 25% urea & 75% CNF, compared to other concentrations of CNF and urea. The experiment also showed that the control did not provide any highest result. Therefore, CNF may serve as a substitute for urea in capsicum production by reducing dependence on chemical nitrogen fertilizers in Bangladesh.

Keywords: CNF, urea, growth and yield contributing attributes.

• Supervision