Yield and Quality Responses of Selected Solanaceous Vegetable Crops to Potassium Fertilization

Over a period of two years, field experiments were conducted on two silty loam soils grown with four solanaceous vegetable crops of eggplant (var. serpentinum Bailey), tomato (var. commune Bailey), sweet pepper (var. grossum Bailey) and chilli (var. lengum Bailey), respectively. Each experiment included four treatments with from low to high doses, 0-450 kg ha-l for eggplant, tomato and sweet pepper, and 0-270 kg ha-1 for chilli, of K fertilizers in the form of sulfate of potash (SOP) applied together with N and P fertilizers. One CK treatment without K, N and P fertilizers applied and one treatment of K fertilizer in the form of muriate of potash (MOP) applied at the high level (450 kg ha-1) together with N and P fertilizers were included in the experiments of eggplant, in order to compare the effects of SOP and MOP. The fruit yields of the tested crops increased significantly with the increasing rate of K application. The crops supplied with K fertilizers yielded more stably as the CV% of their yields decreased with the rate of K application. The dry matter and vitamin C contents in fruits of tomato, sweet pepper and chilli, and the sugar content and the titratable acidity level of tomato fruits were increased, and the S/A ratio (ratio of sugar content to titratable acidity) of tomato fruits were decreased by K fertilization, indicating that K fertilization could improve the fruit quality of the solanaseous vegetable crops. However, the high rate of K fertilizer might lower the dry matter and vitamin C contents of tomato fruits and sweet pepper fruits. SOP was more effective than MOP in increasing the yield and quality of eggplant fruits at the high fertilization rate; therefore, the choice of applying SOP may be better for high levels of K fertilization.