Evaluate the effects of rare earth elements on sweet pepper seeds germination process, seedlings growth and plants productivity

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to investigate the response of pepper seeds germination process and vegetative growth traits in seedlings stages as well as plant growth and productivity of open field to rare earth elements (REEs) i.e., cerium nitrate, neodymium nitrate, and praseodymium nitrate at concentrations of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 ppm. Among the various REEs treatments, cerium nitrate at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 ppm were more significantly effective than others in increasing most of the seedling parameters and 1.5 ppm cerium nitrate exhibited the maximum effect in germination characteristics with no significant differences among 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ppm cerium nitrate as well as 1.5 ppm neodymium in all germination parameters in both seasons. The superiority of vegetative growth, fruit physical and total yield as well as fruit chemical content (ascorbic acid and carbohydrates) were obtained with neodymium followed by praseodymium foliar spray applications with compared to cerium or control treatments. The foliar spray treatment of 1.5 ppm neodymium nitrate exhibited an increment up to 54.1, 23.7, 29.5, and 33.1% over that observed in the control of average fruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit length, and total yield, respectively.