Indirect and direct land evaluation for red chili on low fertility soil under high annual rainfall with significant dry periods

Abstract

The red chili productivity highly depends on land suitability, climate factors, and cultivation practices. Some cultivation engineering has been implemented and continues to be developed to curb problems of land with unsuitable actual soil conditions. The same approach is also taken to overcome rainfall constraints, by using mulch to optimize soil moisture. This study aims to assess and directly measure the productivity of red chili on land with good soil physic but requires chemical amelioration and has high annual rainfall. The research location is part of the Cikabayan Educational Field (CEF). Land suitability evaluation concept of FAO with the BBSDLP criteria was used to classify the land suitability for red chili. The growth of chili was monitored by observing 45 random samples, and the yield was measured based on the harvest of all plants. The result showed that the actual land suitability of the CEF for red chili was S3. The land suitability from a direct assessment based on the actual harvest until the plant age reaches four months, also show the S3 class. When the actual yield was extrapolated to three more months of yield prediction (ideal red chili productive period), the suitability class was counted as S2.