White-fruited pepper is a highly distinctive type of pepper in Zhejiang province. In order to determine the optimal nitrogen level for this variety, a facility cultivation experiment was conducted to analyze the effects of five different nitrogen treatments: 0 kg/hm2, T0; 150 kg/hm2, T1; 195 kg/hm2, T2; 240 kg/hm2, T3; 285 kg/hm2, T4, on the growth, development, quality and accumulation of nitrogen elements in white pepper plants. The results showed that the main stem height, plant height, canopy width, stem diameter, stem and leaf biomass and yield of peppers increased with the application of nitrogen. Notably, fruit width, single fruit weight and yield reached the maximum under the T4 treatment, with increased of 36.27%, 76.30% and 32.16% respectively compared to the control, followed by T3, while the T3 treatment produced the longest fruits. Furthermore, the photosynthetic capacity of the pepper leaves improved with higher nitrogen application, with T3 and T4 treatments showing significantly better performance than the others. The quality of peppers was also influenced by nitrogen application. Nitrogen application also affected the quality of the pepper. The content of vitamin C and dihydrocapsaicin decreased with the increasing nitrogen levels, while the levels of capsaicin, total capsaicin and amino acids showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Different nitrogen levels had a minor impact on nitrogen absorption in the roots, stems and fruits of peppers, but significantly affected nitrogen absorption in the leaves, with the T2 treatment achieving the highest leaf nitrogen content. Through principal component analysis of the 10 indicators related to yield and quality, the optimal nitrogen application for white-fruited peppers is T3 (240 kg/hm2).
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |