In a Nutshell
Five farmers compared two bell pepper varieties, Olympus and Revolution, to determine which produces better in Iowa’s climate. Each farm planted four randomized pairs of research plots, each pair with 10-20 plants of each variety.
Key Findings
Pepper yield was significantly different by farm, but treatment (variety) also had a significant effect on yield. Revolution yield was significantly higher than Olympus when all farms were analyzed together. Revolution produced more pounds and number of peppers per ft2 and per plant than Olympus at three of five farms. The remaining two farms saw no difference in yield between the varieties. Average plant yield of green bell peppers across all farms was 4.3 lb/plant for Revolution and 4.03 lb/plant for Olympus. Plant spacing was different by farm, but end-of-season yield for green bell peppers ranged from 1.82 – 2.66 lb/ft2.