International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.4, 143-161 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 145 environment conducive to seed germination and seedling growth. Precipitation levels ranged from 10 mm to 120 mm per week, affecting soil moisture availability and seedling development. To further analyze the environmental conditions of the experimental site, a geographical representation of the study area was prepared using GIS tools (Figure 1). Figure 1 Administrative map of Bhojpur district showing research site 2.2 Experimental setup and treatments details The experiment was conducted inside a plastic tunnel at Bhojpur, Nepal, to evaluate the influence of different growing media on the seedling performance of two bell pepper varieties. The soil used in the experiment was loamy in texture, classified as loam, with a moderately acidic pH of 5.9. A 2 × 5 factorial Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was adopted, involving two factors: Factor A (variety) with two levels—Sagar Hybrid F1 and California Wonder F1—and Factor B (growing media) with five levels—control (soil only), soil + coco peat, soil + farmyard manure (FYM), soil + vermicompost, and soil + coco peat+FYM + vermicompost (Figure 2). Figure 2 Experimental design with variety and growing media Each treatment was replicated three times, resulting in a total of 30 experimental units. To enhance germination, the seeds were soaked in clean water for 12 hours prior to sowing. Sowing was performed using plastic portray trays, commonly used by local farmers, with each tray consisting of 50 cells (10 × 5 configuration). Two treatments were assigned per tray, with each treatment occupying 25 cells, and a single seed was sown per cell.
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