Nonlinear models to describe production of fruit in Cucurbita pepo and Capiscum annuum

•There overdispersion in fruits production of Capsicum annuum and Curcurbita pepo.•Logistic model is appropriate to model the fruit production of C. annuum and C. pepo.•To C. annuum the plot size is seven plants in the crop row.•To C. pepo the plot size is four plants in the crop row.

The objective of this paper was to adjust nonlinear regression models for the fruit production of two vegetable species and to identify the plot size with the best explanatory power and model adjustment. The logistic and von Bertalanffy models were used on variables of means fruit weight and means number of fruits accumulated in multiple crops and with different plot sizes. The models presented similar estimates for all parameters in all plot sizes, and they described the behavior of fruit production in Cucurbita pepo and Capsicum annuum cultivated in plastic greenhouses. Plots of C. annuum consisting of seven plants and plots of C. pepo consisting of four plants are recommended in order to provide results of a high enough quality for model adjustment.