Articles
Production response and irrigation water use efficiency of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to different deficit irrigation regimes
Article number
1253_20
Pages
147 – 154
Language
English
Abstract
Irrigation water is an essential element for food production in the Mediterranean area.
Agriculture consumes 70% of the total freshwater, and its shortage is becoming critical in arid and semiarid areas of the world.
Irrigation water use efficiency could be improved by adequate irrigation management.
For this reason, production and irrigation water use efficiency of pepper in response to three different irrigation strategies (T1, T2 and T3) were studied, applying 100, 75 and 50% of irrigation water requirements, determined as the difference between calculated crop evapotranspiration and effective precipitation.
Crop evapotranspiration was determined from reference evapotranspiration, calculated from class A pan evaporation, with a unique crop coefficient adapting the duration of each phase to the growing cycle.
The irrigation water applied was 782, 591 and 403 mm in T1, T2 and T3 respectively.
The highest marketable yield was observed in T1 (7.72 kg m‑2) followed by T2 (5.57 kg m‑2) and finally T3 (1.54 kg m‑2). Furthermore, T3 had a significantly higher appearance of fruits with blossom end rot (4.10 kg m‑2), followed by T2 (1.90 kg m‑2) and T1 (0.94 kg m‑2). Fruit quality parameters including color indices, firmness, acidity and vitamin C content were not altered by the deficit irrigation strategies, while soluble solids content, polyphenols and carbohydrate content increased with the decrease of irrigation dose.
T2 led to improved irrigation water use efficiency (10.04 kg m‑3) of sweet pepper cultivated in open field.
Agriculture consumes 70% of the total freshwater, and its shortage is becoming critical in arid and semiarid areas of the world.
Irrigation water use efficiency could be improved by adequate irrigation management.
For this reason, production and irrigation water use efficiency of pepper in response to three different irrigation strategies (T1, T2 and T3) were studied, applying 100, 75 and 50% of irrigation water requirements, determined as the difference between calculated crop evapotranspiration and effective precipitation.
Crop evapotranspiration was determined from reference evapotranspiration, calculated from class A pan evaporation, with a unique crop coefficient adapting the duration of each phase to the growing cycle.
The irrigation water applied was 782, 591 and 403 mm in T1, T2 and T3 respectively.
The highest marketable yield was observed in T1 (7.72 kg m‑2) followed by T2 (5.57 kg m‑2) and finally T3 (1.54 kg m‑2). Furthermore, T3 had a significantly higher appearance of fruits with blossom end rot (4.10 kg m‑2), followed by T2 (1.90 kg m‑2) and T1 (0.94 kg m‑2). Fruit quality parameters including color indices, firmness, acidity and vitamin C content were not altered by the deficit irrigation strategies, while soluble solids content, polyphenols and carbohydrate content increased with the decrease of irrigation dose.
T2 led to improved irrigation water use efficiency (10.04 kg m‑3) of sweet pepper cultivated in open field.
Authors
A. Abdelkhalik, N. Pascual-Seva, I. Nájera, M.A. Domene, C. Baixauli, B. Pascual
Keywords
evapotranspiration, irrigation doses, sweet pepper, blossom end rot, fruit quality
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