ISHS Acta Horticulturae 537: III International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops
INTERACTIVE EFFECT OF NA AND K ON WATER RELATIONS IN PEPPER |
| Authors: | P. Cornillon, M. Augé |
| Keywords: | Growth, Capsicum annuun, dry matter |
| Abstract:
The sodium present in irrigation water can affect the water uptake by the plant as a function of the conditions in the medium. We have therefore studied the influence of sodium on water uptake as related to the K/Na balance in hydroponic culture. The reaction of 2 pepper cultivars: “HDA 174” and “Yolo Wonder” were studied in nutrient solutions where the K/Na ratio equaled: 5.0/0.0, 4.0/1.0, 2.5/2.5 and 1.0/4.0 mM. The pH was controled at 5.7 and the conductivity was equal at 1.10 dS/m. The presence of Na in the nutrient solution caused a rapid decrease in the water uptake of “Yolo Wonder”, whereas the presence of 1 mM of Na in the nutrient solution improved the water uptake by “HDA 174”. After 35 days of treatment, the dry matter content increased in all organs for HDA 174 when the Na concentration in the nutrient solution increased, from 11.58 % in the blades without sodium to 13.13 % with 4 mM of Na in nutrient solution. It reached a minimum for Yolo Wonder in the presence of 1 mM of Na with 11.45 % of D.M. and it was 12.11 % when the sodium is absent. This difference is associated with a maximum accumulation of water and dry matter in the presence of 1 mM of Na for HDA 174 (132 g of water and 12.6 g of D.M. by plant), and in the absence of Na for Yolo Wonder. This divergent development is related to the cultivar. HDA 174 has halophytic type behavior and Yolo Wonder has glycophytic type behavior. | |
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