ISHS Acta Horticulturae 718: III International Symposium on Models for Plant Growth, Environmental Control and Farm Management in Protected Cultivation (HortiModel 2006)
THE EFFECT OF ANTITRANSPIRANT ON GROWTH AND WATER UPTAKE OF SWEET PEPPER PLANTS: EXPERIMENTS AND EMPIRICAL MODELLING |
| Authors: | F.M. del Amor, I.L. Lopez-Cruz, A. Ramirez-Arias |
| Keywords: | water control strategy, transpiration, model, Capsicum annuum L. |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.718.67 |
| Abstract:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a biweekly foliar antitranspirant spray on growth, to regulate water and nutrient uptake in sweet pepper plants. Our work focused on the effect of the antitranspirant Vapor Gard (di-1-p-menthene). Water uptake was predicted using empirical modelling. The experiment was conducted in a plastic greenhouse and plants were grown using hydroponics in a 120-l container containing half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution. Antitranspirant, at 1%, was applied every fortnight to the leaves and fruits. Control plants remained non-sprayed. At the end of the experiment (150 days), water uptake was reduced by 12.4% in those plants with the antitranspirant application compared with the control. Total plant dry matter (leaves, stem and roots) was reduced to a similar extent; however, this reduction was mainly due a decrease in stems and roots rather than leaves. No significant differences were found in Ca concentration in the different plant organs, but average fruit weight and especially marketable yield were increased significantly by the use of the antitranspirant: by 9.5 and 28.1% respectively, compared with the control. Empirical models showed that there was a strong relationship between water uptake and leaf area and also between water uptake and air temperature. A quadratic empirical model fitted the water uptake as a function of leaf area of the sweet pepper plants. | |
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