Investigation of the Effects of Different Irrigation Levels and Seed Hydropriming on the Yield and Yield Components of Sweet Pepper

A greenhouse research was carried out to study the simultaneous effect of hydropriming and water stress on the yield and yield components of sweet pepper (Padra var.) in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The experiment was performed as a factorial arrangement of two factors in a completely randomized design with three replications. Hydro-priming consisted of two levels (non-hydropriming and hydropriming) and the water stress included three levels (100, 75 and 50 percent of water requirement), which were applied in a silty clay soil. The results showed that the effect of seed hydropriming on shoot fresh weight and electrical conductivity (EC) of fruit water were significant ( P <0.01). The effects of deficit irrigation on the fruit fresh and dry weights, fruit number, plant height, and stem diameter were significant at 1 percent level ( P <0.01), while the effects on shoot fresh and dry weights were significant at 5 percent level ( P <0.05). Interaction effects of the treatments were significant on EC of fruit water at the 1 percent level ( P <0.01), while the effects were significant on the fruit number, shoot dry weight, plant height, and pH of fruit water at the 5 percent level ( P <0.05). The results also showed that the highest fruit number (4.34 per plant) was recorded in the 100 percent plant water requirement and seed hydropriming, while the lowest fruit number (2.0 per plant) was found in the 50 percent plant water requirement and seed hydropriming treatment. The highest and lowest fruit fresh weights (i.e., 191.4 and 82.1 g per plant) were observed in water stress treatments of 100 and 50 plant water requirement percent, respectively. The results also revealed that the fruit number changed in 75 and 50 percent water requirement treatments + non-hydropriming conditions by 11.3 and –11.0 percent, while under hydropriming conditions, fruit number was reduced by –16.5 and –50 percent, respectively. Overall, in this study the best treatment was 100 percent water requirements + seed hydropriming in greenhouses conditions. Deficit irrigation and hydropriming levels were applied on this plant in the Mashhad region in field conditions and recommended for future research.