Morphological and physiological adaptations of pepper plants grafted onto hydric stress tolerant rootstocks under controlled deficit irrigation
2023
López-Galarza, Salvador | Gisbert-Mullor, Ramón | Martín, Rodrigo | Pascual-Seva, Nuria | Pascual, Bernardo | Padilla, Yaiza Gara | Calatayud, Ángeles
Despite the use of several irrigation techniques, from conventional practices to smart technologies, to control the water use in agricultural systems and in protected cultivation in particular, the water scarcity for agricultural production is still a challenge, aggravated by the continuous increase in agricultural product demand and the climate change scenario in which we are involved. The use of tolerant rootstocks to abiotic stresses in pepper crop, particularly to hydric stress, has been found to be a complementary technique to save irrigation water without affecting yields, by means of particular physiological traits of the rootstock which changes the perception stress of the scion. The present study attempted to analyze the morphological and physiological adaptation of these grafted plants subjected to deficit irrigation based on capacitance sensors. The stomatal conductance and relative water content parameters were used to confirm the crop stress degree. Plant biomass and root volume resulted higher in the variety grafted, both under control irrigation conditions and under stress treatment. The total fresh root biomass of the grafted plants, under stress conditions, was 24% higher when compared to the variety ungrafted, while the root volume percentage was 33% higher. Grafted plants subjected to hydric stress were capable of generating an average marketable production 1.8 times higher than the ungrafted plants in the same situation. In control situations, grafted plants increased the production by 30% compared to ungrafted plants. The higher yields obtained using the tolerant rootstock was explained by the lower incidence of blossom-end rot.
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