The Morphological responses of bell pepper under water regimes and hydrogel

Abstract

Efficient water management in water scarcity is essential when irrigating cultivated plants. This research aimed to evaluate the responses to application of hydrogel doses and different irrigation levels on the morphological characteristics of bell pepper plants grown in the open field. To this end, an experiment was set up with bell pepper in subdivided plots, considering, as plots, four irrigation levels (50, 75, 100, and 125% of ETc) and, as a subplot, four doses of hydrogel (0.0; 0.60; 1.20 and 2.40 g pl^-1) with four repetitions, in the open field. The variables analyzed were growth, fruit number, fruit weight, and bell pepper phytomass. The doses of hydrogel favored plant growth and increased the number of fruits and the phytomass of the bell pepper. The use of hydrogel in bell pepper cultivation improves the morphological aspect of bell pepper plants. Finally, the hydrogel allows bell pepper to be produced for up to 110 days with a total cumulative water table of only 683.1 mm in the open field.