Assessing Different Irrigation Regimes Regarding Chlorophyll Content of the Sweet Bell Pepper

Abstract

Effective use of water is critically significant in the agriculture where water is most used. Many researchers indicate that at present and in the future, irrigated agriculture will have to take place under limited irrigation water available. Deficit irrigation, which aims efficient use of water, is becoming more predominant. Due to all these reasons, it is very important to find out the effect of the deficit irrigation on the plant growth. Photosynthesis is one of the physiological events that affect plant development. Chlorophyll plays an important role in photosynthesis process by absorbing sunlight and uses its energy to synthesise carbohydrates from CO2. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of different irrigation regimes on chlorophyll a and b contents of the sweet bell pepper. For this purpose, this study was carried out in a controlled 1 da glasshouse environment in the research area at Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University. In the experiment four irrigation regimes (I100, I80, I60 and I40) were examined. Chlorophyll analysis of the sweet bell pepper was carried out according to the method of acetone extraction before and after irrigation following the fruit formation period. According to the experiment results, it was found out that chlorophyll degradation increases due to the aging of the plant leaves, therefore, the amount decreased. It was also found that this decrease in I40, which is the most stressful treatment, is much more evident than in other treatments.