EARTH SCIENCES AND HUMAN CONSTRUCTIONS
Print ISSN: 2944-9154, E-ISSN: 2944-9006 An Open Access International Journal of Earth Sciences and Human Constructions
Volume 4, 2024
Effect of Irrigation Water Salinity on Physiological Parameters and Yield of Tomato Plants Across Phenological Stages
Authors: , , , , ,
Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effects of irrigation water salinity on the stomatal conductance (gs), chlorophyll content index (CCI) and leaf area index (LAI) of tomato plants during four different phenological stages (vegetative, flowering, early fruit growth, and harvest), at both pre- and post-irrigation. For this purpose, gs, CCI, and LAI data were collected from tomato plants grown under four different irrigation water salinity levels including 0.7, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 dS $$m^{−1}$$. Differences in mean gs and CCI data across different irrigation water salinity levels at various phenological stages were determined using a two-way ANOVA. Differences between phenological stages within each irrigation salinity level and yield parameter were assessed using one-way ANOVA. The results indicated that only the gs values averaged over all phenological stages at pre-irrigation was significantly affected from irrigation water salinity. In general, stomatal conductivity significantly reduced under water salinity level of 7.5 dS $$m^{−1}$$ (P >0.05). On the other hand, significant effects among phenological stages were observed for both gs and CCI values averaged over all irrigation water salinity levels at both pre- and post-irrigation (P< 0.01). Considering the end of the growing season, LAI, in general, decreased as irrigation water salinity increased. The results also reveal that the yield parameters including not marketable, marketable and total fruit production of tomatoes were not meaningfully affected by irrigation water salinity. The research findings are believed to contribute to optimizing drip irrigation practices using low-quality waters in tomato cultivation.
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Pages: 177-186
DOI: 10.37394/232024.2024.4.22