Hot pepper yield as affected by irrigation water depths

Abstract

Aiming on evaluating the effects of different water depths on hot pepper yield cv. Tabasco McIlhenny, an experiment was carried out at Universidade Federal do Ceara – UFC, Curu Valley Farm division, located in Pentecoste County, Ceara, Brazil, from Setember, 2003 to January 2004. The experimental design was a complete randomized blocks with three replicates. Treatments consisted of different irrigation water depths based on daily evaporation rates measured by a class “A” pan (120; 100; 80; 60 e 40%). Average fruit weight and plant yield increased with irrigation water depths, although fresh aboveground matter weight, number of fruits per plant, and water use efficiency did not seem to respond to the applied treatments. The highest yield (18.9 t ha-1) was obtained with the 120% irrigation water depth.