CRITICAL QUALITY PARAMETERS CHANGING OF RED PEPPER IN RESPONE TO DIFFERENT IRRIGATION METHODS AND LEVELS

Abstract

New irrigation technologies and commonly usedtraditional furrow irrigation methods were compared to drip irrigation in orderto increase color, total dry matter, total carotenoid and vitamin C ofprocessing red pepper widely grown in the Mediterranean part of Turkey. Thisresearch was carried out in 2010-2011 growing seasons at Tarsus in Turkey. Theexperimental treatments; Drip treatments consist of full irrigation (DI100),deficit irrigation DI75, DI50, DIPRD50, and DIFPRD50Alternative partial root drying (DIPRD50) and fixed partial rootdrying (DIFPRD50) received 50% of DI100. Irrigation wasapplied when 25% and 40% of the available water in the 60 cm soil profile wereconsumed in DI100 and FI100 treatments in drip and furrowsystems, respectively and soil water replenished to field capacity in DI100and FI100 treatments. In furrow irrigation, treatments consist offull irrigation (FI100), alternative furrow (FIA50) andPRD furrow (FIPRD50). FIA50 and FIPRD50received 50% of water applied to FI100. In FIA50 the samefurrows were irrigated while FIPRD50 irrigated alternately. Thehighest yields in drip and furrow systems were obtained from the DI100and FI100 treatments, respectively. In generally, DIFPRD50treatment was the highest a* value in drip irrigation system which means thatfruits had more red color. On the other hand, b* values (it represents yellowcolor because of positive values) decreased following the first picking. Ingenerally, the color parameters (a* and b*) of furrow irrigation treatments inthe different picking times was not statistically significant. Total carotenoidrates increased with following picking time both drip and furrow irrigationsystems and it is lower value under drip system than in the furrow system.Finally, results indicate that in drip irrigation DI100 treatment;and in furrow irrigation, FI100 treatment was recommended. Underwater scarcity conditions, DI75 and FIPRD50 treatmentscan be recommended.