Does water salinity affect pepper plant response to nitrogen fertigation?

Abstract

Recent increase in demand for agricultural products combined with scarcity of fresh water has motivated increased use of non-conventional water sources for irrigation. Application of water varying in quality dictates adjustment of nitrogen (N) management. The response of bell pepper to a range of different concentrations of N and salinity (NaCl) was evaluated in soilless and field experiments under greenhouse conditions. Pepper plant biomass and yield increased with N and decreased with salinity. Chloride accumulated mainly in the stems and the fraction of Cl in leaves increased as a function of increased exposure to salinity. Increasing N application resulted in reduced Cl uptake and accumulation in pepper organs, including leaves and petioles. Although N significantly reduced Cl content and concentration in leaves and petioles it did not compensate for the negative effects of increasing salinity. This indicates that salinity itself and not Cl − N competition was the limiting factor affecting growth and yield.