Effects of Salinity on Yield, Yield Components and Water Productivity of Black Carrot (Daucus Carota L.) Under Water Stress Condition

Abstract

Salinity and drought are some of the main problems affecting global crop yields. In this study, interaction effects of irrigation interval and salinity on yield, soil salinity, other parameters of black carrot were evaluated in a covered rain shelter. The treatments consist of three different irrigation intervals (4 days (I1), 6 days (I2), and 8 days (I3) with 6 different irrigation water salinity levels (0.38 (S1), 1.5 (S2), 3.0 (S3), 5.0 (S4) 7.0 (S5) and 10.0 (S6) dS m-1. The results indicated that the effect of interaction between irrigation interval and salinity was significant on yield, evapotranspiration, chlorophyll content, and soluble solid content (SSC). Yield and evapotranspiration decreased significantly with an increase in salinity and irrigation intervals. The highest yield was observed in I1S1, and the yield response (Ky) in the black carrot was 1.39. The irrigation water salinity up to 1.5 dS m-1 was nonsignificant on yield. However, the increase in soil salinity by 1 dS m-1 caused a decrease of 3.83%, 2.93%, and 3.03% in the yields of I1, I2, and I3, respectively. Moreover, increasing the salinity of irrigation water reduced the chlorophyll content and carrot juice pH value. The result of the study indicated that black carrot is sensitive to salt and water deficit, and the maximum irrigation interval using saline water should not be more than 6 days. Therefore, it can be concluded that in regions where salinity is high, more frequent irrigation minimizes losses that may occur in yield.