Papaya Seedling Growth Response to Wind and Water Deficit is Additive

Abstract

Trade winds occur throughout the year and drought occurs seasonally in many papaya (Carica papaya L.) production regions. We conducted four studies with `Known You 1' and `Sunrise' papaya seedlings to determine the combined influence of wind and water deficit on growth. We conducted three additional experiments to determine plant response to wind within a continuous dose range of 0 to 2.5 m·s–1. The main effects of wind and irrigation significantly reduced most response variables, such as dry weight components, leaf area, and height. However, the two factors acted independently of each other for every measure of plant growth. Thus, there was no departure from simple effects of an additive model for each main factor. The relationship between plant growth and wind between 0 and 2.5 m·s–1 could be described by a quadratic model. Results indicate that the influence of wind on plant growth cannot be studied without controlling or quantifying soil moisture among treatment groups. Practically, our results indicate that wind protection of young papaya plants may be warranted more so in the dry season than in the wet season or under sufficient irrigation practices.