Utilization of soil moisture through furrow irrigation for the growth of Chilli pepper

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the growth rate of pepper plants by providing irrigation water based on readily available water through a furrow irrigation system. This study analysis of the soil physical properties, calculate the total available water and the water requirement of plants and observe the growth of pepper plants. The irrigation is conducted once every 7 days during the growth period. The result showed that soil with sandy loam texture has total available water is 112 mm and readily available water is 55.9mm. The average water requirement of chilli pepper plants is 3.87mm/day with the highest water requirement during flowering and fertilization is 5.18 mm/day. The growth of chilli pepper plant in furrow irrigation systems is 19.8mm/week which indicated the tendency for disturbances during growth due to water stress at vegetative growth periods, with a maximum Leaf Area Index of 33.24cm2.