Effects of drought stress on growth characteristics of introduced pepper

By controlling the water content (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%) of matrix using automatic irrigation system, the leaf characteristics responses of three introduced peppers (i.e. Jalapeno Early Hot, Portugal Hot and Sweet banana) to drought stress were studied. The results showed that, compared with the control (25% water content), the leaf area, chlorophyll SPAD, relative water content and water potential of Jalapeno Early Hot treated with 5% water content were decreased by 9.79%, 10.76%, 8.03% and 79.45% respectively, and those for Sweet Banana were decreased by 18.05%, 13.51%, 17.70% and 149.23% respectively. Meanwhile, the root dry mass, root crown ratio and proline content increased by 19.43%, 26.82%, 201.85% respectively for Jalapeno Early Hot and 28.79%, 33.17%, 115.19% for Sweet Banana. The same trend was observed for Portugal Hot. These results indicate that pepper adapts to drought stress via adjusting its leaf characteristics. Accordingly, Jalapeno Early Hot showed the highest drought-resistance ability, followed by Portugal Hot and Sweet banana.