Water scarcity is seriously affecting agricultural production, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Therefore, there is increasing interest in improving water productivity in agriculture. This research aims to study the effects of deficit irrigation on the productive response of sweet pepper plants. Nine deficit irrigation strategies were assayed during two seasons (2017 and 2018) in a randomised complete block design with three replicates. These irrigation strategies consisted of applying 100%, 75% and 50% of the irrigation water requirement (IWR) during the entire growing period (continued deficit irrigation) or applying 75% or 50% of the IWR during one of the following stages (regulated deficit irrigation): vegetative growth, fruit setting, and harvesting. Pepper plants cultivated under deficit irrigation reduced fruit biomass and indicators of plant water status. Applying water deficits during the vegetative growth and fruit-setting stages had minimal effects on the marketable yield but with minimal water savings. Irrigating pepper plants with 75% or 50% of the IWR during the entire crop cycle or with 50% of the IWR during harvesting resulted in a high incidence of fruits affected by blossom end rot, which in turn, led to a drastic reduction of the marketable yield in relation to fully irrigated plants (− 36%, − 55% and − 44%, respectively). These strategies also recorded the highest soluble solid and phenolic contents. Reducing the water applied to 75% of the IWR at harvesting led to a yield reduction (− 19%) but with important water savings (21%) and acceptable levels of soluble fruit solids and phenolic compounds.

中文翻译：

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地中海条件下亏缺灌溉对滴灌甜椒（Capsicum annuum L.）产量和灌溉用水效率的影响

缺水严重影响农业生产，特别是在干旱和半干旱地区。因此，人们越来越关注提高农业用水生产率。本研究旨在研究亏缺灌溉对甜椒植物生产反应的影响。在两个季节（2017 年和 2018 年）的随机完整区组设计中分析了九种亏缺灌溉策略，三个重复。这些灌溉策略包括在整个生长期（持续亏缺灌溉）应用 100%、75% 和 50% 的灌溉用水需求 (IWR) 或在以下阶段之一应用 IWR 的 75% 或 50%亏缺灌溉）：营养生长、坐果和收获。在亏缺灌溉下栽培的辣椒植物降低了果实生物量和植物水分状况指标。在营养生长和坐果阶段缺水对可销售产量的影响很小，但节水量也很小。在整个作物周期中用 75% 或 50% 的 IWR 或在收获期间用 50% 的 IWR 灌溉辣椒植物，导致受花期腐烂影响的果实发生率很高，这反过来又导致了大量减少与完全灌溉植物相关的可销售产量（分别为 - 36%、 - 55% 和 - 44%）。这些策略还记录了最高的可溶性固体和酚类含量。