Effect of Four Irrigation Regimes and Different Fertilizers on Vegetative Growth and Fruit Parameters of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of four levels of irrigation water and three kinds of fertilizer on components of field-grown eggplant (Solanum melongena) in the years 2017 and 2018. Treatments included four irrigation regimes, which were 100% (I100, control), 80% (I80), 60% (I60), and 40% (I40) of evaporation from Class A pan and three different fertilizers, which were chemical fertilizer (CHF) with 40 kg da-1, organic fertilizer (OF) and developed organic fertilizer (DOF) with 2000 kg da-1. The experiment was designed with a split-plot randomized block with 3 replications. In experimental years, all irrigation treatments were irrigated 12 and 13 times, respectively with a drip irrigation system. Irrigation water amounts applied at I40, I60, I80, I100 in 2017 as 122, 183, 244, 305 mm and in 2018 were 147, 218, 289, 360 mm respectively. Seasonal plant water consumption values are in 2017, 2018 years respectively as follow: I40; 265 mm, 277 mm I60; 326 mm, 342 mm, I80; 386 mm; 382 mm, I100; 447 mm, 423 mm. In both experiment years, the effect of irrigation levels on plant components was statistically significant, the highest value of each component in both seasons was at I100 treatment, it was determined respectively as follow: Plant height PH (67.3 to 89.8 cm), branches number per plant BN (5.1 and 7.0), fruit number per plant FN (5.3 and 7.0), fruit weight FW (190.33 and 198.22 g).