Evaluation of Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) for High Tunnel Greenhouse Tomatoes under Different Irrigation Levels

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of water stress on yield and various physiological parameters, including the crop water stress index for tomatoes in the Central Anatolian region of Turkey. For this purpose, the irrigation schedule used in this study includes 120%, 100%, 80%, and 60% (I120, I100, I80, I60) of evaporation from the gravimetrically. Water deficit was found to cause a stress effect in tomato plants, which was reflected in changes in plants’ morphological and pomological function (such as stem diameter, fruit weight, pH, titratable acidity, and total soluble solids). Irrigation levels had a significant effect on the total yield of tomatoes. The lowest water use efficiency (WUE) was obtained from the I60, while the highest WUE was found in the I100 irrigation level. The CWSI was calculated using an empirical approach from measurements of infrared canopy temperatures, ambient air temperatures, and vapor pressure deficit values for four irrigation levels. The crop water stress index (CWSI) values ranged from −0.63 to a maximum value of 0.53 in I120, from −0.27 to 0.63 in I100, from 0.06 to 0.80 in I80, and from 0.37 to 0.97 in I60. There was a significant relation between yield and CWSI. The yield was correlated with mean CWSI values, and the linear equation Total yield = −2398.9CWSI + 1240.4 can be used for yield prediction. The results revealed that the CWSI value was useful for evaluating crop water stress in tomatoes and predicting yield. © 2024 by the authors.