Horticultural Science and Technology 원예과학기술지 ISSN:1226-8763(Print) 2465-8588(Online)

Since the moisture content (MC) of growing medium closely related with the crop transpiration, the MC should be included to the environmental factors to be considered for irrigation control in soilless culture. The objective of this study was to analyze the transpiration of paprika plants using daily mean solar radiation (RAD) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as well as the growth of the plants at different MCs of rockwool growing media. The starting points of irrigation were controlled by a moisture sensor with minimum set points of 40%, 50%, and 60% of MCs. The canopy transpirations were measured for 80 to 120 days after transplanting and analyzed. The transpirations were well regressed with a combination of both RAD and VPD rather than daily mean RAD only under the controlled MCs. The transpiration at 60% MC was higher than those at 50% and 40% MCs. Leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weights at 60% MC were higher than those at 50% and 40% MCs while the number of leaves had no significant difference among the MCs. There were no significant differences in number of fruits and fruit size among all the MCs, while fruit weight was significantly lower at 40% MC than other treatments. Fresh and dry fruit yields were the highest at 60% MC. Therefore it was concluded that the transpiration was affected by the MC of rockwool growing medium and the minimum set point of 50-60% MC of rockwool growing medium gave better effects on the growth of the paprika plants.