Full Length Research Paper

The response of Cyclamen hederifolium to water stress induced by different irrigation levels

Murat Yıldırım¹*, Arda Akcal² and Kenan Kaynas²

¹Department of Farm Structure and Irrigation, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey.

²Department of Horticulture, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: myildirim@comu.edu.tr. Tel.: +90-286-2180018/1321. Fax: +90-286-2180545.

Accepted 10 February, 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different irrigation levels on morphological and physiological parameters of Cyclamen hederifolium. Irrigation applications was scheduled as 40% of the available water was depleted in the root zone in the full irrigation and intended to refill the root zone up to field capacity. In the deficit treatments, water was applied in the range of 75% (I.₇₅), 50% (I.₅₀) and 25% (I.₂₅) of the full irrigation. Deficit irrigation regimes reduced the applied water at the average rates of 17, 37 and 50%, respectively. Although the highest amount of applied water was in the I_1.0 treatment , deficit irrigation application of I.₅₀ (114 mm water applied) exibited good development on some morphological and physiological characters of C. hederifolium; leaf area index (LAI), water use effi-ciency, and also tuber development were the highest in the treatment of I.₅₀. Our results clearly indicate that more than 114 mm irrigation water is an excessive water application, adversely less than that amount has negative effects on the morphological and physiological parameters of the bulbs of C. hederifolium.

Key words: Cyclamen hederifolium, water deficit, corm production.