Water usage at different growth stages of snap beans grown under two fertilizer regimes

Abstract

In actively growing plants all life processes take place in the presence of water. For every gram of dry matter produced several hundred grams of water pass through the plant and are lost into the atmosphere from plant surfaces by transpiration. Because of this loss of water, a large amount of water is necessary in order to obtain satisfactory yields and good quality produce. In central and southern Saskatchewan the average annual precipitation is relatively low and ranges from 25 to 38 centimeters (10 to 15 inches). Therefore, moisture can be the most important limiting factor for crop production in the area. The Department of Horticulture Science at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon has already conducted some fertility and irrigation trials on a number of vegetable crops. K. E. Hwang in 1970 conducted experiments in this department to study the amount of water used at different stages of growth by two crops, namely cabbage and potatoes. These experiments were designed to study the amount of water used at different stages of growth by snap beans under growth chamber conditions, and under the infiuence of two fertility levels.