How Water Stress Affects Pepper Plant Growth

Scientists wanted to understand how water shortages impact pepper plant growth. They ran experiments with different water levels (ranging from 45 to 85%) and exposure times (2 to 8 days). They tracked how quickly plants developed, how much they were affected by light and heat (TEP), and the total growing days (GDD). They found that mild water stress sped up growth, while severe stress slowed it down. The best way to simulate growth was by looking at physiological development time (PDT). Using this method, they created models to predict growth under various water conditions. They tried out different methods like spline, cubic, and linear interpolation. The spline model worked the best, giving very accurate results. These findings can help farmers manage water better and plan for droughts.