[EN] Water stress is a major environmental factor that limits crop production and it is important to develop crop varieties
with higher yield under water scarcity. Increased pepper tolerance to water stress through grafting onto robust
rootstocks could be an optimal alternative in the context of environmentally friendly agriculture. Our work evaluated
the behaviour of 18 pepper genotypes during vegetative and reproductive stages under water stress in order to select
tolerant genotypes to be used as rootstocks for pepper cultivation. The pepper tolerance screening was based on photosynthetic
parameters. The genotypes Atlante, C-40, Serrano, PI-152225, ECU-973, BOL-58 and NuMex Conquistador
were revealed as the most tolerant genotypes to water stress because they maintained net photosynthetic rate levels
under water stress conditions. The selected genotypes were validated as rootstocks on a pepper cultivar in terms of
productivity under severe water stress. Plants grafted onto cvs Atlante, PI-152225 and ECU-973 showed higher marketable
yields when compared with ungrafted cultivar.Supported by Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Project RTA2010-00038-C03-01-03
and the European Regional Development Fund.Penella, C.; González Nebauer, S.; López Galarza, SV.; San Bautista Primo, A.; Rodríguez Burruezo, A.; Calatayud, A. (2014). Evaluation of some pepper genotypes as rootstocks in water stress conditions. Horticultural Science. 41:192-200. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/73283S1922004
