Morphology and physiology of kale plants under excess and deficient water conditions

ABSTRACT Kale (Brassica oleracea, var. Acephala) contains complete nutrients that are very useful for health. The cultivation of kale plant requires adequate water. However, climate change results in erratic soil water supply and decreases plant productivity. This study investigated the effect of soil water content on morphology and physiology of kale and to determine optimum soil water content level for kale cultivation (100, 80, 60, 40 or 20%). Soil water content affected growth, fresh weight, kale plant biomass, and water use efficiency, but did not affect transpiration rate and leaf relative water content. Optimum soil water content for kale was 60% field capacity or 21.50% actual water content on a dusty loam soil, with a biomass of 12.35 g and water use efficiency of 106.38%.