{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T14:33:33Z","timestamp":1787582013558,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787529600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Vegetable Industry Technology System of Xinjiang. Uygur Autonomous Region","award":["XJARS-07-12"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XJARS-07-12"]}]},{"name":"Development and application of specialized membranes and equipment for the desalination of shallow saline water of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps","award":["2025AB077"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025AB077"]}]},{"award":["2025AB077"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025AB077"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03hcmxw73","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Brackish water utilization provides an alternative strategy for alleviating freshwater scarcity in arid agricultural regions; however, the synergistic regulation of salinity, irrigation, and nitrogen management remains unclear. A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2025 and 2026 to investigate the effects of water\u2013nitrogen\u2013salinity interactions on growth, yield formation, resource use efficiency, and fruit quality of pigment pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) under arid conditions in Xinjiang, China. An L9(33) orthogonal experimental design was adopted with three levels of brackish water salinity, irrigation amount, and nitrogen application rate. The comprehensive production performance of different management strategies was further evaluated using a combined weighting Cloud\u2013TOPSIS approach. The results showed that water\u2013nitrogen\u2013salinity interactions significantly regulated pigment pepper growth, yield formation, and resource utilization, with consistent responses observed across the two experimental years. Increasing irrigation water salinity reduced leaf chlorophyll content (CHL) and nitrogen balance index (NBI), whereas flavonoid content (FLAV) exhibited an increasing trend under moderate salinity stress. Low-salinity irrigation combined with appropriate water and nitrogen inputs maintained higher photosynthetic capacity and nitrogen nutritional status. Yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) were jointly affected by salinity, irrigation, and nitrogen supply. Excessive salinity significantly reduced crop productivity, while optimized irrigation and nitrogen management alleviated salt stress effects. The T2 treatment (1 g L\u22121 salinity, 2400 m3 ha\u22121 irrigation, and 300 kg ha\u22121 nitrogen application) achieved the highest yield and maintained favorable WUE and PFPN values in both years. Fruit quality responses demonstrated that moderate salinity promoted capsaicinoid accumulation, whereas excessive salinity restricted biomass production and quality improvement. Correlation analysis revealed that photosynthetic nitrogen metabolism indicators were closely associated with yield formation, while flavonoid accumulation showed stronger relationships with quality attributes. The Cloud\u2013TOPSIS evaluation identified T2 as the optimal management strategy under the experimental conditions by balancing yield, quality, and resource use efficiency. These findings indicate that coordinated regulation of irrigation water salinity, water supply, and nitrogen input is essential for achieving efficient brackish water utilization and sustainable pigment pepper production in arid regions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15172573","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T13:20:43Z","timestamp":1787577643000},"page":"2573","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Optimization of Water\u2013Nitrogen\u2013Salinity Management for Improving Yield, Quality, and Resource Use Efficiency of Pigment Pepper Under Brackish Water Irrigation in Arid Regions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-6629-1035","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xi","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-6931-700X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yao","family":"Guan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-9060-040X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinghong","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"South Xinjiang Geotechnical Engineering Research Center, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-4503-2593","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiaxin","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaozhe","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongrui","family":"Pang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, L., Zhong, L., Liu, J., Ma, R., Miao, Y., Chen, W., Zheng, J., Pang, X., and Wan, H. (2023). Pigment biosynthesis and molecular genetics of fruit color in pepper. Plants, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants12112156"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"195","article-title":"Development status of pepper industry in Xinjiang and its countermeasures","volume":"13","author":"Cui","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mod. Agric. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"525","article-title":"Development achievements and countermeasures of high-quality development of pepper industry in Xinjiang","volume":"12","author":"Guo","year":"2024","journal-title":"Southeast Hortic."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.12677\/jwrr.2025.141007","article-title":"Thoughts on optimal allocation of water resources in Xinjiang region","volume":"14","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Water Resour. Res."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107380","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2021.107380","article-title":"Quantifying grain yield, protein, nutrient uptake and utilization of winter wheat under various drip fertigation regimes","volume":"261","author":"Yan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"91","article-title":"A review of brackish water for agricultural safe irrigation","volume":"10","author":"Cai","year":"2020","journal-title":"Water Sav. Irrig."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Atta, K., Mondal, S., Gorai, S., Singh, A.P., Kumari, A., Ghosh, T., Roy, A., Hembram, S., Gaikwad, D.J., and Mondal, S. (2023). Impacts of salinity stress on crop plants: Improving salt tolerance through genetic and molecular dissection. Front. Plant Sci., 14.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2023.1241736"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Guo, T., Huang, X., Feng, K., and Mao, X. (2025). Impact of deficit drip irrigation with brackish water on soil water\u2013salt dynamics and maize yield in film-mulched fields. Agronomy, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy15020379"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"555","article-title":"Effect of alternate irrigation with reclaimed water and saline water on sunflower growth and grain development","volume":"56","author":"He","year":"2025","journal-title":"Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Mach."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"643","article-title":"Salinity threshold of long-term saline water irrigation for winter wheat in Hebei Lowland Plain","volume":"24","author":"Li","year":"2016","journal-title":"Chin. J. Eco-Agric."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152760","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jallcom.2019.152760","article-title":"The keys for effective distribution of intergranular voids of peapod-like MnO@C core-shell for lithium ion batteries","volume":"817","author":"Ko","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Alloys Compd."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"209","article-title":"Growth characteristics and yield of crops under magnetized brackish water irrigation: Taking Qinghe County as an example","volume":"35","author":"Pu","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Water Resour. Water Eng."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121375","DOI":"10.1016\/j.indcrop.2025.121375","article-title":"Optimizing irrigation salinity for cotton production through cotton yield and fiber quality and water use efficiency in arid regions","volume":"233","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Ind. Crops Prod."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fallik, E., Alkalai-Tuvia, S., Chalupowicz, D., Zaaroor-Presman, M., Offenbach, R., Cohen, S., and Tripler, E. (2019). How water quality and quantity affect pepper yield and postharvest quality. Horticulturae, 5.","DOI":"10.3390\/horticulturae5010004"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Govindasamy, P., Muthusamy, S.K., Bagavathiannan, M., Mowrer, J., Jagannadham, P.T.K., Maity, A., Halli, H.M., Sujayananad, G.K., Vadivel, R., and Das, T.K. (2023). Nitrogen use efficiency: A key to enhance crop productivity under a changing climate. Front. Plant Sci., 14.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2023.1121073"},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"104","article-title":"Effect of water and fertilizer coupling on yield and water use efficiency of tomato cultivated by organic substrate","volume":"1","author":"Wu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Soil Fertil. Sci. China"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21554","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-72498-6","article-title":"Effects of brackish water irrigation with different exogenous salt concentrations on the growth and rhizosphere salinity of Lycium barbarum","volume":"14","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127231","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eja.2024.127231","article-title":"Critical assessment of nitrogen use efficiency indicators: Bridging new and old paradigms to improve sustainable nitrogen management","volume":"159","author":"Tamagno","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eur. J. Agron."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"39","article-title":"Fruit quality analysis and comprehensive evaluation of 85 tomato germplasm resources with different fruit types","volume":"39","author":"Li","year":"2026","journal-title":"China Cucurbits Veg."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108599","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2023.108599","article-title":"Optimizing irrigation management sustained grain yield, crop water productivity, and mitigated greenhouse gas emissions from the winter wheat field in North China Plain","volume":"290","author":"Mehmood","year":"2023","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"217","article-title":"Comprehensive evaluation of emergency logistics suppliers based on cloud TOPSIS method","volume":"34","author":"Huang","year":"2024","journal-title":"China Saf. Sci. J."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"1198","article-title":"Application of polyphenol-chlorophyll meter to monitor cotton nitrogen nutrition status","volume":"27","author":"Yin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Plant Nutr. Fertil. Sci."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"176","article-title":"Determination of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in fresh chilis by QuEChERS-liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry","volume":"46","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Food Res. Dev."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117553","DOI":"10.1016\/j.indcrop.2023.117553","article-title":"Biofertilizer application improved cotton growth, nitrogen use efficiency, and yield in saline water drip-irrigated cotton fields in Xinjiang, China","volume":"205","author":"Ding","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ind. Crops Prod."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1134\/S1021443723601957","article-title":"Biochemical mechanisms in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) under abiotic stress, grown in a hydroponic system","volume":"71","author":"Mallem","year":"2024","journal-title":"Russ. J. Plant Physiol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sugumar, T., Shen, G., Smith, J., and Zhang, H. (2024). Creating climate-resilient crops by increasing drought, heat, and salt tolerance. Plants, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants13091238"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165239","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2023.165239","article-title":"Long-term application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers changes the process of community construction by affecting keystone species of crop rhizosphere microorganisms","volume":"897","author":"Wu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"595","DOI":"10.1080\/01904167.2013.867985","article-title":"Interactive effects of salinity and n on pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) yield, water use efficiency and root zone and drainage salinity","volume":"37","author":"Semiz","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Plant Nutr."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111829","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scienta.2023.111829","article-title":"Identification of optimal irrigation and fertilizer rates to balance yield, water and fertilizer productivity, and fruit quality in greenhouse tomatoes using TOPSIS","volume":"311","author":"Yu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci. Hortic."},{"key":"ref_30","first-page":"1","article-title":"Effects of irrigation with brackish water and biogas slurry on dry matter accumulation, yield and quality of greenhouse tomatoes","volume":"43","author":"Zheng","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Irrig. Drain."},{"key":"ref_31","first-page":"423","article-title":"Effects of irrigation water salt compositions on tomato growth and soil salinization","volume":"38","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Soil Water Conserv."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6446","DOI":"10.1007\/s42729-024-01980-x","article-title":"Current research trends in endophytic fungi modulating plant adaptation to climate change-associated soil salinity stress","volume":"24","author":"Nurrahma","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2017.05.012","article-title":"Does water salinity affect pepper plant response to nitrogen fertigation?","volume":"191","author":"Yasuor","year":"2017","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3273","DOI":"10.1080\/01904167.2023.2194317","article-title":"Nitrogen application rates influence on yield and water productivity of quinoa under saline irrigation water regimes and saline water table","volume":"46","author":"Sepaskhah","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Plant Nutr."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115386","DOI":"10.1016\/j.indcrop.2022.115386","article-title":"An optimum combination of irrigation amount, irrigation water salinity and nitrogen application rate can improve cotton (for fiber) nitrogen uptake and final yield","volume":"187","author":"Wang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ind. Crops Prod."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106738","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2021.106738","article-title":"Effects of water quality, irrigation amount and nitrogen applied on soil salinity and cotton production under mulched drip irrigation in arid Northwest China","volume":"247","author":"Che","year":"2021","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"31","article-title":"Impact of water-fertilizer-air-heat coupling on photosynthetic characteristics and yield of pepper in greenhouse","volume":"38","author":"Zhao","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Irrig. Drain."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104304","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agsy.2025.104304","article-title":"Agronomic measures improve crop yield and water and nitrogen use efficiency under brackish water irrigation: A global meta-analysis","volume":"226","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Agric. Syst."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109097","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fcr.2023.109097","article-title":"Optimizing brackish water and nitrogen application regimes for soil salinity, yield, fertilizer and water productivity of a mulched drip irrigated cotton cropping system","volume":"302","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Field Crops Res."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107277","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2021.107277","article-title":"Effects of irrigation and fertilization on grain yield, water and nitrogen dynamics and their use efficiency of spring wheat farmland in an arid agricultural watershed of Northwest China","volume":"260","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1007\/s00271-024-00928-4","article-title":"Study on irrigation scheme and nitrogen application to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in saline farmland in the arid\/semi-arid region of Hetao Irrigation District","volume":"43","author":"He","year":"2024","journal-title":"Irrig. Sci."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ma, H., Jiang, P., Zhang, X., Ma, W., Cai, Z., and Sun, Q. (2024). Effects of nitrogen fertilization combined with subsurface irrigation on alfalfa yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency, quality, and economic benefits. Front. Plant Sci., 15.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2024.1339417"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108578","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2023.108578","article-title":"Responses of yield, fruit quality and water relations of sweet pepper in Mediterranean greenhouses to increasing salinity","volume":"290","author":"Salinas","year":"2023","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zamljen, T., Medic, A., Hudina, M., Veberic, R., and Slatnar, A. (2022). Salt stress differentially affects the primary and secondary metabolism of peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) according to the genotype, fruit part, and salinity level. Plants, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants11070853"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106104","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2020.106104","article-title":"Influence of irrigation on yield and primary and secondary metabolites in two chilies species, Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum chinense Jacq","volume":"234","author":"Zamljen","year":"2020","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.21273\/HORTSCI.46.3.487","article-title":"Water deficit affects the accumulation of capsaicinoids in fruits of Capsicum chinense Jacq","volume":"46","year":"2011","journal-title":"HortScience"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111713","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scienta.2022.111713","article-title":"Biostimulative effect of amino acids on the enzymatic and metabolic response of two Capsicum annuum L. cultivars grown under salt stress","volume":"309","author":"Zamljen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci. Hortic."},{"key":"ref_48","first-page":"448","article-title":"Role of peroxidases in capsaicinoids degradation in habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) plants grown under water deficit conditions","volume":"8","year":"2014","journal-title":"Aust. J. Crop Sci."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7057","DOI":"10.1021\/jf4051717","article-title":"Enzymatic changes in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, cinnamic-4-hydroxylase, capsaicin synthase, and peroxidase activities in Capsicum under drought stress","volume":"62","author":"Phimchan","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"275","DOI":"10.1016\/j.hpj.2023.06.003","article-title":"Two APETALA2\/ethylene response factors coordinately with CaMYC2 positively regulate capsaicinoid biosynthesis in pepper (Capsicum annuum)","volume":"11","author":"Song","year":"2025","journal-title":"Hortic. Plant J."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108530","DOI":"10.1016\/j.agwat.2023.108530","article-title":"Deficit irrigation regulates fruit quality formation by modifying photosynthesis and secondary metabolism in horticultural crops","volume":"289","author":"Zheng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Agric. Water Manag."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hao, K., Fei, L., Liu, L., Jie, F., Peng, Y., Liu, X., Khan, S.A., Wang, D., and Wang, X. (2022). Comprehensive evaluation on the yield, quality, and water-nitrogen use efficiency of mountain apple under surge-root irrigation in the Loess Plateau based on the improved TOPSIS method. Front. Plant Sci., 13.","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2022.853546"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, Z., Hu, Y., Zhang, S., Raza, S., Wei, X., and Zhao, X. (2022). The Thresholds and Management of Irrigation and Fertilization Earning Yields and Water Use Efficiency in Maize, Wheat, and Rice in China: A Meta-Analysis (1990\u20132020). Agronomy, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/agronomy12030709"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113653","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scienta.2024.113653","article-title":"Optimizing water-fertilizer integration with drip irrigation management to improve crop yield, water, and nitrogen use efficiency: A meta-analysis study","volume":"338","author":"Yang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. Hortic."}],"container-title":["Plants"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/15\/17\/2573\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T13:49:08Z","timestamp":1787579348000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/15\/17\/2573"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"references-count":54,"journal-issue":{"issue":"17","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["plants15172573"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/plants15172573","relation":{},"ISSN":["2223-7747"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2223-7747","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]}}}