CRECIMIENTO, RENDIMIENTO Y HUELLA HÍDRICA DEL PEPINO VERDE (Cucumis sativus L.) COMO RESPUESTA A LA TENSIÓN DE HUMEDAD EN EL SUELO

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Anthropogenic increases in water consumption and changes in precipitation patterns caused by climate change make it imperative to optimize water use, particularly in the agricultural sector in which most large proportion of fresh water is used. <strong>Objective:</strong> To evaluate the effect of irrigation, applied when soil water moisture tensión (SWMT) has reached levels -15, -30, -45 and -60 kPa, on growth, yield, water use efficiency and water footprint in cucumber production, in “La Chontalpa”, Tabasco. <strong>Methodology:</strong> The experiment was carried out under a randomized complete block experimental design with four repetitions. The variables evaluated were: length of the main guide (<em>LGP</em>; cm), diameter of the main guide (<em>DGP</em>; mm), number of leaves per plant (<em>NH</em>), number of female flowers (<em>NFF</em>), number of male flowers (<em>NFM</em>), number of total flowers (<em>NFT</em>), ratio of male flowers/female flowers (<em>FM</em>/<em>FF</em>), number of fruits per plant (<em>NFP</em>), fruit length (<em>LF</em>; cm), fruit diameter (<em>DF</em>; cm) , fruit weight (<em>PF</em>; g), fruit weight per plant (<em>PFP</em>; kg plant<sup>-1</sup>) and fruit yield per hectare (<em>RF</em>; t ha<sup>-1</sup>). Irrigation water use efficiency (<em>EUAr</em>; t ha<sup>-1</sup> mm<sup>-1</sup>), total water use efficiency (<em>EUAT</em>; t ha<sup>-1</sup> mm<sup>-1</sup>), and water footprint (<em>HH</em>) were also evaluated (m<sup>3</sup> t<sup>-1</sup>). <strong>Results:</strong> In all variables related to cucumber growth and yield, statistically equal values were found in the -15 kPa and -30 kPa treatments, with significantly lower values in the -60 kPa SWMT (Tukey; α = 0.05). The highest <em>EUAr</em> and the lowest <em>HH</em> were observed in the SWMT of -30 kPa, significantly different from the rest of the treatments. <strong>Implications:</strong> The results show that the application of irrigation in the crop, based on SWMT measurements, allows improving agricultural water management, reducing <em>HH</em>. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The value of SWMT at the time of irrigation has a significant effect on growth and yield variables, as well as on sustainability indicators in irrigation water management.</p>