Growth of Spondias tuberosa Irrigated With Saline Water

Spondias tuberosa is a fruit tree species and its production is exploited by extractivism. The expansion of the planted area may be favored by using irrigation with saline water. Thus the objective of the present study was to assess the initial growth of S. tuberosa plants irrigated with saline water. The study was carried out in 12 L pots containing substrate composed of oxisol, sand and manure at 3-1-0.5. Respectively, in a greenhouse at the State University of Goiás, Campus Ipameri, Brazil. A completely randomized design was used with five treatments and six replications consisting of S. tuberosa plants irrigated with water with electric conductivity of 0 dS m-1; 2 dS m-1; 4 dS m-1; 6 dS m-1 and 8 dS m-1 for 40 days. The growth of the S. tuberosa plants was significantly affected by the salinity of the irrigation water. The plants did not show visible symptoms of toxicity but the saline conditions were enough to reduce the start of new leaves and growth as a whole. The expressive effect of salinity on dehydration of S. tuberosa plants, manifested by the low relative water content, transpiration and accentuated leaf fall, indicated that using saline water on S. tuberosa plants at the initial growth stage may result in significant delay in development and may influence the adult plant.