Morphology and Production of West Indian Cherry Irrigated With Saline Waters Under Combinations of Nitrogen-Potassium Fertilization

Abstract

Fertilization management is one of the technologies studied to reduce nutritional imbalance in plants submitted to saline stress. In this context, we analyzed the effect of the combination of nitrogen and potassium fertilization on the morphology and production of West Indian cherry irrigated with saline waters in the first year of cultivation. The experiment was carried out in the CCTA/UFCG, in 60-L lysimeters installed in the field, in a randomized block design and 5 x 4 factorial scheme, referring to five levels of irrigation water salinity (ECw), i.e., 0.3, 1.3, 2.3, 3.3, and 4.3 dS m-1, and four combinations (C) of nitrogen-potassium fertilization, i.e., C1 = 70% N + 50% K2O; C2 = 100% N + 75% K2O; C3 = 130% N + 100% K2O, and C4 = 160% N + 125% K2O of the recommended dose for West Indian cherry, with three replicates and one plant per plot consisting of a lysimeter. The cv. ‘Flor Branca’, grafted on cv. Junco, was studied. The combination of fertilization with 70% N + 50% K2O promoted higher morphology and production values and mitigated the effect of salinity on fruit diameter up to an ECw of 1.3 dS m-1. Nitrogen-potassium fertilization in the combination of 130% N + 100% K2O impaired plant morphology and production. The ECw above 0.3 dS m-1 decreased the stem diameter, size, and average weight of fruits of West Indian cherry in the first year of cultivation.

Growth and gas exchange of West Indian cherry irrigated with saline waters under combinations of nitrogen-potassium fertilization

“…Sá et al (2019), studying the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus doses proportions on BRS Jaburu West Indian cherry under irrigation water salinity, observed that increases of 40% of N and P in relation to the recommended dose mitigate the salt stress effects up to ECw 3.0 dS m -1 in growth, physiology and production, during the first crop cycle. Likewise, Silva et al (2019) found that combining fertilization with 70% N + 50% K 2 O of the recommended dose by Cavalcanti (2008) minimized the negative effects of irrigation water salinity on the fruit diameter of West Indian cherry cv. Flor Branca up to the ECw of 1.3 dS m -1 .…”

“…Salt excess in irrigation water can compromise the soil physical-chemical properties and the growth, physiology and yield of crops, as in the West Indian cherry case (Alvarenga et al, 2019;Sá et al, 2019;Silva et al, 2019). It reduces the water availability to plants due to the soil solution osmotic effect, causing a toxic effect mainly due the Na + and Clions (Roy et al, 2014;Gupta & Huang, 2014).…”

Chloroplast pigments and photochemical efficiency of West Indian cherry under salt stress and potassium-phosphorus fertilization

“…ex DC.) has stood out in Brazil as a promising fruit crop for agribusiness, due to the high contents of vitamin C, anthocyanins, and carotenoids in its fruits (Dias, Lima, Pinheiro, Gheyi, & Soares, 2019;Sá et al, 2019a) and for being a tropical crop that has found favorable edaphoclimatic conditions for its cultivation in the Northeast region (E. M. Silva, Gheyi, Nobre, Barbosa, & Souza, 2019), which is the main producing region and is responsible for 70% of the national production (Furlaneto & Nasser, 2015).…”

“…Therefore, the use of saline water in agriculture is conditioned on the management practices adopted to minimize its negative effects. In this context, Andrade, Pereira, Fernandes, Queiroga and Queiroga (2011) and Silva et al (2019) point out that an increase in the supply of certain nutrients, such as K and P, reduces the absorption of Na + and Clions through competitive inhibition, promoting increased tolerance of the crop to salinity. Heidari and Jamshid (2010) and Prazeres et al (2015) state that K contributes to enzymatic activation, respiration, photosynthesis, and improvement in water balance.…”

Fruit quality of West Indian cherry under saline water irrigation and nitrogen-potassium fertilization

“…In this context, several studies have been conducted aiming to promote the use of saline waters for the cultivation of West Indian cherry (Dias et al, 2018;Melo et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2019). However, there is no consensus on the threshold limit of soil and/or water salinity for the cultivation of this fruit species, and furthermore, in the literature, information about the effects of salt stress on the physicochemical characteristics of the fruits is incipient.…”