Biomass and Leaf Chlorophyll in Oiticica Seedlings Under Water Salinity Irrigaton and Organic Compound Addition

Abstract

Salt-compromised agricultural areas in the semi-arid regions of the Brazilian Northeast, have increased due to the use of water with high saline concentration as the only water supply available to plants, damaging the quality of the seedlings and the productive yield of the crops. One way to alleviate the detrimental effects of salts is the addition of organic compound to the substrate as a way to attenuate the action of water and soil salinity on biomass formation and chlorophyllactic activity in seedlings and adult plants of forest species, including Licania rigida Benth, the Oiticica. In view of this issue, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of water salinity irrigation and of the addition of an organic compound obtained by fermentation of castor bean (Ricinus communis) and cattle manure on biomass accumulation and chlorophyll indices in Oiticica seedlings. The experiment was carried out in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme in randomized blocks, with five replications and two seedlings per plot, relative to the proportions of organic compost - C and soil - S (0C: 1S, 1C: 1S, 2C: 1S, 3C: 1S) and irrigation of the seedlings with non-saline (0.5 dS m-1) and saline (4.5 dS m-1) water. The increase of organic compound in the substrate in proportion to the soil of 3: 1 surpassed by 42.9% the biomass of the aerial part of the Oiticica seedlings irrigated with saline water. The results indicate that the organic compound mitigates, though does not eliminate, the detrimental effects of water salinity irrigation on the biomass formation and chlorophyllactic indexes of the seedlings

Brackish water and organic matter in the substrate for the growth and quality of oiticica seedlings

“…Seedling total dry mass in the 1OM:1S, 2OM:1S, and 3OM:1S substrates was, respectively, 29.7, 28.4, and 63.5% greater than seedlings grown in a substrate free of organic matter (Figure 5). When considering the supremacy of the seedlings, of the respective treatments, in relation to the substrate without organic compound, the positive action of this input in the reduction of the harmful effects of water salinity on the formation of oiticica seedlings, as recorded per Cavalcante et al (2016) and Cavalcante et al (2020) in seedlings of the same species.…”

“…The use of water with high salt content in silvicultural systems has increased since it is often the only available source of water for propagating forest and native species in semi-arid areas (Lima et al, 2015;Souza et al, 2015), including the production of oiticica seedlings (Diniz Neto et al, 2014;Cavalcante et al, 2016;Cavalcante et al, 2020). Increasing the concentration of salts in the soil solution inhibits the plant's ability to absorb water is reduced and the excess of specific ions, mainly Na + and Clcause nutritional imbalances and visual lesions on leaf tissues (Parihar et al, 2015;Machado;Serralheiro, 2017).…”