BIOMASS OF TWO Eucalyptus CLONES (E. grandis × E. urophylla) IRRIGATED WITH SALINE WATER

Abstract

Using saline water for irrigation relies on strategies that include selecting salt-tolerant cultivars and leaching salts away from zones close to the roots. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to assess early growth and biomass production of two Eucalyptus clones (E. grandis × E. urophylla), CO 865 and CO 1407, irrigated with saline water and under different leaching fractions. Treatments were laid out in a randomized block design and arranged in a 4 × 2 + 2 factorial scheme: four leaching fractions (3, 10, 20, and 30 % of crop water demand for plants irrigated with saline water), two Eucalyptus clones (VCC 865 and CO 1407), and two additional treatments, one for each clone, conventionally irrigated with fresh water. The treatments were replicated four times. Measurements were made at 114 days after transplanting. Soil salinity decreased with increasing leaching fraction where VCC 865 was grown; however, leaf dry weight production was lower in treatments irrigated with saline water. Compared to fresh water-irrigated plants, irrigation with saline water resulted in lower: canopy diameter, leaf number, dry leaf mass, dry root mass, aerial parts dry mass, aerial part/root ratio, and total plant dry weight. Overall, the VCC 865 Eucalyptus clone performed better under saline irrigation than CO 1407.