Initial Development and Tolerance of Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Cultivars under Salt Stress

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate growth and tolerance of bell pepper cultivars under salt stress in the seedling stage. The experiment was carried out in protected environment (greenhouse) at the Center of Sciences and Agrifood Technology (CCTA) of the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), located in the municipality of Pombal, Paraíba, from August to September 2014. Five bell pepper cultivars (C 1 -Dulce All Big; C 2 -All Big; C 3 -Italiano Amarelo Gigante; C 4 -Rubi Gigante; C 5 -Casca Dura Ikeda) were evaluated at five levels of irrigation water salinity (0.6 (control); 1.2; 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0 dS m -1 ), arranged in 5 × 5 factorial scheme, in a completely randomized design, with four replicates. Bell pepper cultivars were grown on trays for 20 days after sowing, period in which they were evaluated for emergence, growth, phytomass accumulation and tolerance index. The increase in irrigation water salinity reduced bell pepper emergence, growth and dry matter accumulation, and the cultivars C 2 -All Big and C 4 -Rubi Gigante were the most tolerant to salinity in the initial growth stage. Tolerance to salinity occurred in the following order: C 2 -All Big > C 4 -Rubi Gigante > C 1 -Dulce All Big = C 5 -Casca Dura Ikeda > C 3 -Italiano Amarelo Gigante.

Initial Development and Tolerance of Pepper Species to Salinity Stress

“…Water is a fundamental factor for agricultural production, being crucial for plant germination, development and production (CARVALHO; NAKAGAWA, 2012). However, in regions with low availability of good-quality water, such as semi-arid regions, the development of agricultural crops is normally hampered due to the limitation of this resource for irrigation and the presence of salts, which cause a series of physiological and nutritional disorders (ESTEVES;SUZUKI, 2008;SÁ et al, 2017;TAIZ et al, 2017).…”

“…Some crops are sensitive to salinity, even at low levels, while others produce significant yields under high levels of salinity; this is due to the higher capacity for osmotic adaptation found in some plants, which allows them to absorb a sufficient volume of water even in a saline medium (AYERS; WESTCOT, 1985). In general, crops are initially tolerant to salinity at the germination stage, but they become more sensitive throughout their development, especially at emergence and in the initial growth stage (SÁ et al, 2017;SANTOS et al, 2018).…”

“…Information about pepper cultivation is scarce and there are few studies on its management and varieties, especially related to salinity tolerance. The effects of salinity on plants vary among species and even among individuals of the same species, depending on the phenological stage and on the intensity and duration of salt stress, with the initial growth stage being one of the most sensitive to stress in most agricultural crops (AYERS; WESTCOT, 1985;SÁ et al, 2017). Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the emergence, initial growth and tolerance of pepper species irrigated with saline water.…”

Tolerance of Varieties and Hybrid of Pumpkin and Squash to Salt Stress

“…However, due to such scarcity, lower-quality waters have been used and they can salinize the soil and reduce the yield of crops (Oliveira et al, 2014). Salinity affects plants in three different ways: first, reducing the osmotic potential of the environment, which reduces water availability in the soil; second, causing toxicity through the accumulation of specific ions; and third, it may cause an indirect effect of nutritional order, including the one due to soil destructuring (Martins et al, 2013;Sá et al, 2017).…”

Growth and Micronutrients Contents of Smell Pepper (Capsicum chinense Jac.) Submitted to Organic Fertilizer

“…The fresh and dry matter of smell pepper was obtained by sum of stem, leaves, and roots. To obtain the dry matter were placed separately (stem, leaves, and roots) in papper bags and sent to a dried in an oven with forced air circulation at 60 ºC, until reaching a constant mass (Sá et al, 2017). After, the dried samples were ground in a Wiley mill (20-mesh size).…”