Tomato plant-water uptake and plant-water relationships under saline growth conditions

Differences in photosynthetic performance and its correlation with growth among tomato cultivars in response to different salts

“…Tomato plants irrigated with saline solutions transpire less water than tomatoes receiving fresh water [29,30,35], and the use of saline irrigation water as part of the integrated approach described by Ragab [28] has been pointed out by ReinaSánchez et al [29].…”

“…Little is known about the primary keys of photosynthesis regulation in response to salt stress and their relation to intraspecific variation. The photosynthetic process in tomato can be negatively affected by salinity [30,32,37,39]. However, these cited published works differ as far as their explanations of the cause of low photosynthesis rates and the influence of this reduction on diminished growth are concerned.…”

“…Schwarz et al [32] reported that an increase of EC by up to 8.75 dSm -1 does not lower the leaf photosynthesis rate of tomato, but stated that a reduction in total plant growth is apparently caused by diminished leaf area, thereby reducing whole-plant photosynthesis, and not by changes in leaf photosynthesis per se. RomeroAranda et al [30] showed that the leaf photosynthesis rate of tomato plants reduces proportionally as the NaCl concentration increases in the nutrient solution. They stated that the lower photosynthesis rate may result from reducing stomatal conductivity and stomatal density.…”

“…On the other hand, EC has been increased in several studies by intensifying the overall strength of nutrient solutions [32,37,39]. In other works however, EC was raised by supplying the nutrient solution with NaCl [30]. Although the presence of salt in the nutrient solution lowers the osmotic potential of the root environment, not all plant growth-related parameters are influenced by different salinity sources in the same way [1,21].…”

“…Although the presence of salt in the nutrient solution lowers the osmotic potential of the root environment, not all plant growth-related parameters are influenced by different salinity sources in the same way [1,21]. Furthermore, different cultivars have been used in the experiments conducted in various reported works, and the existence of a cultivarspecific physiological response has been observed [30,37].…”