Growth of yellow passion-fruit seedlings in different substrates under salt stress

Abstract

Salt stress can negatively affect the development of seedlings. However, the use of alternative substrates can mitigate these effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the growth of yellow passion-fruit seedlings in response to irrigation with saline water grown on different substrates. The experiment was developed at the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia, Redenção, Ceará, Brazil. The experimental design was entirely randomized, in a 2 × 5 factorial arrangement, composed of two levels of electrical conductivity of the irrigation water (0.3 and 3.0 dS m^-1) and five substrate types (S1 = soil; S2 = sand, sandy soil, and bovine manure – 1:1:1; S3 = sand, sandy soil, and carbonized rice husk – 1:1:1; S4 = sand, sandy soil, and biochar – 1:1:1; S5 = sand, sandy soil, and vegetal ash – 1:1:1), with five replications. The S2 substrate containing sand, sandy soil, and bovine manure promoted higher performance of seedling height, stem diameter, shoot dry mass, root dry mass, and total dry mass associated with low salinity water. The S2 substrate was more efficient for leaf area, while S4 substrate was more efficient for number of leaves, root length, and pH. The S1 and S2 substrates presented higher electrical conductivity of the saturation extract using water of higher conductivity.