Salt tolerance of Soft and Hard jackfruit varieties in the seedling stage

• Published in: Emirates journal of food and agriculture Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 703 - 710
• Main Authors: De Oliveira, Francisco Ítalo Fernandes, Luna Souto, Antônio Gustavo, Cavalcante, Lourival, De Oliveira, Flaviano Fernandes, Do Nascimento, José Adeilson Medeiros, Coelho Bezerra, Francisco Thiago
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sofia Pensoft Publishers 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Artocarpus heterophyllus; Biomass; Brackish water; Chloride; Diameters; Dry matter; Evaluation; Fruits; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Jackfruit; Leaf area; Leaves; Orchards; Plant biomass; Plants; Plants (botany); Potassium; Saline water; Salinity; Salinity effects; Salinity tolerance; Salt tolerance; Seedlings; Stems; Water salinity; Brazil
• ISSN: 2079-052X; 2079-0538
• DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2022.v34.i8.2919

The formation of seedlings is an essential step in fruit plant development, playing a fundamental role in successful orchard implantations. This study aimed to evaluate the salinity tolerance through irrigation water in jackfruit varieties at the seedling stage. The study was carried out at the Centro de Ciências Agrárias of the Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, Brazil. The treatments were distributed in randomized blocks, in a 5 × 2 factorial scheme with four replications and three plants per plot, totaling 40 experimental plots and 120 plants to be evaluated. At 85 days after sowing, the plants were collected and separated into root, stem, and leaves and dried to obtain dry matter. The leaf area was measured using the LAI-model 2200 equipment, from which the specific leaf area and leaf area ratio was calculated. Dickson's quality index was calculated with data on the root, shoot and total dry matter, seedling height, and stem diameter. The results of the study showed that the increase in water salinity reduced the leaf area and inhibited plant biomass formation, negatively affecting the quality of the seedlings, especially in the hard jackfruit variety. Seedlings of the Jackfruit soft variety were tolerant to the salinity level of 3.0 dS m-1, whereas the hard variety was tolerant until up to 2.0 dS m-1. In conclusion, the soft jackfruit variety is more tolerant to the salinity of irrigation water than the hard variety.