RESUMO O uso de estratégias de manejo ou alterações no ambiente de cultivo podem reduzir os impactos da salinidade da água de irrigação sobre o desenvolvimento vegetal. Assim, nessa pesquisa foram avaliadas respostas fisiológicas, crescimento inicial e qualidade de plantas de Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan (Angico Branco) sob diferentes níveis de sombreamento e condutividade elétrica da água de irrigação, buscando-se identificar as condições mais favoráveis para o desenvolvimento dessa espécie utilizando-se águas salobras. O experimento foi realizado em blocos casualizados com parcelas subdivididas e quatro repetições. As parcelas foram formadas por quatro ambientes com diferentes níveis de sombreamento: 0 (pleno sol), 30, 50 e 70%, e as subparcelas, formadas por cinco níveis crescentes de condutividade elétrica da água de irrigação: 0,4, 1,6, 2,8, 4,0 e 5,2 dS.m−1. Foram avaliadas as variáveis: condutividade elétrica do substrato, trocas gasosas foliares, altura de plantas, produção de biomassa e índice de qualidade de Dickson aos 40 dias em viveiro. O uso do sombreamento artificial favoreceu o desenvolvimento das plantas e a taxa de fotossíntese, mesmo quando irrigadas com água de moderada e elevada salinidade. O IQD mostrou que as plantas de A. colubrina apresentaram maior índice de qualidade quando produzidas sob sombreamento intermediário (30% e 50%), com perdas no rendimento inferiores a 20% quando irrigadas com água com condutividade elétrica de até 2,8 dS.m−1.

ABSTRACT The use of management strategies or changes in the cultivation environment can reduce the impacts of irrigation water salinity on plant development. Therefore, in this research, physiological responses, initial growth, and plant quality of Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan (Angico Branco) were evaluated under different levels of shading and electrical conductivity of the irrigation water, seeking to identify the most favorable conditions for the development of this species using brackish water. The experiment was carried out in randomized blocks with split plots and four replications. The plots were formed by four environments with different shading levels: 0 (full sun), 30, 50, and 70%, and the subplots, formed by five increasing levels of electrical conductivity of the irrigation water: 0.4, 1.6, 2.8, 4.0, and 5.2 dS.m−1. The following variables were evaluated: substrate electrical conductivity, leaf gas exchange, plant height, biomass production, and Dickson quality index at 40 days in a nursery. The use of artificial shading favored plant development and photosynthesis rate, even when irrigated with moderate and high salinity water. The DQI showed that A. colubrina plants presented higher quality index when produced under intermediate shading (30% and 50%), with yield losses below 20% when irrigated with water with electrical conductivity up to 2.8 dS.m−1.

ABSTRACT: Supplemental irrigation during dry spells could reduce maize yield losses in tropical semi-arid regions, notably in small farms. However, good quality water reserves are not sufficient to meet the demands of farming communities. Consequently, our objective was to evaluate the productivity and profitability of maize under different simulated rainfall scenarios, with and without supplemental irrigation (SI) with brackish water. The field experiments were carried out during the cropping seasons of 2018 and 2019 on Ultisol. The experiment followed a randomized block design in the split-plot scheme with four replicates. The plots were formed by simulating the water supply in the soil corresponding to four water scenarios (rainy, normal, drought and severe drought), and the sub-plots with or without SI with brackish water (Electrical conductivity of 4.5 dS m−1). Mean yields of green maize ears were 13,083, 11,532, 10,358 and 9,609 kg ha−1 for rainy, normal, drought and severe drought scenarios, as supplemented with brackish water. For the same treatments without SI the values were 11,394, 7,896, 3,913 and 1,374 kg ha−1, respectively. Data on farmer's income showed that under normal, drought and severe drought supplementation with brackish water becomes economically advantageous from 0.9, 1.0 and 2.4 ha, respectively, while maize cultivation without SI is not advantageous under the last two scenarios. For severe drought conditions, however, SI using brackish water reduced commercial yield by 27 % with negative effects on the farmers’ profitability. In this case, it is necessary to use water with either lower salinity or select salt tolerant crops.

RESUMO A garantia do abastecimento de água para agricultura irrigada no semiárido deve passar necessariamente pelo uso de águas de qualidade inferior, como as águas salobras. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a tolerância à salinidade para as espécies ornamentais Catharanthus roseus, Tagetes patula e Celosia argentea, utilizando-se diferentes métodos. O experimento foi conduzido em blocos ao acaso, arranjado em esquema fatorial 10 x 3, correspondendo a 10 concentrações salinas da água de irrigação (CEa 0,5; 1,0; 1,5; 2,0; 2,5; 3,0; 3,5; 4,0; 5,0 e 6,0 dS m-1) e 3 espécies de plantas ornamentais. Quatro métodos de avaliação da tolerância à salinidade foram testados, utilizando valores relativos ou percentuais de redução das análises quantitativas e qualitativas. Os diferentes métodos evidenciam maior sensibilidade à salinidade de C. roseus, na fase de produção de mudas, em relação às espécies T. patula e C. argentea. Os métodos da salinidade limiar e do índice ORN apresentaram resultados semelhantes, sendo C. roseus classificada como sensível e as espécies T. patula e C. argentea como moderadamente sensíveis à salinidade. O método de Fageria (1985) permitiu boa separação das espécies, com limites de tolerância de 1,5; 2,5 e 3,5 dS m-1, respectivamente para C. roseus, T. patula e C. argentea. Fica óbvio pela comparação com dados da literatura que a fase de produção de mudas é mais sensível ao estresse salino, sendo necessária a realização de novos estudos que visem atenuar os efeitos do estresse nessa fase, mediante o emprego de técnicas de manejo.

ABSTRACT The guarantee of water supply for irrigated agriculture in the semi-arid region must necessarily involve the use of lower quality water, such as brackish water. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the tolerance to salinity of the ornamental species Catharanthus roseus, Tagetes patula and Celosia argentea, using different methods. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block, arranged in a 10 x 3 factorial scheme, corresponding to 10 saline concentrations of irrigation water (ECw 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0; 2.5; 3.0; 3.5; 4.0; 5.0 and 6.0 dS m-1) and 3 ornamental species. Four salinity tolerance assessment methods were tested, using relative values or percentages of reduction in quantitative and qualitative analyses. The different methods show the highest sensitivity to salinity of C. roseus, in the seedling production stage, compared to T. patula and C. argentea species. The methods of threshold salinity and ORN index led to similar results in terms of classification of salt tolerance, with C. roseus classified as sensitive and T. patula and C. argentea as moderately sensitive. The method of Fageria (1985) allowed good separation of the species, with tolerance limits of 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 dS m-1, respectively for C. roseus, T. patula and C. argentea. It is obvious from the comparison with literature data that the seedling production stage is more sensitive to salt stress, and it is necessary to carry out new studies aimed at attenuating the effects of stress at this stage, through the use of management techniques.