GROWTH OF BANANA PASSIONFRUIT SEEDLINGS (Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima (Kunth) L. H. Bailey) UNDER SALINE STRESS

Résumé 0

High salinity in the root zone affects the growth of many plant species. Soil salinity can lead to reduced emergence and low growth of seedlings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth of banana passion fruit (P. tripartita var. mollissima (Kunth) L. H. Bailey) seedlings under saline stress. The salinity effect on growth and dry matter (DM) production of banana passionfruit seedlings was evaluated under greenhouse conditions at Tunja / Colombia. Plantlets were grown in plastic bags filled with soil and 0; 20; 40 and 80mM NaCl were added to the soil, which induced the following different electrical conductivity levels: 0.70; 2.38; 3.47 and 5.49 dS m-1 respectively. Salt was added gradually to the soil, up to the mentioned concentration. Results indicate significant differences among treatments. Plants of the control treatment without salt had higher number of leaves, total stem + shoot length, specific leaf weight, leaf area and DM in relation to salt treated plants. Leaf area and DM production were drastically reduced by salinity, especially by 80mM NaCl. The DM partitioning was also affected by salinity, reducing dry matter accumulation in leaves and increasing the DM in petioles + stems + shoots and roots. The findings from the study indicate that banana passionfruit seedlings are moderately sensitive to salt stress.