ISHS Acta Horticulturae 1173: V International Symposium on Fig
Tolerance and physiological response of young Ficus carica L. plants irrigated with saline water |
| Authors: | G. Caruso, C. Gennai, F. Ugolini, F. Marchini, M.F. Quartacci, R. Gucci |
| Keywords: | net photosynthetic rate, shoot length, salt stress, stomatal conductance |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2017.1173.23 |
| Abstract:
An experiment was carried out on one-year-old potted fig (Ficus carica L., 'Dottato') plants to evaluate the effect of saline water on leaf gas exchange and plant growth. Plants were irrigated for seven weeks (four days a week) with 250 mL tap water (T0) or saline water (50, 100, 200 and 300-250 mM NaCl concentration). Plants of the T300-250 treatment were irrigated with 300 mM NaCl solution for the first week and with 250 mM NaCl solution for the remaining six weeks. Leaf abscission occurred extensively in T200 and T300-250 plants. Symptoms of chlorosis and necrosis were also present in leaves of T200 and T300-250 plants. Leaves of T100 plants were slightly folded, whereas leaves of T50 plants appeared as healthy as those of T0 plants. Stem water potential decreased as the level of salinity increased. Differences between treatments were significant for both net photosynthetic rate (A) and stomatal conductance (gs). Net photosynthetic rate and gs were high in T0 plants (15.9 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1 and 300 mmol CO2 m-2 s-1, respectively) and decreased as salinity increased. Minimum values of A and gs were measured in the T300-250 plants (3.4 µmol CO2 m-2 s-1 and 50 mmol m-2 s-1, respectively). These results confirm that fig plants are moderately tolerant to salinity. | |
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