<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">We have investigated the effects of saline irrigation on growth and water relations of two sun-cured tobacco genotypes, Xp102 and Px107, which belong to the Xanthia and Perustitza tobacco ecotypes, respectively. We compared three commercial sea salt concentrations of the irrigation water (0.25%, 0.5%, and 1% w/v) plus a non-salinized control, corresponding to an electrical conductivity (ECw) of 4.4, 8.5, 15.7, 0.5 dS m-1 and osmotic potentials of -0.22, -0.35, -0.73, -0.02 MPa, respectively. The ECsoil increased with the salinity of the irrigation water. At high salinity (1%), the soil where Px107 plants were grown showed a significantly higher salinity compared to the soil of Xp102. For both genotypes, the soil water content increased at increasing salinity and during the growth season. Increasing salinity progressively reduced the leaf turgor pressure and enhanced the cellular osmotic adjustment. The latter resulted to be more pronounced in Px107 compared to Xp102 (0.36 vs. 0.20 MPa). At higher salinity (0.5% and 1%), both genotypes showed reduced leaf surface area, dry matter accumulation, water use, net assimilation rate (NAR) and crop growth rate (CGR). Px107 roots were more sensitive than shoot to salinity (3% reduction per dS m-1) and compared to Xp102 roots, which showed a reduced development only at 1% salinity. Assessment of plant salt tolerance according to the Maas and Hoffman model revealed a slope of 1-2% for both genotypes, indicating that these tobaccos are relatively more salt tolerant compared to other species.</abstract>

We have investigated the effects of saline irrigation on growth and water relations of two sun-cured tobacco genotypes, Xp102 and Px107, which belong to the Xanthia and Perustitza tobacco ecotypes, respectively. We compared three commercial sea salt concentrations of the irrigation water (0.25%, 0.5%, and 1% w/v) plus a non-salinized control, corresponding to an electrical conductivity (ECw) of 4.4, 8.5, 15.7, 0.5 dS m-1 and osmotic potentials of -0.22, -0.35, -0.73, -0.02 MPa, respectively. The ECsoil increased with the salinity of the irrigation water. At high salinity (1%), the soil where Px107 plants were grown showed a significantly higher salinity compared to the soil of Xp102. For both genotypes, the soil water content increased at increasing salinity and during the growth season. Increasing salinity progressively reduced the leaf turgor pressure and enhanced the cellular osmotic adjustment. The latter resulted to be more pronounced in Px107 compared to Xp102 (0.36 vs. 0.20 MPa). At higher salinity (0.5% and 1%), both genotypes showed reduced leaf surface area, dry matter accumulation, water use, net assimilation rate (NAR) and crop growth rate (CGR). Px107 roots were more sensitive than shoot to salinity (3% reduction per dS m-1) and compared to Xp102 roots, which showed a reduced development only at 1% salinity. Assessment of plant salt tolerance according to the Maas and Hoffman model revealed a slope of 1-2% for both genotypes, indicating that these tobaccos are relatively more salt tolerant compared to other species.

Growth and Water Relations of Sun-cured Tobacco Irrigated with Saline Water

Department of Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici (Naples), Italy

IstitutoSperimentale per ilTabacco, via P. Vitiello no 66, 84018 Scafati (SA), Italy

Contributions to Tobacco & Nicotine Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Growth and Water Relations of Sun-cured Tobacco Irrigated with Saline Water"}

We have investigated the effects of saline irrigation on growth and water relations of two sun-cured tobacco genotypes, Xp102 and Px107, which belong to the...

Growth and Water Relations of Sun-cured Tobacco Irrigated with Saline Water

Published Online: Dec 30, 2014

Page range: 394 - 401

Received: Apr 22, 2002

Accepted: Nov 28, 2002

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cttr-2013-0757

© 2014 Beiträge zur Tabakforschung International

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.