Initial development of popcorn irrigated with water of different salinity levels

Abstract

Popcorn is an alternative crop for low income farmers on Brazilian Northeast, mainly due to its high value. A trial was carried in a greenhouse at the Environmental Sciences Department of Federal Rural University of the Semiarid, in Mossoró, RN, Brazil, to evaluate initial growth of popcorn irrigated
with different levels of saline water (0.5; 2.3; 3.3; 4.3, and 5.0 dS m^-1). Experimental design was entirely randomized with three replicates. Plants were harvested forty days after seeding, when the following characteristics were evaluated: stem diameter, plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, shoot and root dry matter. All parameters evaluated were influenced by salinity, with stem diameter having the more expressive effect.