This research aimed to evaluate the influence of the salinity on some physiological parameters in Rangpur lime (Citrus limonia Osbeck), which is the principal citrus rootstock in Bahia. The importance of this study is based on the possibility of using water of low quality for irrigation, which is a production constraint for citrus crop. Rangpur lime seeds were selected by size and sowed in washed sand. Three days after the germination, the seedlings were transferred to plastic pots containing nutrient solution. After ten days, the saline treatments were applied by addition of NaCl to the growth solution in each pot, reaching the final concentrations of 0, 20, 40 and 80 mM of NaCl. The completely randomized experiment had four treatments (NaCl concentration) and five replications. Forty two days after the beginning of the saline stress the experiment was concluded. The salinity decreased total dry matter production of the stem and roots. In the intermediate levels of NaCl (20 and 40 mM), neither the leaf area nor the leaf dry matter were affected; those characters were only affected in the level of 80 mM. The increase of the salinity levels caused reduction in the root:canopy ratio, in the stomatal conductance, in the transpiration and in the leaf temperature.
Citrus; NaCl; physiology; stomatal conductance; transpiration
