Gas exchanges and production of watermelon plant under salinity management and nitrogen fertilization

ABSTRACT In the Brazilian semi-arid region, the occurrence of water with high salt concentrations is common, making it a limiting factor for the agricultural production. The water-use salinity management strategies are an alternative capable of minimizing the deleterious effects of the stress on plants. This study aimed to evaluate the gas exchanges and production of ‘Sugar Baby’ watermelon plants under strategies of irrigation with saline water and nitrogen fertilization. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, arranged in a 6 x 2 factorial scheme, with five replicates, corresponding to six irrigation strategies with saline water applied at different phenological stages of the crop (control - irrigation with low-salinity water throughout the entire crop cycle, and salt stress at the vegetative stage, vegetative/flowering stage, flowering, fruiting and fruit maturation) and two nitrogen rates (50 % and 100 %, equivalent to 50 mg and 100 mg of N kg-1 of soil). Two levels of water salinity were studied: one with a low and the other with a high level of electrical conductivity (0.8 dS m-1 and 3.2 dS m-1, respectively). The salinity of 3.2 dS m-1 in the vegetative/flowering and fruit maturation phases decreases the stomatal opening, transpiration and CO2 assimilation rate. The level with 50 % of N provides a higher assimilation rate of CO2 and fresh fruit mass. The watermelon plant expresses a greater sensitivity to saline stress in the vegetative and flowering phases, a situation that results in a decreased fruit size.