Salinity Effects on Development and Productivity of Crambe (<i>Crambe abyssinica</i>) under Greenhouse Conditions

Abstract

Salinity in soil or water in arid and semi arid regions can severely limit crop production, since the high amount of NaCl contributes to specific ion effects of Cl - , Na+ or both, and to antagonistic effects on nutrient elements. Affected by salt stress, most of the cultivated plants do not fully express their growth potential, which lowers their economic value. Crambe (Crambe abyssinica) is an oil plant of the cruciferous family and it is believed that crambe has great potential to figure as raw material for biofuel; however, literature is not abundant about the effects of salinity in crambe production. This work was carried out in order to evaluate the effects on the development and productivity of crambe irrigated with saline waters under greenhouse conditions. Treatments resulted from the combination of two factors: salinity of irrigation water (ECw) in five levels (1.03-control, 2.5, 4.0, 5.5, and 7.0 dS · m -1 ) and two types of salts (NaCl and NaCl + CaCl2) with three replications, totaling 30 experimental plots. At the end of the experimental period, soil samples from each plot were collected for chemical and salinity of soil saturation extract analyzes. Salt types did not affect plant parameters. However, the salinity levels presented significant effects on the all plant parameters, decreasing their values with the increase of the salt dose. Salinity levels of the solutions used for irrigation in this study affected the growth of plants and grain yield of crambe. Regarding the type of salts, a higher concentration of Na was observed for NaCl solutions at 2.5, 4.0 and 5.5 dS · m -1 salinity levels.