Effect of Different Salinity Levels of Irrigation Water on Absorption of K+ Dry Matter Production and Rough Protein in Sorghum (Bicolor Sorghum L. Moench)

Abstract

This work had the purpose to evaluate the potassium absorption, production of dry matter (PDM)and accumulate of rude protein (ARP) in sorghum crop irrigated with different salinity levels in irrigation water. The research was conducted under field conditions in the experimental area of University of Philosophy Dom Aureliano Matos in Limoeiro do Norte, Cear state, Brazil, in the period of July to November of 2004. The sorghum was planted in vases with 7 kg of soil, which variety was acquired from producers (twenty seeds/vase). The vases were fertilized with 1.0 g of urea (N), 5.0 g P2O5 and 1.0 g of KCl. The water used in the experiment was collected directly from the public water service company and determined the chemical characteristics. The experiment was in entirely randomized blocks, with four treatments and three replicates, which consisted of five levels of salinity of the irrigation water (T1 = 0.33, T2 = 0.72, T3 = 2.52 and T4 = 4.55 dS m-1). The results were submitted to the variance analysis and the means compared by the test of Tukey with P < 0.05. The results showed that in the experimental conditions the different salinity levels in the water did not provide significant effects on the variables K, PDM and ARP of the sorghum crop.