Production of forage palm cultivars (Orelha de Elefante Mexicana, IPA-Sertânia and Miúda) under different salinity levels in irrigation water

Abstract

Brazilian semiarid region is characterized by irregular rainy periods that limits the production of forage feed for the maintenance of agricultural livestock and causes losses in the production. Despite that, semiarid region stands out in the production of forage palm, buffering the impact of drought in the area. Thus, this study aimed at analyzing the effect of different levels of salinity in irrigation water on the production of forage palm in the semiarid region. The experiment was arranged as a complete randomized block, in a 4x3 factorial arrangement and four levels of salinity (0.2, 2.0, 3.8 and 5.6 dS m-1); three cultivars (Miúda, Orelha de Elefante Mexicana and IPA-Sertânia) with 4 replications. The variables evaluated were the following: number of primary, secondary, tertiary and total cladodes, cladode biomass and estimative of threshold salinity (SL). The results showed that irrigation with saline water with an electrical conductivity of 2.0 dS m-1 negatively affected the emission of cladodes of superior orders for all forage palm cultivars. Miúda cultivar presented the best production of fresh phytomass (13.36 kg per plant) under a salinity level of 4.04 dS m-1, followed by Orelha de Elefante Mexicana (12.55 kg per plant) under a salinity level of 2.73 dS m-1 and Baiana (11.56 kg per plant) under a salinity level of 2.17dS m-1.