Promissory Passiflora species (Passifloraceae) for its tolerance to water-salt stress

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the tolerance of water and salt stress in four cultivated species of Passiflora L. Eleven accessions of four species of Passiflora of commercial interest from different plantations were evaluated. The experimental design was in sub-split plots, where the plot was the percentage of water saturation in relation to the requirement of the crop (33% and 100%). The subplot was established by the saturation levels of salt (sodium chloride reactive level - 99.9% purity) (EC: 1.5 and 5.5 dS m-1) with the 11 accessions in a completely randomized array with five replications, where the experimental unit was one plant. Results showed that accessions m11, m13 (P. edulis f. flavicarpa) and m15 (P. tarminiana) were determined as tolerant to salinity and drought; accesses m2 (P. edulis f. edulis), m12 and m14 (P. edulis f. flavicarpa) were moderately tolerant. These observations are the basis for future studies of drought tolerance in Passiflora, which must be followed by field evaluations.