Response of two pepper species (Capsicum chinense Jacq. and Capsicum frutescens L.) to salt stress at germination stage in Northeast Brazil

Salinity is one of the striking problems in agricultural production in many parts of the world. Seed germination and seedling growth are two critical stages for the establishment of crops generally most sensitive to salt stress. The present study aimed at evaluating the germination and initial growth of pepper seedlings produced from seeds under different soaking times in NaCl solutions. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design, in a 2 × 4 × 5 factorial scheme using two pepper species (Capsicum chinense Jacq. and Capsicum frutescens L.), four levels of electrical conductivity (EC) of solutions (1.5, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 dS m-1) and five times of seed soaking in the solutions (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 h), with three replications. The traits evaluated were the number of germinated seedlings, percentage of germination, seedling height, and root length. The results showed that C. frutescens pepper was more tolerant to different times of soaking in saline solutions prepared with NaCl compared to C. chinense. Thus, the results suggest that depending on the pepper species, it is recommended to use seeds primed in saline solutions with salinity levels compatible with those under field conditions (in saline soils and/or irrigation with saline waters).