Impact of salinity on the fruit yield of mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. 'Osteen').
Durán Zuazo V. H., Martínez Raya A., Aguilar Ruiz J.
Author Affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Formación Agraria de Granada, C.I.F.A. Apdo. 2027, 18080 Granada, Spain.
European Journal of Agronomy 21 : 323-334
Abstract : The impact of saline irrigation water of different chloride and sodium concentrations on the fruit yield of field-grown mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. 'Osteen') was evaluated for 4 years (1996-1999). Tree performance was evaluated for two rootstocks (Gomera-1 or Gomera-3) and at water salinities having an electrical conductivity of 1.02, 1.50, 2.00 or 2.50 dS m-1. The results demonstrated that Gomera-1 was slightly more tolerant to salinity than Gomera-3. The sensitivity of Gomera-3 was reflected in smaller fruit and lower yield in the most saline treatments. In addition, chloride and sodium concentrations in leaves and fruits were higher in the trees with Gomera-3. The results from analysing the salt-tolerance model of Maas and Hoffman, show that the a salinity coefficient (threshold) for the first 2 years (1996-1997) was 0.88 dS m-1, and for the following (1998-1999) was 1.81 dS m-1, respectively, while the b salinity coefficient (slope) was 17.1% per dS m-1 (1996-1997), and 12.5% per dS m-1 (1998-1999), considering that the two rootstocks are not different in terms of the model. These parameters are characteristic of moderately sensitive crops.