-Water availability in the Brazilian semiarid is restricted and often the only water source available has high salt concentrations. Hydroponics allows using these waters for production of various crops, including vegetables, however, the water salinity can cause nutritional disorders. Thus, two experiments were conducted in a greenhouse at the Department of Agricultural Engineering of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, to evaluate the effects of salinity on the mineral nutrition of crisphead lettuce, cultivar Taina, in a hydroponic system (Nutrient Film Technique), using brackish water in the nutrient solution, which was prepared by adding NaCl to the local water (0.2 dS m -1 ). A randomized blocks experimental design was used in both experiments. The treatments consisted of water of different salinity levels (0.2, 1.2, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2 and 5.2 dS m -1 ) with four replications, totaling 24 plots for each experiment. The water added to compensate for the waterdepth loss due to evapotranspiration (WCET) was the brackish water of each treatment in Experiment I and the local water without modifications in Experiment II. The increase in the salinity of the water used for the nutrient solution preparation reduced the foliar phosphorus and potassium contents and increased the chloride and sodium contents, regardless of the WCET. Foliar nitrogen, calcium, magnesium and sulfur contents were not affected by increasing the water salinity used for the nutrient solution preparation.Keywords: Lactuca sativa L. Salinity. Horticulture. NUTRIÇÃO MINERAL DE ALFACE AMERICANA EM CULTIVO HIDROPÔNICO COM ÁGUAS SALOBRASResumo -No semiárido brasileiro a disponibilidade hídrica é restrita e muitas vezes a única fonte de água disponível possui altas concentrações de sais. A hidroponia permite o uso dessas águas para a produção de diversas culturas, dentre elas as hortaliças, entretanto, a salinidade pode ocasionar distúrbios nutricionais. Diante disso, foram conduzidos dois experimentos em ambiente protegido no Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, objetivando-se avaliar os efeitos da salinidade sobre a nutrição mineral da alface americana cv. Tainá em sistema hidropônico Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), utilizando águas salobras no preparo da solução nutritiva, sendo essas águas obtidas pela adição de NaCl a água de abastecimento local (0,2 dS m -1 ), e a reposição da lâmina evapotranspirada realizada usando a respectiva água salobra utilizada no preparo da solução no Experimento I e, com água de abastecimento local no Experimento II. Para ambos os experimentos o delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso com seis tratamentos (0,2; 1,2; 2,2; 3,2; 4,2 e 5,2 dS m -1 ), e quatro repetições, totalizando 24 parcelas experimentais para cada experimento. O aumento da salinidade da água utilizada no preparo da solução nutritiva, independente da estratégia de reposição da lâmina evapotranspirada, proporcionou redução nos teores foliares de fósforo e potássio e aumento nos ...

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The impacts of agricultural mechanization and soil management on sugarcane activity may compromise the growth of plants. This study aimed to evaluate the initial growth of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) at soil densities under two salinity conditions, associated with the least limiting water range (LLWR), and obtain the critical density for the Spodosol. The treatments consisted of the use of five bulk densities (1.40; 1.50; 1.60; 1.70 and 1.80 Mg m-3) and two conditions of soil salinity (ECse = 0.5 and 3.0 dS m-1). Morphological variables and biomass of sugarcane plants were measured and, simultaneously, undisturbed soil samples were collected in the layers of 0.02-0.08 m to determine the water retention curve, soil resistance to penetration and the least limiting water range. In general, it was concluded that sugarcane plants has higher growth between the bulk densities of 1.50 and 1.60 Mg m-3. The salinized soil showed higher LLWR than the non-salinized soil, leading to higher shoot fresh mass at bulk densities between 1.49 and 1.66 Mg m-3. The critical bulk densities observed for the Spodosol were 1.70 Mg m-3 for the non-salinized soil and 1.77 Mg m-3 for the salinized soil.

The impact of the salinity of the nutrient solution on water efficiency can be changed by the application flow. The aim of this work was to analyze the water efficiency and production components of coriander plants, cultivar Verdão, exposed to nutrient solutions (1.7, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 dS m−1) applied with different flow rates (1.0, 2.0, 3,0, and 4.0 L min−1) in an NFT hydroponic system. Two experiments were carried out in a greenhouse with two sources of salts to prepare the electrical conductivity. In the first experiment, NaCl was used, and CaCl2·2H2O was used in the second. Variables were analyzed related to the production components and the consumption of water use efficiency. It was found that the water efficiency and production components of coriander plants were more affected by increases in electrical conductivity in the nutrient solution. CaCl2·2H2O better promotes the lower production of dry mass, plant height, water consumption, and the instantaneous and intrinsic efficiency of water use than NaCl. The coriander’s water relations were inhibited by increases in the concentration of salts in nutrient solution, while increases in the flow rate of the nutrient solution negatively affected the productive parameters of the coriander plants.