The poor chemical quality of water, especially in arid and semiarid regions, almost always precludes the practice of irrigated agriculture, thus demanding the adoption of techniques that mitigate the deleterious effects of excess salt on soil and plants. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of nitrogen fertilization in mitigating the negative effects of excess salt in irrigation water on the growth of yellow passion fruit seedlings grown in a greenhouse in plastic tubes containing 0.65 dm3 of substrate. The treatments were organized in randomized blocks, in accordance with a 5 × 3 factorial scheme – five electrical conductivities of irrigation water (0.3, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 dS m?1) combined with three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (no nitrogen fertilization and 150 mg dm?3 of N derived from either ammonium sulfate or urea). Evaluations were performed 80 days after sowing and consisted of measuring the seedling height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf nitrogen content, leaf concentration of chlorophyll a and b and total chlorophyll, specific leaf area, leaf area ratio, and Dickson quality index. An increase in the electrical conductivity of irrigation water hindered the production of yellow passion fruit seedlings. Nitrogen fertilization, with urea or ammonium sulfate, mitigated the effects of irrigation water salinity and favored the growth and quality of yellow passion fruit seedlings. Yellow passion fruit seedlings with a minimum quality standard (DQI) can be produced with irrigation water with salinity of 1.8 dS m?1, which means they can be considered as moderately sensitive. The higher quality provided by nitrogen to the yellow passion fruit seedlings made them more tolerant to salinity, allowing the use of water with salinity of 2.1 and 2.5 dS m?1 under fertilization with ammonium sulfate and urea, respectively.

-Irrigation with saline water is a worldwide necessity an excess of salts in water or in soil causes growth inhibition, and negatively affects the productivity of many crops. Application of nitrogen fertilizers may be a way of mitigating the effects of salts on plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of biomass and the chlorophyll pigment content in jackfruit seedlings irrigated with water of increasing salinity level in soil with nitrogen sources. The treatments were distributed in randomized blocks with four replicates and three plants per plot, arranged in a 5 × 3 factorial scheme, related to electrical conductivity levels of the irrigation water of 0.3, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 dS m −1 , in soil without nitrogen, with ammonium sulfate and with urea, in a split application 60 and 75 days after sowing. An increase in the salinity of the water increased the salinity levels of soil, which was intensified by a dose of 150 mg of N, mainly when applied in the form of ammonium sulfate, inhibiting dry matter production and chlorophyll content in jackfruit seedlings. The greatest reductions in chlorophyll a and b content occurred in jackfruit seedlings irrigated with water of 4.0 dS m −1 conductivity in the soil without nitrogen fertilization. Urea is the most suitable nitrogen source for the production of seedlings under conditions of high salinity.Keywords: Artocarpus heterophyllus L.. Saline stress. Nitrogen fertilization. BIOMASSA E PIGMENTOS CLOROPLASTÍDICOS EM MUDAS DE JAQUEIRA SOB ESTRESSE SALINO E ADUBAÇÃO NITROGENADARESUMO -A irrigação com água salina é uma necessidade mundial e o excesso de sais da água ou do solo, causa inibição no crescimento e no rendimento da grande maioria das plantas cultivadas. Nesse contexto, os fertilizantes nitrogenados podem constituir alternativa para a mitigação dos efeitos dos sais sobre as plantas. Com isso, objetivou-se avaliar o acúmulo de biomassa e o índice de pigmentos clorofiláticos em mudas de jaqueira irrigadas com água de salinidades crescentes no solo com fontes de nitrogênio. Os tratamentos foram distribuídos em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições e com três plantas por parcela, arranjados em fatorial 5 × 3, relativo aos níveis de condutividade elétrica da água de irrigação de 0,3; 1,0; 2,0; 3,0 e 4,0 dS m -1 , no solo sem nitrogênio, com sulfato de amônio e com ureia aplicados parceladamente aos 60 e 75 dias após a semeadura. O aumento da salinidade da água elevou a salinidade do solo, a qual foi intensificada pela dose de 150 mg de N, principalmente quando aplicada na forma de sulfato de amônio, ao ponto de inibir a formação de massa da matéria seca e os teores de clorofila em mudas de jaqueira. As maiores reduções no índice de clorofila a e b foram nas mudas de jaqueira irrigadas com água de 4,0 dS m -1 no solo sem adubação nitrogenada. A ureia é a fonte nitrogenada mais indicada para produção de mudas em condições de elevada salinidade. Palavras-chave:Artocarpus heterophyllus L.. Estresse salino. Adubação nitrogenada.

ÁGUA SALINA E BIOFERTILIZANTE DE ESTERCO BOVINO NA FORMAÇÃO E QUALIDADE DE MUDAS DE MARACUJAZEIRO AMARELO SHERLY APARECIDA DA SILVA MEDEIROS1; LOURIVAL FERREIRA CAVALCANTE2; MARLENE ALEXANDRINA FERREIRA BEZERRA1; JOSÉ ADEILSON MEDEIROS DO NASCIMENTO3; FRANCISCO THIAGO COELHO BEZERRA4 E STELLA DA SILVA PRAZERES5 1Doutoranda PPGA/CCA/UFPB, email: sherly.agro@hotmail.com;  marlene_agro@hotmail.com2Professor do PPGA/CCA/UFPB e Pesquisador do INCTSal, Fortaleza, CE. E-mail: lofeca@cca.ufpb.br3 Professor Dr. IFCE/ Tianguá - CE. Email: adeilsonagro@bol.com.br4Doutorando do PPGA/CCA/UFPB, Areia-PB. Email: bezerra­‑ftc@yahoo.com.br5 Doutoranda do PPGCS/CCA/UFPB, Areia-PB. Email: stella­_prazeres@hotmail.com  1 RESUMO No período de janeiro a março de 2013, um experimento foi conduzido, em estufa telada do Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia-PB, Brasil, para avaliar os efeitos da salinidade da água de irrigação e esterco líquido fermentado de bovino na formação e qualidade de mudas de maracujazeiro amarelo. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, adotando o esquema fatorial 2 x 5 x 2, referente a dois genótipos de maracujazeiro amarelo (genótipo local tradicionalmente cultivado na cidade de Nova Floresta Paraíba, conhecido por Guinezinho e o genótipo BRS Gigante Amarelo), cinco níveis de salinidade da água de irrigação de 0,3; 1,0; 2,0; 3,0 e 4,0 dS m-1, no solo sem e com esterco líquido fermentado de bovino. As variáveis analisadas foram índice de velocidade de emergência, emergência, altura, diâmetro caulinar, área foliar, massa seca da raiz e da parte aérea das mudas e índice de qualidade de Dickson. O biofertilizante líquido de bovino proporcionou a formação de mudas de qualidade adequada ao plantio, em ambos os genótipos de maracujazeiro amarelo, comparadas às obtidas no solo sem o respectivo insumo, independentemente do nível de salinidade das águas de irrigação. Palavras-chave: Passiflora edulis, estresse salino, insumo orgânico.  MEDEIROS, S.A.S; CAVALCANTE, L.F.; BEZERRA, M.A.F.; NASCIMENTO, J.A. M.; BEZERRA, F.T.C; PRAZERES, S.S.SALINE WATER AND BOVINE MANURE BIOFERTILIZER IN THE FORMATION AND QUALITY OF YELLOW PASSION FRUIT SEEDLINGS   2 ABSTRACT                                              During the period of January to March 2013, an experiment was carried out in greenhouse conditions at the Agrarian Sciences Centre, Federal University of Paraíba, Areia municipality, Paraíba State, Brazil, in order to evaluate the effects of irrigation water salinity and liquid fermented cattle manure during formation and quality of yellow passion fruit seedlings. The experimental design was in randomized blocks adopting a factorial design 2 x 5 x 2 referring to two genotypes of yellow passion fruit (Local genotype known as Guinezinho and BRS Yellow Giant genotype), five levels of water salinity irrigation of 0.3; 1.0; 2.0; 3.0 and 4.0 dS m-1 in soil with and without fermented liquid cattle manure. The variables analyzed were emergency speed index, emergency, plants height, stalk diameter, root dry mass and shoot, leaf area, and Dickson quality index. The liquid cattle biofertilizer provided the formation of seedlings with suitable quality for plantation, in both  passion fruit genotypes compared to those obtained on the substrate without biofertilizer, regardless of the salinity of irrigation water. Keywords: Passiflora edulis, salt stress, organic input.

A variabilidade e os baixos rendimentos da melancia no Nordeste brasileiro estão atrelados à falta de pesquisas sobre o manejo de adubação da cultura. Objetivou-se com esse trabalho avaliar a produção de melancia em solo submetido a doses de esterco bovino e potássio. Os tratamentos foram distribuídos em blocos ao acaso, com três repetições e 21 plantas por parcela em arranjo fatorial 3 × 5 + 1, referente à três doses de esterco bovino (0,0; 1,10 e 2,52 kg cova-1), cinco doses de potássio (0,0; 7,5; 15; 22,5 e 30 kg ha-1), e um tratamento adicional (sem adubação orgânica e mineral). Exceto o tratamento adicional, os demais tratamentos receberam nitrogênio, na forma de ureia (120 kg ha-1 de N). Foram avaliados: o número de frutos por planta, massa média dos frutos, produtividade e tamanho dos frutos (diâmetro longitudinal dos frutos-DLF e diâmetro equatorial dos frutos-DEF). As doses de K 2 O fornecidas não foram suficientes para elevar a massa média dos frutos de melancia a valores satisfatórios. A dose 1,10 kg cova-1 de esterco bovino foi a que promoveu maiores valores de produtividade. O incremento na dose de esterco bovino reduziu a necessidade de fertilizante potássico para elevar a produtividade das plantas de melancia.

Yellow passion fruit, because it is sensitive to the salinity of irrigation water or soil, requires restrictive water management strategies and inputs that mitigate the effects of salts on plants irrigated with harmful saline water levels. As such, an experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of bovine biofertilizer and mineral fertilization with NPK on the growth and production of yellow passion fruit plants irrigated with moderately saline water. Treatments were arranged in a randomized block with three replications and 12 plants per plot using a 4×2 factorial design with four doses of bovine biofertilizer diluted in water at 0, 33.3, 66.6 and 100% proportions in soil with and without NPK. The evaluated variables included the stem diameter, number of productive branches at the beginning of flowering (160 days after transplanting seedlings), number of fruits per hectare, average fruit weight and productivity. Biofertilizer applied at the maximum dose combined with mineral fertilization with NPK resulted in a greater growth in the stem diameter and an increased plant productivity. The 100% biofertilizer dose provided the best results. Even in treatments without mineral fertilizer, the biofertilizer increased productivity to values approaching 24 t ha -1 at the 60.65% level.