Effects of salinity on growth, physiological and anatomical traits of Passiflora species propagated from seeds and cuttings

Abstract

Salinity of the soil and irrigation water is one of the main factors limiting the growth of plants. The objective of this study was to assess the biometric, physiological and anatomical responses of passion fruit species Passiflora spp. propagated from cuttings and seeds under various salinity conditions. A completely randomized factorial design was used, with three species (P. edulis Sims, P. gibertii N.E.Br. and P. cincinnata Mast.), five salt concentrations (0.3, 1.8, 3.3, 4.8, and 6.3 dS m −1) and two propagation methods (cuttings and seeds), with twelve repetitions each. There was a negative effect of rising levels of NaCl for the majority of biometric and physiological traits evaluated. The species propagated from seeds presented the most severe morphophysiological and anatomical alterations under salinity. P. edulis (the most commonly cultivated species) showed the greatest morphophysiological changes under salinity, inducing larger stem diameter, chlorophyll content index, total water consumption, root dry weight, shoot dry weight, total dry weight, root dry weight/shoot dry weight ratio, root length and volume and also more severe anatomical alterations, such as midrib cell disorganization, greater thickness of palisade parenchyma, lower intercellular volume in the spongy parenchyma and greater deposition of calcium oxalate in the leaves and roots. On the other hand, the wild species, P. cincinnata and P. gibertii, were more tolerant to salinity, with less severe biometric, physiological and anatomical changes.

Passion Fruit Cultivation: An Approach to Internal Leaf Anatomy

“…The formation of these structures occurs through the deposition and accumulation of calcium silicates and oxalates, and after the formation of this structure, it presents hardness and resistance, providing greater protection for these plants to the attack of insects that have scraper and cutter mouthpieces [10,16]. The importance of adequate fertilization at the planting of the seedlings, which can be complemented with the addition of silicon, should be observed.…”

“…Another function of the conducting vessels is the transverse growth, which increases the stem diameter, making this organ more robust and capable of withstanding a high amount of dry mass of leaves, branches, flowers, and fruits, in addition to the weather conditions of the environment, such as wind and fire. This phenomenon is very common in Brazilian savannas, where many species of passion fruit originated [16]. It is important to highlight that the differences visible to the naked eye in the morphology of plant organs are, in fact, derived from modifications in the structures of the dermal, fundamental, or vascular tissues of plants, making it necessary to have in-depth knowledge of these transformations motivated by variations in the environment.…”

Leaching of salts and production of sour passion fruit irrigated with low- and high-salinity water

“…Irrigation can increase crop production; however, this agricultural practice, even with water of low electrical conductivity, adds salts to the soil and contributes to the increase in salinized areas (Resende et al, 2014). Passion fruit is sensitive to salts present in the soil and irrigation water (Lima et al, 2020a;Moura et al, 2021), indicating the need for research aimed at knowing the dynamics of salts and their effects on crop yield.…”

“…The deleterious effects of salts on plants have been reported in the national and international literature (Bonifácio et al, 2018;Arif et al, 2020;Lima et al, 2020b;Zhao et al, 2020). Although there are studies in the northeastern semi-arid region evaluating irrigation with saline water in passion fruit (Souza et al, 2018;Lima et al, 2020a;Moura et al, 2021); however, these studies do not evaluate the effect of rainfall on the leaching of salts accumulated in the soil under field conditions.…”

Anatomical Changes of Cultivated Plants under Combined Stress: An Urgent Need for Investigation

“…Therefore, the concepts of plant anatomy and its structure may provide us with a clearer picture of the interrelationship of cultivated plants under changing environments (Crang et al 2018). The applied plant anatomy is considered a powerful tool that has been used to solve a lot of baffling problems particularly under stress in many recent studies (e.g., Ribeiro et al 2019;Bákonyi et al 2020;Bueno et al 2020;dos Santos et al 2020;Lobato et al 2020;Moura et al 2021).…”