Ionic Response and Sorghum Production under Water and Saline Stress in a Semi-Arid Environment

Abstract

The increase in water demand in regions with limited good-quality water resources makes it necessary to study the effect of low-quality water on plant metabolism. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of water and salt stress on the levels of mineral elements and accumulation of toxic elements Na+ and Cl− in the leaves and their consequences on the production variables of the sorghum cultivar IPA SF-15. The design adopted was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme (4 × 4), with four salt concentrations (1.5; 3.0; 4.5, and 6.0 dS m−1) and four irrigation depths (51.3; 70.6; 90.0, and 118.4% of crop evapotranspiration ETc) in three repetitions. To obtain nutrient, sodium, and chlorine contents in the leaf, we collected the diagnosis leaf from six plants per plot. For production data, we performed two harvests at 76 and 95 days after planting (silage point and for sucrose extraction). We evaluated the dry mass, fresh mass yield, and total dry mass for the two cutting periods and applied the F-test at the 5% significance level. There was an effect of water stress but not saline, making it possible to use saline water for sorghum irrigation. As for the toxicity of ions, the plant showed tolerance behavior to Na+ and Cl− ions. The grain filling phase was more sensitive than the final phase of the crop cycle.

Fields of the Future: Pivotal Role of Biosaline Agriculture in Farming

“…The combined action of osmotic adjustment and stomatal regulation enabled sorghum to thrive in saline environments [8]. The studies presented in this Special Issue [7,8] showed that a concomitant decrease in transpiration rate with a decline in the photosynthesis rate as the soil salinity escalated ensured that the water use efficiency remained constant. This discovery emphasizes the untapped potential of saline waters for irrigating crops like sorghum, especially in water-scarce regions.…”

“…In a parallel context, sorghum, despite yield reductions under water stress, remained resilient to saline conditions, tolerating irrigation waters with salinity up to 6 dS m −1 [7]. The combined action of osmotic adjustment and stomatal regulation enabled sorghum to thrive in saline environments [8].…”