The use of saline water in irrigation causes osmotic and toxic effects and nutritional imbalance in plants, leading to morphophysiological modifications in the leaves and compromising the production of photosynthetic pigments, which negatively reflects in the growth and development of the crops. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of irrigation water salinity on the content of photosynthetic pigments and leaf morphophysiology of guava seedlings cv. 'Paluma' under nitrogen (N) fertilization. A randomized block design was used, testing five levels of irrigation water electrical conductivityECw (0.3, 1.1, 1.9, 2.7, and 3.5 dS m -1 ) and four N doses (541.1, 773.0, 1,004.9, and 1,236.8 mg of N dm -3 of soil) in a 5 x 4 factorial scheme with three replicates and five plants per plot. The contents of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of the guava seedlings cv. 'Paluma' were inhibited by the increase in irrigation water salinity at 190 days after emergence, and the salt stress was lessened with the N dose of 1,004.9 mg dm -3 up to an ECw level of 1.2 dS m -1 . Leaf morphophysiology of guava seedlings was not compromised by irrigation water salinity up to 1.5 dS m -1 , and the highest values were obtained in plants fertilized with 541.1 mg of N dm -3 . Key words: Psidium guajava L. Photosynthesis. Salinity and nitrogen.
ResumoO uso de água salina na irrigação promove efeitos osmóticos, tóxicos e desbalanço nutricional nas plantas, causando modificações morfofisiológicas nas folhas e comprometimento na produção dos pigmentos fotossintéticos, refletindo negativamente no crescimento e desenvolvimento das culturas. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar o efeito da salinidade da água de irrigação no teor de pigmentos fotossintéticos e na morfofisiológica foliar de mudas de goiabeira cv. Paluma sob adubação nitrogenada. Usou-se a aleatorização em blocos, testando cinco níveis de condutividade elétrica da água de irrigação -CEa (0,3; 1,1; 1,9; 2,7 e 3,5 dS m