Abstract
The castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) cultivation is an alternative of great importance for the semi-arid region of Brazil, under irrigated conditions. Being common in the region waters with high salt concentrations and considering the lack of information on the effects of water salinity, this study was carried out aiming to evaluate the effects of saline waters in the cultivation of the castor bean BRS 149-Nordestina, in the phase of initial growth. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, consisting of combination of five levels of irrigation water salinity (0.7 - 1.7 - 2.7 - 3.7 and 4.7 dS m-1, at 25 °C) and five proportions of Na:Ca (9.5:0.5 - 7.5:2.5 - 5.0:5.0 - 2.5:7.5 and 0.5:9.5) combined factorially, resulting in 25 treatments with three replications which were conducted during 80 days after planting. The salinity of the water did not influence in the ratio of leaf area and quantum efficiency of the photosystem II. The leaf area and water consumption by the plant had a linear decrease with increase of the electrical conductivity of the irrigation water and the water potential of the leaf increased linearly when the plants were submitted to the saline stress.
Key words:
Ricinus communis; salinity; initial growth
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