Influence of salt stress on the mineral composition of eggplant seedlings

Abstract

The studies that relate the productive revenue of horticultural species cultivated under high salt concentrations have a big importance. With the objective to evaluate the eggplant tolerance to the salinity and its effects on the levels of nutrients in the plant, the experiment was carried out under greenhouse in hydroponic conditions. The statistical design consisted of ten salinity treatments corresponding to the nutrition solutions EC´s (EC Electrical Conductivity) of: 1.70; 2.28; 2.60; 3.11; 4.08; 6.03; 8.12; 10.15; 12.10 and 14.10 dS m^-1. It was used an entirely statistical randomized design with three replications. The salinity caused an increase in Na⁺ and Cl^- ions in leaves, followed by the reduction in the Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and K⁺ levels that reflected the nutritional imbalance resulted from the progressive salt stress, which also reduceds the concentration of P and increases the N, Cu²⁺, Na⁺ e Cl^- in the stem. The accumulation of inorganic solutes,as Na⁺ and Cl^-, in the roots,  suggests the participation of those in the plant osmotic adjustment. The salinity increases the Na⁺/K⁺ relation in the roots, stems and leaves, showing itself as an important variable in the plant nutrition studies under salinity conditions.