The Effect of Integrated Irrigation with Saline and Fresh Water on Growth and Flowering of Zinnia

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MSc Student, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

Abstract

In order to study the effects of integrated irrigation with saline and fresh water on growth and flowering of Zinnia (Zinnia elegans L.), a sensitive plant to salinity, an experiment was carried out in greenhouse during two successive seasons of winter and spring. The experiment was performed in greenhouse by sowing seeds in plastic pots containing equel proportion of soil, sand and manure compost. The experiment was arranged based on a completely randomized design with nine treatments and three replications. The treatments included irrigation with fresh water (0, no NaCl) as control and integrated irrigation with fresh water and water containing 40 or 70 mM NaCl. The results showed that plants that were repeatedly irrigated with 70 mM NaCl (70-70-70) and plants that were irrigated two out of three times with 70 mM NaCl (0-70-70), died. Plants that were irrigated once in between or one out of three times with 70 mM NaCl (0-70-0-70 or 0-0-70) showed better growth and flowering compared to those repeatedly irrigated with 40 mM NaCl (40-40-40). Furthermore, these plants showed improved cell membrane stability, higher chlorophyll and carotenoids contents and higher potassium/sodium content compared to 40-40-40 treated plants. According to the results of the present study, integrated irrigation with saline and fresh water makes it possible to use saline water for landscaping and ornamental plants cultivation.

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Volume 12, Issue 1
June 2020
Pages 99-110

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