Production of seedlings of icozeiro (capparis yco) irrigated with saline water and substrate coverage with coconut fiber

Abstract

The icozeiro (Capparis yco) is an endemic plant of the semiarid that occurs in the Brazilian Northeast Caatinga, unknown in its potentials and its capacity of seminal propagation under conditions of water restrictions. This work aimed to evaluate the quality of seedlings of icozeiro produced with saline water and conditions of use of coconut fiber as mulch. The experiment was installed in completely randomized design, with four replications in factorial arrangement 6 x 2, corresponding to the six levels of electric conductivity of irrigation water (0.5; 2.5; 4.5; 6.5 8.5 and 10.5 dS m-1), the substrate without and with mulch. We evaluated the emergency speed index, average time of emergence, plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, aerial dry mass, root dry mass, total dry mass and Dickson quality index. The application of high saline water negatively affected the attributes of plant height growth, stem diameter, leaf area, shoot dry mass, root dry mass and total dry mass of the icozeiro seedlings. Coating with coconut shell fiber inhibited growth and reduced the quality of icozeiro seedlings. The use of coconut husk fiber as mulch is not recommended for the production of icozeiro seedlings.