INITIAL DEVELOPMENT AND TOLERANCE OF PEPPER SPECIES TO SALINITY STRESS

Salinity is one of the main causes of crop yield decline in arid and semi-arid regions, requiring the use of tolerant species that allow cultivation in these areas. The objective of this study was to determine the emergence, initial growth and tolerance of pepper species irrigated with saline waters. The experiment was conducted in a protected environment (greenhouse), with a 5 x 3 factorial scheme, using four replicates of 30 seeds each. The experimental design was a completely randomized design, involving five irrigation water salinity levels (0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3.0 dS m(-1)) and three species of pepper [E1 - Capsicum annuum ("Doce Comprida"); E2 - Capsicum frutescens ("Malagueta"); E3 - Capsicum chinense ("De Bico")]. Pepper seedlings were grown in trays of 30 cells with a capacity of 0.1 dm(3) of substrate. During the first 30 days after sowing, seedlings were monitored for emergence, initial growth and dry matter accumulation. As the salinity of the irrigation water increased, there was a reduction in the emergence, growth and phytomass accumulation of C. annuum, C. frutescens and C. chinense peppers. These species tolerate saline waters of up to 1.78, 2.71 and 1.55 dS m(-1) respectively, in the initial development phase, with C. frutescens being the most tolerant to saline stress, and C. chinense the most sensitive.