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- Author or Editor: Sebastián Bañón A. x
Six muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) Galia-type cultivars (`Delada', `Gallicum', `Galor', `Melina', `Regal' and `Revigal') were tested for salt tolerance at the seedling stage and during growth in the field. Three levels of salinity (ECW 2.5 (control), 5.0 and 7.5 dS·m-1), established by adding NaCl to fresh water, were used. The effect of salinity on seedling growth was assessed by measuring the total leaf area 36 days after sowing. `Melina' was the most tolerant at this stage and during subsequent growth in field, with a relative seedling leaf area of 60 and a relative yield of 66 at 7.5 dS·m-1 salinity, both expressed as a percentage of the values obtained at the control level of salinity. `Delada' was the most sensitive to the highest level of salinity at both stages, with relative seedling leaf area and yield of 51 and 56, respectively. For all cultivars, a highly significant correlation (r = 0.99) was established between the influence of salinity on seedling leaf area reduction and on decrease in yield during field culture. The results indicate that the reduction in seedling leaf area can be a good selection criterion to facilitate rapid screening for salt tolerance in muskmelon.
The influence of two irrigation treatments during nursery production on the post-transplant development of Lotus creticus subsp. cytisoides was studied. The treatments lasted 96 days and consisted of irrigating 2 days/week with a total of 2.3 L of water per plant over the whole nursery period (T-2) or irrigating six days per week with a total of 7 L of water per plant (T-6). T-2 plants had greater root length: shoot length ratio and higher percentage of brown roots, an indicator of more resistance to post-transplant stress. Minirhizotrons revealed more active root growth in the surface soil of the T-2 plants, although the plants of both treatments rapidly colonized the whole soil depth studied (0-160 cm deep). T-2 plants had greater stem length growth per unit of soil area covered.
The dendrometer has been proposed as a sensitive plant water indicator based on stem growth. However, studies including dendrometers have been mainly focused on fruit trees and less attention has been paid to ornamental shrubs (small plants). In the study described here, stem dendrometers were used to ascertain whether there is any relationship between water status and dendrometric indices in potted ornamental shrubs (1 to 2 cm diameter). For this purpose, three Mediterranean shrubs (Pittosporum tobira, Callistemon citrinus, and Rhamnus alaternus) were studied under water stress recovery conditions in winter, spring, and early summer. At the end of the experiment, an extreme water stress treatment, which resulted in plant death (August) was also studied. Stem diameter variations [maximum and minimum daily stem values (MXDS and MNDS, respectively), maximum daily shrinkage (MDS), and stem growth rate (SGR)], daily evapotranspiration (daily plant ET), and leaf water potential (Ψleaf) parameters were considered throughout the experiment. A regression analysis between dendrometric indices and daily plant ET showed that MXDS and MNDS were sensitive under water stress recovery conditions, especially in severe environmental conditions (spring and summer). The SGR in C. citrinus, the MDS in P. tobira, and both indices in R. alaternus were seen to be sensitive during the stress to death period. Although more studies are needed, the results confirm that the use of dendrometers in small plants may be useful to provide continuous and automated registers of the plant water status under different substrate water content and climatic conditions. However, the response of these indices may imply moderate water stress.