Phytomass and Components of Sesame Grown in Different Soil Salinity Levels and Nitrogen Fertilization

Abstract

Introduction: Sesame has an elevated productive potential especially in semiarid areas. However, these areas present abiotic factors that limit the production of agricultural cultures, and one of them is the salinity level. Objectives: To evaluate the phytomass and production of sesame plants submitted to soil salinity and nitrogen fertilization. Place and Duration of the Study: The experiment was conducted in the months of December 2016 to April 2017, in an experimental area belonging to the Federal University of Campina Grande, in the Science and Food Technology Center, located in the municipal district of Pombal, Paraíba. Methodology: The treatments were composed of five salinity levels of saturation extract (0.9; 1.7; 2.5; 3.3 and 4.1 dS m-1) and five doses of nitrogen (40; 70; 100; 130 and 160%), constituting a factorial 5x5, with three repetitions and with a experimental design of randomized blocks. The cultivar employed was the BRS silk, whose sowing was made in 18-liter polypropylene vases filled with 22 kg of local soil. One hundred and ten days after the sowing process, the following parameters were analyzed: aerial part dry mass, root dry mass and total dry mass, electric conductivity of the saturation extract, number of fruits, fruit mass and seed mass. Results: There was a significant effect for all analyzed variables. The salinity level of the soil was inversely proportional to the sesame production. Conclusion: High doses of nitrogen reduce the culture’s yielding and potentiate the deleterious effects of the soil’s salinity. The nitrogen fertilization at 70% of the recommended values was the best to reduce the saline stress in the studied conditions.