Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Growth and Quality of Tamarind Seedlings Irrigated with Saline Water

Aims: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilization on the production of Tamarindus indica L. seedlings irrigated with saline water.

Study Design: A randomized complete block design was used in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme, whose factors were the electrical conductivity levels of the irrigation water.

Place and Duration of Study: The work was conducted under protected environment conditions (greenhouse) at the Federal University of Campina Grande, Center for Agro-Food Sciences and Technology, Campus of Pombal-PB, Brazil, in the period from January and March 2017.

Methodology: Effects of doses of 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg of nitrogen (N) dm-3 and electrical conductivity levels of the irrigation water (ECw) (0.3, 2.1, 3.7 and 5.2 dS m-1) on growth of Tamarindus indica L. have been studied.

Results: The growth of the seedlings was reduced by the increase of the electrical conductivity of the irrigation water, however, irrigation with ECw water of 2.15 dS m-1, promotes acceptable reductions of 10% in the morphology of the tamarind tree.

Conclusion: The use of nitrogen fertilization with urea did not attenuate the deleterious effects of irrigation water salinity or promoted improvements of the quality of the tamarind seedlings.