TY - JOUR 
A1 - Romero Trigueros, Cristina
AU - Nortes Tortosa, Pedro Antonio
AU - Pedrero Salcedo, Francisco
AU - Mounzer, Oussama
AU - Alarcón Cabañero, Juan José
AU - Bayona Gambín, José María
AU - Nicolás Nicolás, Emilio
T1 - Assessment of the viability of using saline reclaimed water in grapefruit in medium to long term
Y1 - 2014
SN - 1695-971X
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10317/6814
AB - Citrus trees are strongly affected by salinity, especially in countries where irrigation is required as a semi-arid
Mediterranean agronomic region. The aims of the study were i) to identify the best reliable plant-based water status
indicator for field grown grapefruit trees irrigated with saline reclaimed water during five years of cultivation by
measuring seasonal changes in physiological parameters (i.e. gas exchange and stem water potential measurements),
leaf structural traits (i.e. leaf chlorophyll content, area-based leaf nitrogen and area-based dry mass), phytotoxic
elements and yield; ii) to estimate phytotoxicity thresholds at leaf level. Our results showed that the chlorophyll content
was the parameter with the highest number of measures with significant differences (p ≤ 0.05, ANOVA) between trees
irrigated with reclaimed water and control trees throughout growing stages. Moreover, Chl a increased linearly with
area-based leaf nitrogen (R2 = 0.63; p < 0.001) and area-based dry mass (R2 = 0.64; p < 0.001). We also determined
the salt-induced phytotoxicity thresholds at which a reduction in yields occurs; these levels were Na: 0.1 g/100 g, Cl:
0.6 g/100 g and B: 100 ppm. In conclusion, we revealed the importance of leaf chlorophyll measurements as a
significance diagnostic indicator of salt stress on field grown grapefruit trees. This parameter was also related to plantbased
water status indicators such as stem water potential, stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis. Additionally,
a salt accumulation potential at leaf level was shown, leading to possible risk in crop sustainability in the medium to
long term.
KW - Producción Vegetal
KW - Chlorophyll
KW - Gas exchange measurements
KW - Irrigation
KW - Phytotoxic elements
KW - Plant water status
KW - Saline reclaimed water
KW - Yield
KW - 3102.05 Riego
KW - 3103.05 Técnicas de Cultivo
LA - eng
PB - Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria
ER -