Partition of photoassimilates in banana cultivars irrigated with water of different salinities

Abstract Water salinity besides affecting growth and plant development may affect mineral nutrition and characteristics of soils. In a field experiment, the production and partition of dry matter of two banana (Musa spp) cultivars irrigated with high (ECw = 1.66 dS m-1) and low (ECw = 0,31 dS m-1) salinity up to 300 days after transplanting were evaluated, with the objective to identify the difference of photoassimilates partition for the two waters. It was verified that the partition of assimilates in the different organs of the plants was influenced with growing period and there was no difference in the production of biomass of leaves for the cultivars words to the end of the first cycle of the banana. It was verified that the plants irrigated with water of low salinity, the partition of photoassimilates in the bunch and in the rhizome presented diferences for the cultivars.