Physiological variations of green coconut tree irrigated with saline water

Abstract The use of saline water for irrigation purposes in spite of its limitations, is becoming an alternative, for the farmers of different semi-arid regions of the world, including the Northeast Brazil. In this regard an experiment was conducted, during 2 years, with the objective of evaluating the viability of the use of saline water for irrigating dwarf coconut tree, in the initial phase of production. A completely randomized block design consisting of 4 levels of water salinity (ECw = 0.1, 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 dS m-1) was adopted with five replications. Was evidenced reduction stomatal conductance and reduction in water potential of leaves increasing salinity. Alteration in photosynthesis efficiency apparatus was not verified, due to salinity of irrigation water.