Irrigation with saline water in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in a soil with bovine biofertilizer

Abstract

ABSTRACT Salinity is a complex phenomenon that affects the metabolic processes of the plant, changing the physiological and biochemical parameters. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of irrigation water salinity on growth, biomass and gas exchanges in soybean crop in soil with and without biofertilizer. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at the experimental area of the Agrometeorological Station of the UFC, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, from May to June 2016. The treatments were distributed in randomized blocks in a 5 × 2 factorial scheme, corresponding to the levels of irrigation water salinity: 0.8; 1.6; 2.4; 3.2 and 4.0 dS m-1, in soil without and with bovine biofertilizer, in five replicates. The following variables were evaluated: growth (plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and leaf area), biomass (leaf, root and total dry matter) and gas exchanges (photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and transpiration). Irrigation water salinity reduced photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and transpiration, but with less intensity in the plants that received bovine biofertilizer. The aerobically fermented bovine biofertilizer attenuates saline stress on the initial growth and biomass of soybean plants.