MORPHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PASSION-FRUIT PLANT UNDER SALT AND POTASSIUM STRESS

The high concentration of salts found in the waters of the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil stands out as a limiting factor for the commercial production of crops in this region. In this context, the aim of this work was to evaluate the percentage of damage to the cell membrane, the contents of photosynthetic pigments and the growth of passion-fruit plants 'BRS Rubi do Cerrado' cultivated with saline water and potassium fertilization during the seedling formation phase. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the Federal University of Campina Grande, in Pombal-PB. A 5 x 2 factorial design was adopted, with five levels of electrical conductivity of the irrigation water (0.3; 1.1; 1.9; 2.7 and 3.5 dS m-1) and two doses of potassium - DK (50 and 100% of the Novais methodology), with two plants per plot and four repetitions. The dose referring to 100% of the recommendation corresponded to 150 mg K2O kg-1 of soil.