Effects of NaCl and NaHCO₃ stress on morphological growth and nutrient metabolism on selected avocados (Persea americana Mill.)

Abstract

The effect of alkali stress on crop production has gained importance around the world. Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is considered a salt-sensitive species, but the effect of alkaline water on avocados has not been sufficiently studied. Plant growth, leaf damage, and chemical analysis were evaluated in response to alkali salt (NaHCO₃) and neutral salt (NaCl) stresses on six clonally propagated avocado rootstocks. All plants exhibited exclusion mechanisms by the accumulation of Na⁺ and Cl⁻ in their root systems, Na⁺ was concentrated to a greater extent than Cl⁻. The accumulation of Na⁺ in the leaves was greater when applied as NaHCO₃ compared to the NaCl treatment. Although Cl⁻ toxicity is more commonly observed under usual field conditions, in our experiments when Na⁺ reached the leaves it caused nearly two times more leaf necrosis.

Keywords:

• alkali stress
• chloride
• leaf damage
• salt stress
• sodium

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Ana Rosa Socorro Monzón, for the technical assistance with all the plant, water and soil analysis and the technical team headed by Diego Pérez Acosta for the field work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (SolsubC200801000284- CEPATOR).