Sunflower biometrics and chemical salinity attributes of soil irrigated with waters of different qualities

Abstract

Poor quality water, such as sewage, has become an alternative to reduce the consumption of good quality water by irrigation, especially in arid and semi-arid regions; however, water rich in salts can be harmful to agricultural systems. This research evaluated the impacts of salinity of waters of different qualities on the development of the sunflower culture and on the soil. The research was developed in the area of the Environmental Studies Team (EEA/UEFS), and the experimental design used was completely randomized, consisting of four treatments: rain water (0.20 dS m-1), well water (1.50 dS m-1), cesspool effluent (3.50 dS m-1) and brackish water (5.00 dS m-1), with the irrigation manually done and the blade calculated based on daily evapotranspiration. Irrigation with effluent promoted a better development of the sunflower crop, and the increase in the salinity of the irrigation water in the other treatments promoted a decrease in the total fresh and dry phytomasses, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, internal and external diameters of the capitula and in the consumption and efficiency of water use. The use of rainwater, well water and cesspool effluent proved to be suitable for irrigation of the sunflower crop; however, the latter sodified the soil, which would already be recommended for the application of treatments for soil recovery.