PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF GLOBE ARTICHOKE PLANTS TO SALINITY

A better understanding of the physiological response of plants to salinity will help developing management practices to improve growing globe artichoke under salinity conditions, found in some areas of south Italy.
Since little attention has been paid to this subject, in the present study we describe some physiological processes of plants grown under salinity conditions.
Experiments were conducted both in the growth chamber as well as in the open field.
In the first case, plants were irrigated with distilled water (control) and saline water (EC = 26 dS m^-1) obtained by adding NaCl and CaCl₂ (1:2 w/w). In the field, plants were irrigated with water EC of 2.3 and 9.1 dS/m.
The physiological response of plants to salinity differed in relation to studied parameters (photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration, intercellular CO₂ concentration (Ci), leaf osmotic potential, and dry matter concentration in the plant parts). In controlled conditions, the salinity did not affect photosynthesis rates and Ci, but reduced stomatal conductance by 39%, transpiration rate by 34% and leaf osmotic potential by almost 50%. In the field study, stomatal conductance and transpiration of single leaves were essentially unaffected by salinity level for ‘Romanesco’, but were similarly reduced by the higher salinity level for ‘Orlando’ and ‘Violet de Provence’. High salinity almost doubled dry matter concentration in the leaves.
This latter result, together with that on osmotic potential, demonstrated that globe artichoke plants are able to tolerate soil salinity by osmotic adjustment.

V International Congress on Artichoke

P. Licandro, G. Mauromicale, T.C. Hsiao

Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, osmotic adjustment, yield response.

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.660.60