Summary
A field experiment was conducted for five years to study the response of 6-year old lemon trees cv. Verna on three different rootstock (sour orange, Cleopatra mandarin and macrophylla) to uniform applications of four irrigation waters having Cl− concentrations of 4 (control), 11, 26.5 and 42.5 mol m−3, respectively.
Fruit yield and the growth in trunk circumference were significantly reduced by increasing salinity in the rootzone, although this effect varied with the rootstock. The threshold values for response were 1.53, 2.08 and 1.02 dS m−1 for sour orange, Cleopatra mandarin and macrophylla respectively. The corresponding yield reduction for each unit increase in salinity above those values was 10.5, 13.7 and 14.2%, respectively. Trees on macrophylla accumulated higher Cl− concentrations in the leaves than those from the other two rootstocks. The role of the interstock of sanguina orange on restriction of Cl uptake is discussed.
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Cerda, A., Nieves, M. & Guillen, M.G. Salt tolerance of lemon trees as affected by rootstock. Irrig Sci 11, 245–249 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00190540
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00190540