Salinity and Mulching Effects on Nutrition and Production of Grafted Sour Passion Fruit

The Brazilian semiarid region stands out in terms of sour passion fruit production. Local climatic conditions (high air temperature and low rainfall), combined with its soil properties (rich in soluble salts), increase salinity effects on plants. This study was carried out in the experimental area "Macaquinhos" in Remigio-Paraiba (Brazil). The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of mulching on grafted sour passion fruit under irrigation with moderately saline water. The experiment was conducted in split-plots in a 2 x (2 x 2) factorial scheme to evaluate the effects of the combination of irrigation water salinity of 0.5 dS m(-1) (control) and 4.5 dS m(-1) (main plot), passion fruit propagated by seed and grafted onto Passiflora cincinnata, with and without mulching (subplots), with four replicates and three plants per plot. The foliar Na concentration in grafted plants was 90.9% less than that of plants propagated via seeds; however, it did not affect fruit production. Plastic mulching, by reducing the absorption of toxic salts and promoting greater absorption of nutrients, contributed to greater production of sour passion fruit. Under irrigation with moderately saline water, the plastic film in the soil and seed propagation promote higher production of sour passion fruit.