Hydrogel efficiency and physiological responses of seedless citrus cultivars seedlings under water deficit

Abstract

Water is a limiting factor in citrus development which makes hydric replacement a common practice in plantations where its distribution is scarce. The hydroretentor gel has been one of the available technologies for water supply to plants and may also be an alternative that contributes to the rational use of water for planting citrus seedlings. This study evaluated the efficiency of hydrogel as an alternative to minimize the effects of water deficit in seedlings of seedless cultivars of tangerines (‘Ortanique’, ‘Okitsu’ and ‘Clemenules’) and oranges (‘Navelina’, ‘Navelate’ and ‘Lanelate’), all grafted on Poncirus trifoliata. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, in a randomized blocks design, where plants with hydrogel were compared to plants under conventional irrigation and also to plants under water deficit, in a triple factorial arrangement. The rates of carbon liquid assimilation, stomatal conductance and transpiration and the ratio between internal and external CO₂ concentrations were evaluated. It was verified that the effect of the hydrogel for maintaining the hydric status of citrus seedlings is variable and dependent on physiological mechanisms of response to water deficit. There was no response of ‘Ortanique’ and ‘Navelate’ seedlings to the hydrogel application. The hydrogel promoted the recovering and maintenance of the hydric status of ‘Okitsu’, ‘Clemenules’, ‘Navelina’ and ‘Lanelate’ seedlings, however, these cultivars were sensitive to changes in the water status, with considerable reduction of gas exchange.