Effects of salinity and Ca:Mg ratio of irrigation water on pistachio seedlings phosphorus planted under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

<span>Phosphorus (P) is a key element in many biological processes of plants and animals. We aimed to investigate the effect of different salinity levels and Ca:Mg ratios of irrigation water </span><span lang="EN-GB">arid lands </span><span>on soil available P, soluble P, and P absorbed by the pistachio plant. For this purpose, a greenhouse experiment was conducted by sowing the seeds of pistachio in a factorial randomized block design with four soil salinity levels (S1 (6 dS.m^-1irrigation water salinity, leaching fraction (LF) = 50), S2, S3, and S4 (9 dS.m^-1 irrigation water salinity, LF = 50, 30 and 20, respectively)) and three Ca:Mg ratios (M1, M2, and M3 equal to 1, 0.5, and 0.25, respectively). After harvesting the plants, the amount of soil available P (Po), water-soluble P (Pw), and total P (Pt) at soil depths of 0-5, 5-25, 25-50, and 50-75 cm, and P concentration in the leaves of Pistachio seedlings were measured<span lang="FA" dir="RTL">.</span>The results showed that the salinity of soil saturated extract had no significant effect on Po, Pw, and Pt. The reduction in Ca:Mg ratio increased Po and Pw in soil surface but it did not affect Pt. Increasing salinity from S1 to S2 augmented plant P uptake but at higher salinity levels, P uptake was reduced. The decrease in Ca:Mg ratio had no significant effect on plant P contents<span lang="FA" dir="RTL">.</span></span>