Germinación de semillas y desarrollo de plántulas de pimiento (Capsicum annuum L.) en un ambiente salino constante

In agronomy, stress is any factor of the environment that reduces the harvest potential of a crop. Salinity is the major obstacle to irrigation in arid and semiarid zones. Capsicum annuum, Bell Boy variety pimiento, is an important commercial crop for its fruits and for seed production in the central region of Chile. In this work we determine germinative capacity and seedling development of pimiento under constant irrigation with NaCl solutions of different osmotic concentrations: 0,25,50,100,150,200,300 mM. Germination assays were made according to the I.S.T.A. (1966). At higher osmotic concentrations there are lower germination percentages and the latent period is longer. Development of the vegetative organs is inhibited but the percentage of dry matter in root, stem and leaves is similar for all treatments. The reproductive phase is completed too, though with differences between some treatments. This indicates that the pimiento sinchronizes well its metabolism osmotic adjustment.