Abstract

Noni is a fruit crop well adapted to different soil and climatic conditions. Aiming to evaluate the physiological responses to salinity, noni seedlings were grown in two levels of NaCl (0 and 100 mM) in nutrient solution and the effects of salt stress on gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, photosynthetic pigments, relative water content and membrane integrity were assessed after 1, 10, 20, 30 and 40 days of salt stress. The experimental design was a completely randomized in 2 × 5 factorial arrangement with four replications. Salinity did not affect the intrinsic efficiency of water use, but reduced net assimilation of CO₂, stomatal conductance, transpiration, carboxylation efficiency and contents of chlorophyll a, b, and total carotenoids. Salinity caused no major changes in chlorophyll fluorescence, however the stressed plants showed a decrease in photoprotection capacity by the cycle of xanthophylls. Salinity did not affect the water status of the leaves, but damages to the integrity of the membranes were observed due to duration of salt exposure. The data indicate that noni presents stomatal closure as a mechanism of salinity tolerance, reducing water loss by transpiration and maintaining the water status.

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