The water availability and the water movement though the seeds are very important to seed germination and seedlings emergence, and these factors are influenced by soil water potential, soil texture and soil-seed contact surface. Knowing that soil salinity limits the growth of several plants, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of water and salinity stress on seed germination and seedling growth of three popcorn cultivars (IAC 112, Zélia e BRS-Angela). The seeds were sown in germination paper substrate imbibed in potassium chloride (KCl) solutions using five levels of osmotic potential: 0.0 (control); -0.1; -0.3; -0.6 e -0.9MPa. The percentage of normal seedlings at the first and final counting of the germination test, as well as root and shoot length and dry biomass of seedlings were used to evaluate seed physiological quality. The results indicated that the reduction of the osmotic potential reduced the popcorn seed performance. There was a differential behavior between the popcorn cultivars to the salinity stress tolerance promoted by the use of KCl. The seeds of BRS-Angela cultivar showed better germination and seedling growth than the others, when submitted to the same level of KCl osmotic potential.
Zea mays; salinity; performance
