Open Access

ARTICLE

Tolerance of Sweet Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) to Water Deficit and Irrigation Water Salinity: Water Relations and Production

Rodrigo Rafael da Silva^1,*, Gabriela Carvalho Maia de Queiroz¹, Amanda Cibele da Paz Sousa¹, Antônio Gustavo de Luna Souto¹, Francisco Hélio Alves de Andrade ², Francimar Maik da Silva Morais¹, Rita Magally Oliveira da Silva Marcelino¹, Fagner Nogueira Ferreira¹, Alex Alvares da Silva³, Maria Isabela Batista Clemente¹, Baltazar Cirino Junior¹, Wedson Aleff Oliveira da Silva¹, Mateus de Freitas Almeida dos Santos¹, José Francismar de Medeiros^1,*

1 Department of Agronomic and Forestry Sciences, Federal Rural University of the Semi-arid Region—UFERSA, Mossoró, 59625-900, RN, Brazil
2 Maranhão State Institute of Education, Science and Technology, IP Amarante, Amarante do Maranhão, 65923-000, MA, Brazil
3 Agricultural Sciences Center, State University of Paraiba, Catolé do Rocha, 58884-000, PB, Brazil

* Corresponding Authors: Rodrigo Rafael da Silva. Email: ; José Francismar de Medeiros. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Abiotic Stress in Agricultural Crops)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(9), 2797-2814. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.068089

Received 20 May 2025; Accepted 01 September 2025; Issue published 30 September 2025

Abstract

Due to its tolerance to water deficit and salinity, sorghum is considered a suitable crop for cultivation in regions affected by these stress conditions, enabling the efficient use of limited water resources. This study evaluated the resilience of the sweet sorghum cultivar BRS 506 under water deficit and salinity stress, focusing on water relations and yield performance in semiarid conditions. A randomized complete block design was employed in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement with four replicates. Treatments consisted of three levels of irrigation water salinity (1.50, 3.75, and 6.00 dS m⁻¹) and three irrigation levels (50%, 75%, and 100% of the estimated maximum crop evapotranspiration, ETc), corresponding to water deficits of 50%, 25%, and 0% of ETc. Salinity stress resulted in similar electrolyte leakage in both years. In 2022, relative water content decreased with increasing salinity, whereas saturation deficit and water absorption capacity increased. The highest electrolyte leakage occurred under a 25% water deficit. In contrast, water-related physiological parameters in 2021 remained stable despite water deficits. Juice yield declined by 13.38% under the highest salinity level (6.00 dS m⁻¹) compared with the lowest (1.50 dS m⁻¹). Under water deficit conditions, total yield, dry matter, stalk biomass, and juice yield were comparable between 0% and 25% water deficit, with significant reductions only at 50%. Overall, BRS 506 demonstrated resilience to salinity, maintaining cellular integrity. Despite adverse effects on plant water status at high salinity, total yield was unaffected. A 25% irrigation reduction resulted in only a 6.64% yield loss, indicating improved water use efficiency and highlighting the potential for sustainable cultivation of sweet sorghum in water-limited environments.

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