Effect of Soil Copper and Salinity on Growth and Chemical Composition of Two Pistachio Cultivars

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effects of soil copper (Cu) and salinity on growth and chemical composition of two pistachio cultivars. A factorial experiment was carried out as a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments consisted of four Cu levels (0، 2. 5، 5، and 7. 5 mg Kg-1soil as CuSO4. 2H2O)، five salinity levels (0، 800، 1600، 2400، and 3200 mg NaCl Kg-1 soil) and two pistachio cultivars (Badami-e-Zarand and Ghazvini). Results showed that salinity significantly decreased growth parameters. Application of 3200 mg NaCl Kg-1 soil decreased shoot and root dry weights، leaf area and stem height by 67، 72، 45 and 76 % respectively. Application of 7. 5 mg Cu Kg-1 soil increased shoot dry weight and leaf area by 24 and 26% respectively. Morever، there was no significant difference between growth parameters of two pistachio cultivars، except for leaf area index. Salinity stress significantly decreased shoot and root P، k and Cu total uptake، and increased that of Na and Cl. Application of 5 mg Cu Kg-1 soil significantly increased shoot Cu uptake. Since total uptake of all elements for Badami cultivar was significantly higher than the Ghazvini، it could be concluded that the latter cultivar is probably more resistant to the saline conditions.