Hydrogen peroxide at low concentrations has been used as a salt stress attenuator because it induces a positive response in the antioxidant system of plants. This study aimed to assess the gas exchange, quantum yield, and development of soursop plants cv. Morada Nova grown with saline water irrigation and foliar hydrogen peroxide application. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions using a randomized block design in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme corresponding to four levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water, ECw (0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 dS m-1), and four doses of hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 (0, 10, 20, and 30 μM), with three replicates. The use of irrigation water with electrical conductivity above 0.8 dS m-1 inhibited stomatal conductance, internal CO2 concentration, transpiration, maximum fluorescence, crown height, and vegetative vigor index of the Morada Nova cultivar of soursop. Compared to untreated plants, the hydrogen peroxide concentration of 30 μM resulted in greater stomatal conductance. Water salinity of 0.8 dS m-1 with hydrogen peroxide concentrations of 16 and 13 μM resulted in the highest variable fluorescence and quantum efficiency of photosystem II, respectively, of soursop plants cv. Morada Nova at 210 days after transplantation.
Keywords: Annona muricata L.; abiotic stress; attenuator; reactive oxygen species; water salinity.