The salinity levels tolerated by the Serrano chile “Tampiqueño 74” were investigated in greenhouse conditions. It was found that at an electric conductivity above 5.1 dS m^-1, Mg²⁺, Na⁺ and Cl^- ions diminished photosynthetic activity, root length, and seedlings biomass of Capsicum annuum; NaHCO₃ and sodium-sulfate salinity limited root growth as well.  The number of actively photosynthetic seedlings and overall biomass did not differ from control treatments for some salts and types of salinity, especially in the presence of SO₄^2- ions. We propose that the presence of SO₄^2- ions could potentially serve to ameliorate production problems in soils of high salinity.