بررسي واكنش ارقام متحمل گندم ايراني به تنش شوري در مرحله جوانه زني و گياهچه

An Evaluation of Salt Tolerance in Iranian Wheat Cultivars at Germination and Seedling Stages

In this study, three wheat cultivars recommended for cultivation in saline areas, Mahouti, Roshan and Kavir were compared with Kharchia and Chinese spring varieties for various traits in different salt concentrations conditions at germination and seedling stages by factorial analysis and split plot design in a complete random block design with three replications. Mahouti cultivar was found superior with respect to germination percentage, germination rate, radicle and plumule length traits. Compared whit other cultivars, the germination percentage of this cultivar was not affected when salt concentration was elevated to 200 mM. Even at 450 mM of salt, germination percentage could reach 66% of the control. At seedling stage, plant dry weight proved to be the trait of choice for assessing the tolerance among cultivars as well as treatments. Mahouti cultivar performed better than others considering dry weight which was 50% of control when seedlings were subjected to 250 mM NaCl for 20 days. In contrast, the level of this indicator was 40% for Roshan, Kavir and Kharchia while only 20% for Chinese spring. Interestingly, unlike in Kharchia, Na+/K+ balance was not maintained in Mahouti when salt concentration was increased to 250 mM. It seems that salt tolerance mechanism in Mahouti differs from that of Kharchia when subjected to harsh salt stress conditions.