A preliminary study on salt tolerance of some barley genotypes

Abstract

Inthis study, salt (NaCl) tolerance of five barley genotypes (Avcı-2002,Aydanhanım, Bülbül-89, Orza-96, Tarm-92) was investigated. For this purpose,plants were exposed to different salt concentrations (0 mM (control), 100 mM, 200 mM and 300 mM) and some basicgrowth parameters (root length, shoot length total plant length, fresh weight,dry weight) were determined on the 18 d old plants. Tolerance indices for each genotypewas calculated on the basis of root and shoot length. Our results showed that saltstress inhibited root and shoot growth in all genotypes significantly exceptBülbül-89. Inhibition degree of root and shoot growth was found to beproportional to the salt concentrations applied. Maximum inhibitory effect ofsalinity on root and shoot growth, for example, was observed in Avcı-2002 at300 mM salinity level, while Bülbül-89 was less affected by salt stress. Inaddition, we found that salt stress disturbed water relation between barleygenotypes and growth medium dependent on the organ type, as demonstrated by moresevere inhibition in shoot fresh weight as compared to root fresh weight. Theseresults may show that salt stress reduced translocation of water from roots toshoots rather than water uptake from soil in barley genotypes used in thisstudy. Changes in dry weight of root and shoot barley genotypes indicated thatsalt stress reduced biomass accumulation in roots. As a result, we concludedthat Bülbül-89 is the most tolerant barley cultivars while Avcı-2002 is themost susceptible one, as indicated by the calculated tolerance indices.

Keywords

• barley
• hordeum vulgare
• salt tolerance