A preliminary study on salt tolerance of some barley genotypes

Abstract

In this 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 basic growth parameters (root length, shoot length total plant length, fresh weight, dry weight) were determined on the 18 d old plants. Tolerance indices for each genotype was calculated on the basis of root and shoot length. Our results showed that salt stress inhibited root and shoot growth in all genotypes significantly except Bülbül-89. Inhibition degree of root and shoot growth was found to be proportional to the salt concentrations applied. Maximum inhibitory effect of salinity on root and shoot growth, for example, was observed in Avcı-2002 at 300 mM salinity level, while Bülbül-89 was less affected by salt stress. In addition, we found that salt stress disturbed water relation between barley genotypes and growth medium dependent on the organ type, as demonstrated by more severe inhibition in shoot fresh weight as compared to root fresh weight. These results may show that salt stress reduced translocation of water from roots to shoots rather than water uptake from soil in barley genotypes used in this study. Changes in dry weight of root and shoot barley genotypes indicated that salt stress reduced biomass accumulation in roots. As a result, we concluded that Bülbül-89 is the most tolerant barley cultivars while Avcı-2002 is the most susceptible one, as indicated by the calculated tolerance indices.