Number of Norin Genes and Early Salt Tolerance in Bread Wheat

Abstract

The salt tolerance of a tall, one-, two- and three-gene dwarf wheat varieties on one hand and four three-gene dwarf varieties on the other have been compared during germination and early growth: Up to 10,000 ppm salinity, dwarf Mexican wheats at all gene levels showed higher germination than the tall C 306 Indian wheat and at higher salinity levels probably the embryonic weight became more important so that Kalyan Sona (2-gene dwarf) with lesser grain weight became more susceptible than Sonalika (1-gene dwarf) which has higher grain weight. However, on the whole, there is some evidence of increased germination with the increasing number of Norin genes in saline medium. Out of the varieties tested Sonalika, Kalyan Sona and U.P. 301, with 1, 2 and 3 dwarfing genes, Sonalika seems recommendable up to a salinity level of 32 mm hos/cm. Among the four 3-gene dwarf wheat varieties (U.P. 301, U.P. 302, Hira and Lal Bahadur) U.P. 302 seems to have better salt tolerance capacity.