Seedling emergence, growth, and mineral concentration of three citrus rootstocks under salt stress

Abstract

Abstract Salt tolerance of Carrizo citrange (CC), sour orange (SO), and Cleopatra mandarin (CM) rootstocks during emergence and early seedling stage of development was studied under greenhouse conditions. Increasing salt concentration in the nutrient solution delayed and depressed seedling emergence (SE), increased time to 50% emergence, reduced seedling growth (SD) but did not affect emergence spread. At the first salinity level (5 mmol), emergence of the first seedling (EFS) was delayed by 2–3 days in CC and one day in SO but was not affected in CM. At the two lowest salinity levels (5 and 10 mmol), final percent emergence (FPE) was not affected in CC but was reduced in SO and CM while shoot biomass was reduced in CC but was not affected in SO and CM. This study showed a non‐consistent trend among citrus rootstocks concerning whether the delay in emergence is more sensitive to salt stress than final percent emergence. However, SG was generally more affected by salinity than SE, particularly at high sali...