Abstract
The negative effects of salt stress vary among different rapeseed cultivars. In this study, we investigated the sodium chloride tolerance among 10 rapeseed cultivars based on membership function values (MFV) and Euclidean cluster analyses by exposing seedlings to 0, 100, or 200 mM NaCl. The NaCl toxicity significantly reduced growth, biomass, endogenous K+ levels, relative water content and increased electrolyte leakage, soluble sugar levels, proline levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities. SPAD values were highly variable among rapeseed cultivars. We identified three divergent (tolerant, moderately tolerant, and sensitive) groups. We found that Hua6919 and Yunyoushuang2 were the most salt-tolerant cultivars and that Zhongshuang11 and Yangyou9 were the most salt-sensitive cultivars. The rapeseed cultivars were further subjected to photosynthetic gas exchange and anatomical trait analyses. Among the photosynthetic gas exchange and anatomical traits, the stomatal aperture was the most highly correlated with salinity tolerance in rapeseed cultivars and thus, is important for future studies that aim to improve salinity tolerance in rapeseed. Thus, we identified and characterized two salt-tolerant cultivars that will be useful for breeding programs that aim to develop salt-tolerant rapeseed.
Highlights
In agriculture, salinity is a great environmental problem causing stress that leads to a serious threat to plant growth and crop yield in many parts of the world, especially arid and semiarid regions; globally, 20% and 33% of cultivated and irrigated land, respectively, are salt-affected and degraded [1,2].It is estimated that about half of the world’s land will be saline by the middle of the 21st century [1].Morphology, physiology, and anatomy of plants are considerably affected by salt stress [3,4]
The results revealed that plant height (PH) was strongly positively correlated with shoot dry weight (SDW), total leaves area plant−1 (TLA), POD, soil and plant analyzer development (SPAD), and Total Soluble Sugar (TSS) (p < 0.01) and shoot fresh weight (SFW), root fresh weight (RFW), CAT, K+, Proline Concentrations (ProC), and Relative Water Content (RWC) (p < 0.05) and it was negatively correlated with Electrolyte Leakage (EL)
Our results suggested that stomata aperture area (SAA) highly correlated with salinity tolerance in rapeseed cultivars and could be a reliable trait indicated its importance for improving rapeseed salinity tolerance
Summary
Salinity is a great environmental problem causing stress that leads to a serious threat to plant growth and crop yield in many parts of the world, especially arid and semiarid regions; globally, 20% and 33% of cultivated and irrigated land, respectively, are salt-affected and degraded [1,2].It is estimated that about half of the world’s land will be saline by the middle of the 21st century [1].Morphology, physiology, and anatomy of plants are considerably affected by salt stress [3,4]. Salinity is a great environmental problem causing stress that leads to a serious threat to plant growth and crop yield in many parts of the world, especially arid and semiarid regions; globally, 20% and 33% of cultivated and irrigated land, respectively, are salt-affected and degraded [1,2]. Salinity has multiple influences; besides malnutrition and accumulation of excess ions to potentially harmful levels in plants, it can cause drought stress [5,6]. Salinity causes disturbing impacts on all growth stages in plants beginning from a decline in seed germination as the first decisive and most sensitive stage, a slowing of plant development, decrease of shoot formation, decline of biomass production, decrease in crop yield, decrease the rate of survival and plant death [6,7].
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