Varietal differences in sodium uptake in barley cultivars exposed to soil salinity or salt spray

Abstract

Barley varieties are known to differ in the extent of Na + and Cl - accumulation in leaves when grown in saline soil or hydroponic culture. In particular, the cv. Chevron accumulates more Na + than the more salt-tolerant cv. CM67, and has lower leaf K + concentrations. When salt was applied as a spray to the leaves, CM67 accumulated more Na + than Chevron, and the selection Sinis 27 (from a landrace collected on the Sinis Peninsula of Sardinia) accumulated more Na + than Sinis 28. In some cases leaf K + concentrations decreased in response to high concentrations of salt sprayed on to the leaves