Effect of salinity stress on growth related physiological and biochemical traits of Casuarina clones in nursery
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Authors
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Palwinder Bassi
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 140 004, Punjab
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Rakesh K. Garg
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources,
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 140 004, Punjab
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O.P. Chaudhary
Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 140 004, Punjab
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Nirmaljit Kaur
Department of Botany, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana – 140 004, Punjab
Keywords:
Casuarina junghuhniana, irrigation, pot culture, proline, saline water, soluble sugarAbstract
Eight clones of Casuarina (four of Casuarina junghuhniana and four of inter-specific hybrids of Casuarina equisetifolia × C. junghuhniana) were subjected to saline water irrigation with different concentrations of NaCl viz., 0, 40, 80 and 120 mM. After 12 months of study period, growth, biomass and survival (%) was inversely affected by different treatments. At maximum salinity (120 mM NaCl), clone IFGTB CJ-108 was found to be the most tolerant, as it registered minimum decrease in plant height (51%), root length (40%), shoot dry weight (37%) and root dry weight (42%) as compared to control (0 mM NaCl or water with no salt). On the basis of morphological and physiological characters, clones IFGTB CJ- 108, CH-6, CJ-9 and CH-5 were found to be promising under saline water irrigated conditions and need to be further tested under field conditions for salinity tolerance.
