Abstract
Evaluation of the salt tolerance of crop cultivars under field conditions is greatly complicated by the typical temporal and spatial variability of soil salinity. We obtained the grain yield – salinity response functions of 124 barley genotypes by growing them in ten salinity treatments imposed by a Triple Line Source Sprinkler (TLS) system during five consecutive years. Additional objectives were to ascertain the consistency and reproducibility over years of these functions, to quantify the deleterious effects of saline sprinkling irrigations, and to assess correlations between salinity tolerance and leaf sap salt concentration. The consistency and reproducibility of the response functions within and between years were adequate (only 8% of the response functions were discarded for statistical reasons). The Y m (grain yield without salinity) and the EC50 (the EC e that reduces yield by 50%) estimates were not correlated (P > 0.05) suggesting that the most productive genotypes were not necessarily less salinity tolerant. Y m was positively and significantly (P < 0.01) correlated with Y6 and Y12 (fitted grain yields at EC e values of 6 dS m-1, and 12 dS m-1, respectively), indicating that it is a useful statistic in the selection of barley genotypes most productive under medium and high salinities. Foliar salt uptake due to saline sprinkling irrigations decreased the EC50 by around 50% as compared with the salinity tolerance obtained with surface irrigation systems. No consistent relationships were found between either Y m or EC50 and the leaf sap osmotic potential, Cl, Ca, Na and K concentrations. They could not therefore be used in screening for salinity tolerance of barley. On the basis of the evidence from the present study, Y m is the best statistic for predicting the most productive barley genotypes in salt-affected soils.
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Royo, A., Aragüés, R. Salinity-yield response functions of barley genotypes assessed with a triple line source sprinkler system. Plant and Soil 209, 9–20 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004549927123
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004549927123