Abstract
Screening of available local/exotic germplasm of a crop for salinity tolerance is of considerable value for the economic utilization of salt-affected soils of arid and semi-arid regions.
The response of 133 lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.) accessions, to NaCl at the germination and seedling stage, was examined. A great amount of variation of NaCl tolerance in lentil was observed at both the growth stages but, in general, there was no consistent relationship between tolerance assessed at germination or at the seedling stage. In the NaCl treatment five accessions, ILL 5845, ILL 6451, ILL 6788, ILL 6793, and ILL 6796 produced significantly greater fresh and dry plant biomass in both absolute and relative terms than the others, but these accessions performed as well as other intermediate or low biomass producing accessions in total germination percentage and rate of germination. In view of the existence of the great amount of variability of tolerance to NaCl among lentil varieties improvement in NaCl tolerance in this species is possible.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen S G, Dobrenz A K and Bartels P G 1986 Physiological response of salt tolerant and nontolerant alfalfa to salinity during germination. Crop Sci. 26, 1004–1008.
Akbar M and Yabuno T 1974 Breeding for saline resistant varieties of rice. 1. Comparative performance of some rice varieties to salinity during early development stages. Japan J. Breed. 24, 176–181.
Ashraf M, McNeilly T and Bradshaw A D 1986 The potential for evolution of salt (NaCl) tolerance in seven grass species. New Phytol. 103, 299–309.
Ashraf M, McNeilly T and Bradshaw A D 1986 The response of selected salt tolerant and normal lines of four grass species to NaCl in sand culture. New Phytol. 104, 453–461.
Ashraf M and McNeilly T 1987 Salinity effects of five cultivars/lines of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum [L.] Leeke). Plant and Soil 103, 13–19.
Ashraf M and McNeilly T 1988 Variability in salt tolerance of nine spring wheat cultivars. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 160, 14–21.
Azhar M and McNeilly T 1989 Improvement of salt tolerance in maize. Plant Breed. 104, 101–107.
Azhar F M and McNeilly T 1987 Variability for salt tolerance in Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. under hydroponic conditions. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 195, 269–277.
Blum A 1985 Breeding crop varieties for stress environments. CRC Critical Rev. Plant Sci. 2, 199–238.
Dewey D R 1960 Salt tolerance of 25 strains of Agropyron. Agron. J. 52, 631–635.
Epstein E and Norlyn J D 1977 Seawater-based crop production; a feasibility study. Science 197, 249–251.
Epstein E 1985 Salt tolerant crops: Origins, development and prospects of the concept. Plant and Soil 89, 187–198.
Greenway H 1965 Plant response to saline substrates. VII. Growth and uptake throughout plant development in two varieties of Hordeum vulgare. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 18, 763–779.
Hewitt E J 1966 Sand and Water Culture Methods Used in the Study of Plant Nutrition. Comm. Agric. Bur. Tech. Commun. No. 22, 2nd Ed.
Kingsbury R W and Epstein E 1984 Selection for salt resistant spring wheat. Crop Sci. 24, 310–315.
Norlyn J D 1980 Breeding salt tolerant crop plants. In Genetic Engineering of Osmo-regulation. Eds. D W Rains, R C Valentine and A Hollaender. Basic Life Sci. 14, 293–309. Plenum Pres, New York.
Pasternak D, Twersky M and DeMallach Y 1979 Salt resistance in agricultural crops. In Stress Physiology in Crop Plants. Eds. H Mussel and R C Staples. pp 127–142. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Shannon M C 1978 Testing salt tolerance variability among tall wheatgrass lines. Agron. J. 70, 719–722.
Shannon M C 1979 In quest of rapid screening techniques for plant salt tolerance. Hort. Science 14, 587–589.
Shannon M C 1984 Breeding, selection and the genetics of salt tolerance. In Salinity Tolerance in Plants. Eds. R C Staple and G H Toennissen. pp 231–254. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Shannon M C 1985 Principles and strategies in breeding for higher salt tolerance. Plant and Soil 89, 227–241.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ashraf, M., Waheed, A. Screening of local/exotic accessions of lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.) for salt tolerance at two growth stages. Plant Soil 128, 167–176 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011106
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011106