Effects of NaCl salinity on the performance of some citrus cultivars at early growth seedling stage

In current research, salt tolerance of five citrus cultivars namely: Pearl tangelo (Citrus reticulata× Citrus paradisi), Local orange (Citrus sinensis), Local sweet lime (Citrus limetta), Local sour lime (Citrus aurantifolia) and Meyer lemon (Citrus limon) during germination, emergence, and early seedling stage was investigated. Increasing salt concentration delayed the early emergence of seedling and increased the time to 50% emergence. Among all of the cultivars, Local orange and Pearl tangelo were the latest and the earliest, respectively. The results showed that salinity had a significant effect on emergence spread and final percent emergence. In the meantime, Meyer lemon had the highest final percent emergence. Salinity also altered the mineral status of citrus cultivar seedlings. With increasing salinity levels, Na and Cl concentrations were increased in both leaves and roots of all cultivars. The lowest Cl and Na concentrations were observed in leaves of Pearl tangelo (1.95 and 0.35 at 60 mM NaCl, respectively) and this cultivar could accumulate these ions in its root.

کلیدواژه ها:

Citrus ، Seed emergence ، Salt tolerance ، Seedling