Germination Capacity of Different Wheat Genotypes Under Salt Stress

Abstract

Salinity stress can negatively impact the growth and productivity of young wheat seedlings, leading to diminished grain yield and quality. Poor salinity management can cause soil sodicity in farming soils, where sodium (Na) binds to negatively charged clay, causing clay swelling and dispersal, subsequently decreasing the crop yield. Thus, the use of salinity tolerant varieties can be a plausible solution. This article investigates the effects of salinity stress on the germination and early seedling growth of 15 wheat genotypes in Bangladesh. The seeds were exposed to four levels of salinity (0, 6, 9, and 12 dS/m) and various germination parameters were measured, such as water imbibition, germination rate, seedling tissue water content, and seedling vigour index. The results showed significant differences among the genotypes and the salinity levels for all the parameters. BARI Gom 25 was found to be the most tolerant genotype, followed by BARI Gom 24, BARI Gom 29, and Binagom-1. The article also discussed the implications of these findings for saline soil remediation and wheat production in coastal areas of Bangladesh