Effect of degree of salinity on seed germination and initial growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum)

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the main pulse crops cultivated mostly in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, very often on saline lands. The problem is that it has not been clearly determined yet what is the safe salinity degree for obtaining uniform and vigorous sprouts of the crop without significant suppression in the parameters of initial growth and development. The goal of our study was to determine the effect of different NaCl concentrations in solutions on chickpea germination and initial growth to determine the safe degree of salinity for the crop cultivation. The study was carried out in greenhouse conditions of Kherson State Agrarian University. We studied the effect of five different gradually increasing degrees of NaCl solutions on the germination percentage and initial growth of chickpea (variety Rosanna, kabuli type) that was germinated in laboratory conditions in flasks filled with sand, at the temperature of 25 oC. A significant decrease in all the studied parameters was observed with the increase of salinity degree. However, we think that a considerable decrease of the crop germination and initial growth started with NaCl concentration of 1.79 g/L: germination percentage decreased by 33.9%, plant height – by 7.8 cm, root length – by 5.5 cm in comparison to the control variant (not saline conditions). Therefore, we conclude that the chickpea can be efficiently cultivated on slightly-saline lands. Besides, the results of linear regression analysis revealed that the most susceptible stage of chickpea growth and development is germination because this stage had strong close inter-connection with the degree of salinity. Further growth of the crop was less affected by the salinity stress. We recommend cultivation of chickpea on the saline lands only with a slight salinity level.

Mitigation of Salinity Stress on Chickpea Germination by Salicylic Acid Priming

“…So, it can be concluded that 100 mM or higher concentration of NaCl is a critical threshold on chickpea germination in the present study. Different researchers reported that chickpea is a salt-sensitive species and is negatively affected by increasing salinity levels during germination and early seedling stages (Özaktan et al, 2018;Lavrenko et al, 2019). The SA, due to its characteristics, is considered as a signal molecule that affects some physiological processes of germination (Asadi et al, 2013).…”

The Adaptation and Tolerance of Major Cereals and Legumes to Important Abiotic Stresses

“…The grain yield loss of wheat genotypes in response to salt stress was as high as 82% in controlled environmental studies [ 119 ]. Salinity can adversely affect seed germination in rice [ 120 ], wheat [ 121 ], maize [ 122 ], the faba beans [ 123 ], the chickpea [ 124 ], and the mung bean [ 125 , 126 ]. This is due to the high osmotic potential outside the seed, inhibiting the absorption of water, or due to the toxic effects of Na + and Cl − .…”

Choosing Important Traits for the Model of High-Yielding Winter Wheat Variety Based on the Results of Regional Ecological Varietal Testing

“…Creation of high-yielding wheat varieties with high adaptability to current climate change under the zonal principle provides an opportunity for dramatic production increase. Zonal principle means that not only productivity traits should be encountered but also specific needs depending on the zone of planned crop cultivation, e.g., if wheat is due to be cultivated in the South of Ukraine, it must possess such valuable traits, alongside with high yielding capacity, as drought tolerance and resistance to salinization stress [Lavrenko et al, 2019;. Also, "blind" plant selection is inappropriate nowadays because of irrational spending of economic and labor resources.…”