INFLUENCE OF SALT (NaCl) STRESS IN TWO GROUNDNUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA L.) VARIETIES

Abstract

Salinity is an environmental stress that limits growth and development in plants. Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world and highly prized oil crop. The effect of salt stress on growth and carbohydrates were determined in two groundnut varieties . Plants were subjected to salt stress of different concentrations (0, 40, 80 and 120 mM) as a basal dose and sampling was done in leaves on 20 th Days After Treatment (DAT). Marked variation in plant height, leaf area, fresh and dry weight of the whole plant and chlorophyll content were observed between the two groundnut varieties subjected to salt stress. Amount of carbohydrates such as total sugar, reducing and non reducing sugar and starch varied in two groundnut varieties under salt affected conditions. The amount of total sugar, reducing and non-reducing decreased with increasing salinity concentrations while starch showed a reverse trend. Quantitative differences were also observed in the content of protein and proline under salinity stress conditions. The results revealed that TMV-13 exhibits higher growth rates with high content of chlorophyll, carbohydrates and proline compared toTMV-14 under salinity stress.