The Influence of Saline Stress Over the Germination Process of Cucumber Seeds – Cucumis Sativus L.

Abstract

The significant reduction in precipitation caused by global warming has led to a marked increase in the concentration of salts in the soil, thus causing the plants to tolerate a much higher salinity. The response of plants to salinity consists of numerous processes that must work together to alleviate both cellular hyperosmolarity and ionic imbalance. Salinity tolerance and plant growth stability are complex genetic traits that are difficult to establish in crops, as saline stress can occur as a catastrophic episode or be imposed continuously or intermittently, and can gradually become more severe at any stage of plant development.Given these conditions, we aimed to identify the influence of saline stress on the germination process of cucumber seeds. To perform the experiment, saline solutions were prepared in different concentrations: 0.25 mM and 0.12 mM, over which sea buckthorn extract (5 ml /l) was added. 18 repetitions were performed, 3 for each solution. Our results indicated that salt stress significantly reduced the cucumber seedlings shoots and roots growth. Also, the cucumber seeds germination was significantly inhibited at concentrations of 0.12 and 0.25 mM of NaCl solution supplemented with sea buckthorn extract.