Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• N. Zamani ¹
• P. Roshandel ²

¹ Graduated/Agronomy Dept., Sharekord University

² Assitstant Prof./ Agronomy Dept.,Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.

Abstract

Salt tolerance of six halophytic species (Halocnemum strobilaceum, Halostachysbelangeriana, Salsola tomentosa, Salicornia europea, Halopeplis perfoliata,Salsola crassa) was evaluated at germination stage under NaCl conditions (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%). All seeds showed full germination in 1 and 2% NaCl, comparable to germination in distilled water. By increasing the levels of NaCl, the differences between these species responses were evaluated. The second three species (from coastal zone of the salty lake Maharloo) were more tolerant compared to the first three species (from Gavkhooni deserts). Amongst, S. europea was the most tolerant species. At the second round of experiments and to test the effect of jasmonic acid (JA) on seed germination at high levels of salinity, the seeds were primed with JA (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100µM) and then allowed to germinate in Petri-dishes containing different concentrations of NaCl: 3, 4 and 5% for Gavkhooni species and 4 and 5% for Maharloo species. Priming with 1 µM JA was the most effective to increase germination characters at high levels of salinity. By increasing the concentration of JA (from 10 to 100 µM) the inhibitory effects of JA on seed germination of the mentioned species was appeared.

Keywords

• Extreme salt stress
• Halophytic ecosystem
• Jasmonates
• Salt tolerance
• Seed priming