morpho-physiological and biochemical responses of suger beet cultivars (beta vulgaris l.) topretreatment and salinity

Osmotic stress can elicit a complex response in plants, leading to a range of abnormal symptoms that can limit growth and development, and even result in yield loss. the current study aimed to assess the morpho-physiological responses of various sugar beet cultivars, namely 'shokofa', 'sina', 'paya', 'turbata', and 'aria', to different seed priming methods (non-priming, osmo-priming, and hydro-priming) and varying levels of salinity stress through irrigation (>2, 8, and 16 ds/m). the experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design (rcbd) with a factorial split-plot arrangement. the study was conducted with three replications at a research farm in saveh, iran during the 2019-2020 growing season. results showed that non-priming of ‘shokofa’ genotype, hydro-priming of ‘aria’ genotype, and osmo-priming of ‘paya’ genotype under non-salinity conditions had the highest total chlorophyll content (31.04, 32.80, and 28.50 μg/g fw, respectively). the highest proline content was related to the hydro-and osmo-priming of seeds under high salinity stress (1.91 and 1.23 μmol/g fw, respectively). the hydro-priming treatment of 'shokofa' seeds resulted in the highest lai under high salt stress conditions. additionally, the highest root yield (62.9 tons/ha) was observed in the hydro-priming treatment of 'aria' genotype under non-saline condition. among the sugar beet cultivars, ‘sina’, ‘torbata’, and ‘aria’ had the highest root yield under non-stress and hydro-priming conditions. therefore, these cultivars and the hydro-priming technique are recommended for planting in areas with saline soil or irrigation water.