Identification of some wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)lines for salt tolerance on the basis of growth and physiological characters

To evaluate salt tolerance in some newly developed wheat lines (triticum aestivum l.) on morphological and physiological basis,a net house study was conducted at plant physiology division,nuclear institute of agriculture (nia),tandojam. the tested genotypes were wsp-1,wsp-2,wsp-3 wsp-4 and s-24 along with lu-26s as salt tolerant check. the study was conducted in cemented beds,filled with coarse gravel (up to 30 cm depth). the experiment was laid out using randomized complete block design (rcbd),with three replicates. two treatments were imposed i.e. non-saline control (1.56 ds/m) and saline (12.0 ds/m). salinity was imposed gradually through irrigation after two weeks of germination,using sodium chloride (nacl) salt. the beds were irrigated with modified hoagland solution of respective salinity,weekly or when ever required. growth performance (plant height,productive tillers,spike length,number of grains/ spike,grain weight/ plant and 1000 grain weight) were recorded at the time of maturity. studies on solute contents i.e. organic (proline and total soluble sugars) and inorganic (na,k and k/na ratio) were carried out at the time of flowering. the physiological parameters were also correlated with morphological characters. the results indicate that there was decrease in growth under salinity stress. among the tested genotypes,the performance of wsp-1 was comparatively better at 12.0 ds/m salinity level,with maximum growth variables having < 50% relative decrease. the data indicates that wheat lines are maintaining their osmotic potential (o.p) through the accumulation of organic solutes especially proline. comparatively higher accumulation of organic solutes (proline & total soluble sugars) and less reduction in k/na ratio in genotypes wsp-1 was mainly responsible for its better response to nacl stress. © 2017,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.