Microbial Population and Yield of Wheat in Relation to Soil Salinity

The studies on isolations of microorganisms from four different saline soils (ECe 1.85, 5.8, 9.4 and 13.4 dS/m) and roots of wheat ( Kharchia-65 , a salt tolerant variety) plants grown in above soils reveal an interesting correlation between microbial population and soil salinity Vis-a-vis growth and yield. Though growth and yield of wheat decreased with an increase in the salinity of the soils, the fungal and bacterial populations concomitantly increased and the maximum microbial colonies were recorded from the soil, having highest salinity status. A maximum number of fungal colonies (predominantly of Aspergillus sp., Paecilomyces sp., Penicillium sp. etc.) was isolated from the root surfaces of the plants grown on soil having ECe of 1.85 dS/m, whereas a single colony of Fusarium oxysporum occurred from roots of plants of soils having an ECe of 13. 4dS/m.     

Allelopathic Effects of Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) on Germination and Growth of Wild Barley (Hordeum spontaneum)

Black mustard [Brassica nigra (L.) Koch.] contains water‐soluble allelochemicals that inhibit the germination and growth of other species. This characteristic could be used in weed management programmes. Greenhouse and laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects on wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum Koch.) germination and seedling growth of (i) preceding crops, (ii) fresh black mustard residue incorporation, and (iii) black mustard leaf, stem, flower and root water extract concentrations. Growth of wild barley, as indicated by plant height and weight, was significantly reduced when grown in soil previously cropped to black mustard compared with that cropped to wild barley. Soil incorporation of fresh black mustard roots and both roots and shoots reduced wild barley germination, plant height and weight when compared with a no‐residue control. In bioassays, black mustard extracts reduced wild barley hypocotyl length, hypocotyl weight, radicle weight, seed germination, and radicle length by as much as 44, 55, 57, 63 and 75 %, respectively, when compared with a water control. Increasing the water extract concentrations from 4 to 20 g per 100 ml of water of all black mustard parts significantly increased the inhibition of wild barley germination, seedling length and weight. Based on 8‐day‐old wild barley radicle length, averaged across all extract concentrations, the degree of toxicity of different black mustard plant parts can be ranked in the following order of inhibition: leaves > flowers > mixture of all plant parts > stems > roots.     

8种棕榈植物幼苗耐盐性的比较分析

摘要：将加那利海枣(Phoenix canariensis)、棍棒椰子(Hyophorbe verschaffeltii)、三角椰子（Dypsis decaryi）、国王椰子（Ravenea rivularis）、飓风椰子（Dictyosperma album）、大王椰子（Roystonea regia）、红棕榈（Latania lontanoides）和狐尾椰子(Wodyetia bifurcata)8种棕榈植物幼苗培养在不同含盐量的土壤中,研究了土壤盐度与棕榈植物幼苗株高生长、植株各部分生物量的关系,确定棕榈植物幼苗生长的土壤盐度的适宜值、临界值和极限值。根据植物生长量和土壤盐度的关系曲线,可以分成3种类型：低盐促进类型（三角椰子和棍棒椰子）、直线负相关类型（国王椰子、加那利海枣和飓风椰子）和低盐敏感类型（狐尾椰子、红棕榈和大王椰子）。8种棕榈植物幼苗耐盐性依次为：加那利海枣>棍棒椰子>三角椰子>国王椰子>飓风椰子>大王椰子>红棕榈>狐尾椰子。     

Comparative Growth Responses and Ionic Relations of Four Cereals during Salt Stress

Four varieties, one each of triticale, wheat, rye and barley were grown in nutrient solution without and with the addition of 75 and 150 mM NaCl. Plants were exposed to salinity for two weeks and growth and ionic relations of plants were measured. Growth of four cereals varieties was affected to different degrees with salinity and shoot fresh weight/dry weight ratios decreased with increase in salt concentration in root medium. Shoots of barley variety accumulated high content of Na and Cl which were primarily due to higher rates of net ion transport from root to shoot. Higher accumulation of Na and Cl in barley variety shoot accompanied by better relative growth rates indicated plant's ability to compartmentalize ions in vacuoles.     

Carbon isotope discrimination: potential for screening salinity tolerance in rice at the seedling stage using hydroponics

Rice is a moderately salt‐sensitive crop species and soil salinity is the single most widespread soil toxicity problem lacing rice production. The quantification of salinity resistance poses serious problems in the field because of climatic factors and field heterogeneity. In the present study. rice germplasm obtained from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Philippines, was screened in a naturally lit (11 h daylight) glasshouse‐based hydroponics unit at two salinity levels (4 and 6 dS/m), Phenotypic performance based on survival of tolerant, moderately tolerant and susceptible isogenic lines along with tolerant and susceptible parents was evaluated after 10 and 13 days of salt stress. Plants were harvested after second scoring and carbon isotope discrimination in the leaves (A) was measured. δ¹ ranged from 19.5 to 22.9%, A highly significant negative correlation (r =?0.95. P < 0.001) between δ and visual scoring was observed. Data indicated the potential of using δ as a physiological indicator for salinity tolerance in rice seedlings grown in hydroponics.     

Uncover the salt tolerance potential of accessions based on photosynthetic attributes and interaction plot in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Soil salinity, being world's gravest and increasing environmental threat, limits the growth and development in nearly all crop plants. The experiment was laid out to investigate the tomato local and exotic germplasm for morpho‐physiological and photosynthetic attributes under salinity stress (0 (control), 8 and 12 dS m^?1). The phenotype data for morpho‐physiological traits were collected; meanwhile, photosynthetic pigments were analysed also at seedling stage. Analysis of variance, interaction plot, PCV and GCV revealed significantly greater diversity among all accessions for subjecting attributes. Strikingly, principle component analysis (PCA) biplot and cluster heatmap exposed potentially salt tolerant accessions (NAQEEB, BL1076, PBLA1401, 017859, TINY TIM, BL1174, BL1078, PBLA1932, TOMMY TOE, PAKIT and CLN2413) under the highest level of salinity for β‐carotene, lycopene contents, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, pheophytin (b) and total pheophytin. The overall performance of the above‐mentioned accessions was found significant and exhibits tolerant attitude under high salt levels. We suggest that these tolerant accessions might facilitate as a potential source for further breeding programme to improve the agronomically important traits by exploiting both conventional as well as molecular breeding efforts.     

Antioxidant Activity in Salt‐Stressed Barley Leaves: Evaluating Time‐ and Age‐Dependence and Suitability for the Use as a Biochemical Marker in Breeding Programs

Soil salinity disturbs the equilibrium between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and removal, leading to a dramatic increase in ROS concentration and oxidative damage. Enzymatic scavenging is one of the two main mechanisms involved in ROS detoxification in plants. This study has investigated the role of major antioxidant (AO) enzymes in mitigating salinity‐induced oxidative stress in plant shoots. Firstly, two barley varieties were used to evaluate the activity of major AO enzymes in different leaves and at different times after salt treatment. Our results showed that AO enzyme activities had strong tissue and time specificity. A further study was conducted using six barley varieties contrasting in salinity tolerance. AO enzyme activities and proline contents were measured in the third leaves of seedlings after plants were treated with 240 mm NaCl for 10 days. No significant correlation was revealed between leaf AO activity and either plant grain yield or plant survival rate under salt stress. In contrast, a significant increase in leaf proline content under salt stress was found in all sensitive varieties, while in most tolerant varieties, salt stress did not change leaf proline level. It is concluded that although salinity induces changes in leaf AO enzyme activities, the changes cannot be used as biochemical indicators in breeding for salinity tolerance.     

Barley mutants with increased tolerance to aluminium toxicity

Acid soil and associated aluminium toxicity are considered as the number one abiotic factor limiting crop production. Over 2 billion hectares of acid soils exist world-wide, both in tropical and moderate climatic zones. In Poland acid soils represent up to60% of arable land. At soil pH < 5.0 Al ions become soluble in water and toxic to plants. Genetic improvement of Al tolerance in crops is the only alternative to soil liming, a traditional but short term and expensive agricultural cure to raise soil pH. Of the various cereals, barley is the most sensitive to Al toxicity. The known sources of Al tolerance in barley are limited to old cultivars and landraces. While they represent multiple alleles of a single locus, there is no potential to improve Al tolerance through recombination of non-allelic additive genes. In the Department of Genetics, Silesian University we have employed induced mutations for rapid creation of variability for Al tolerance in barley. Thirteen mutants with increased levels of tolerance to Al toxicity have been selected in M₃ generation after mutagenic treatment of four barley varieties with N-methyl-N-nitroso urea (MNH) and sodium azide. Six further Al tolerant mutants were identified in the collection of semi-dwarf mutants of the Department. All selected mutants confirmed Al tolerance with the use of three different methods of screening, i.e., root re-growth, root tolerance index and hematoxylin staining. Fourteen mutants exhibited significant root re-growth after 48 hour incubation with 3 ppm Al⁺³ and two of them, namely RL819/2 and RL820/6 were tolerant even to 6 ppm Al⁺³. Crosses of two selected mutants with their respective parent varieties indicated that Al tolerance in each mutant was controlled by a single recessive gene. Out of three methods tested, the root re-growth method facilitated by hematoxylin staining proved to be the most reliable technique for large scale testing. Double treatment with MNH or combined treatment with sodium azide and MNH and 6hinter-incubation germination between treatments were the most successful treatment combinations for induction of aluminium tolerance in barley. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Salt Tolerance is Associated with Differences in Ion Accumulation,Biomass Allocation and Photosynthesis in Cowpea Cultivars

Cowpea is widely cultivated in arid and semi‐arid regions of the world where salinity is a major environmental stress that limits crop productivity. The effects of moderate salinity on growth and photosynthesis were examined during the vegetative phase of two cowpea cultivars previously classified as salt‐tolerant (Pitiúba) and salt‐sensitive (TVu). Two salt treatments (0 and 75 mm NaCl) were applied to 10‐day‐old plants grown in nutrient solution for 24 days. Salt stress caused decreases (59 % in Pitiúba and 72 % in TVu) in biomass accumulation at the end of the experiment. Photosynthetic rates per unit leaf mass, but not per unit leaf area, were remarkably impaired, particularly in TVu. This response was unlikely to have resulted from stomatal or photochemical constraints. Differences in salt tolerance between cultivars were unrelated to (i) variant patterns of Cl^? and K⁺ tissue concentration, (ii) contrasting leaf water relations, or (iii) changes in relative growth rate and net assimilation rate. The relative advantage of Pitiúba over TVu under salt stress was primarily associated with (i) restricted Na⁺ accumulation in leaves paralleling an absolute increase in Na⁺ concentration in roots at early stages of salt treatment and (ii) improved leaf area (resulting from a larger leaf area ratio coupled with a larger leaf mass fraction and larger specific leaf area) and photosynthetic rates per unit leaf mass. Overall, these responses would allow greater whole‐plant carbon gain, thus contributing to a better agronomic performance of salt‐tolerant cowpea cultivars in salinity‐prone regions.     

不同耐盐植物对滨海盐土可溶性盐分运移的影响

为了揭示耐盐植物在生长期内对土壤盐分含量的影响,采用田间试验与室内分析相结合的方法,用电导率仪法测定土壤电导率,用玻璃电极法测定pH值。结果表明：种植耐盐植物对表层土壤具有明显的脱盐效果,其中柽柳对表层及0~80 cm土层的脱盐效果最好。8月份时,耐盐植物处理脱盐效果由高到低的顺序为T3>T1>T2>T4,其表层与对照相比脱盐率分别达到72.11%、52.16%、40.90%、23.63%。种植植物处理处理随时间的推移表层土壤盐分的变化趋势是先下降后上升,在12月份时,表层土壤脱盐顺序为T3>T2>T1>T4,其表层与对照相比脱盐率分别达到78.26%、71.91%、48.79%、40.09%,种植耐盐植物能够抑制土壤盐分累积,但同时也提高了土壤pH值。种植耐盐植物具有明显的降盐效果,但同时也应注意土壤碱化问题。