Oxidative stress indicators as selection tools for salt tolerance

Oxidative stress indicators, malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and chlorophyll retention, were tested as tools for salt‐tolerance screening in Chloris gayana (Kunth), a forage grass exhibiting inter‐ and intra‐cultivar variability in the response to salt stress. Three types of experimental system were compared, salt shock, gradual salt treatment and leaf segments floated on control and saline solutions. Results followed the same trend in the three systems, but leaf segments or gradually salinized plants are the most convenient. Lower mean MDA and higher mean chlorophyll content were found under salinity in cv. ‘Katambora’, which is considered, from previous field trials, to be more salt tolerant than cv. ‘Boma’. Nevertheless, chlorophyll content did not give consistent results in other tests and it is not recommended for selection purposes. Within cv. ‘Boma’, clones rating higher in a salt tolerance evaluation under greenhouse conditions had lower MDA content under salinity and lower mean MDA ratios between salt‐treated and control samples. The survival of 80‘Boma’ plants under increasing NaCl concentration was assessed and MDA was measured in the leaves of very plant before the final NaCl level was reached, to assess whether it was predictive of survival capability. MDA values were significantly lower in the group surviving longer, thus, a selection based on low MDA values would have enriched the original population with more tolerant individuals.