Screening of tomato genotypes for salinity tolerance based on early growth attributes and leaf inorganic osmolytes |
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Authors: | Muhammad Ahsan Raza Asif Saeed Hassan Munir Khurram Ziaf Amir Shakeel Nadeem Saeed |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan;2. Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan;3. Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan;4. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan |
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Abstract: | The experiment containing three replicates of completely randomized factorial treatments was conducted in a glasshouse under controlled conditions with three simulated soil salinity levels (control, 10 and 15 dS m?1). Morpho-physiological traits (i.e. lengths, fresh weights and dry weights of root and shoot, number of leaves, root/shoot ratio, shoot Na+ accumulation, K+/Na+ ratio, Ca2+/Na+ ratio, membrane stability index, lycopene contents, chlorophyll-a and -b) were recorded to determine mechanism of salt tolerance of tomato at seedling stage. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to express a three-way interaction of genotype × salinity level × traits that scattered the 25 tomato genotypes based on their morpho-physiological response to different NaCl levels. The negative association of Na+ with all other traits except root/shoot ratio and the morpho-physiological response trend of genotypes exposed that probable mechanism of salt tolerance was initially Na+ exclusion by abscising older leaves to have younger physiologically energetic, and lastly a higher activity of plants for root development to sustain them in saline soil. PCA three-way biplot efficiently recognized ANAHU, LA-2821, LO-2752, LO-2707, PB-017909, LO-2831-23 and 017860 as salt tolerant genotypes. On the other hand, ZARNITZA, GLACIER, LO-2692, LO-2576, BL-1079, 006233, 006232, 017856, NUTYT-701 and NAGINA were found to be salt susceptible. |
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Keywords: | NaCl tolerance tomato seedling morpho-physiological lycopene principal component interaction |
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