Salinity Tolerance of Durum Wheat Genotypes in Androgenesis

The aim of this study was to investigate the response of certain old and modern durum wheat genotypes (Triticum durum Desf. Kunduru 1149, Berkmen 469, Mirzabey, Altin and Yilmaz) to salinity using anther culture technique. Anther response and callus production were investigated in genotypes applying without and after cold pretreatments on spikes, and significant differences were found in the results. Berkmen 469 produced higher amount of calli both without and after cold pretreatment (7.47% and 16.42%, respectively) than other genotypes. The percentage of responsive anthers and production of calli increased after cold pretreatment in all genotypes tested in this study. Subsequently calli were transferred to the standard MS medium (control) and three different MS media containing various salt concentrations (NaCl doses of 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM and 1.5 mM). In this study, total plant regeneration was observed as 21.21% in Kunduru 1149 and 13.30% in Berkmen 469. Moreover, Kunduru 1149 succeeded in the plant regeneration on the MS medium modified by 0.5 mM and 1.0 mM NaCl concentrations.