Salt-Induced Variations in Physiological Parameters and Nutrient Concentrations of Two Wheat Cultivars

Two wheat cultivars, Pasban-90 and Sehr-2006, were screened and sown under different levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations, following the factorial design with four replications, to evaluate the effects of salinity and stress duration on growth of seedling, photosynthetic productivity, and ion contents. Leaf chlorophyll and relative growth rate were determined after an interval of a week while other parameters were determined 25 days after treatment. The two cultivars differed significantly for all the parameters measured at 200 mM NaCl. The lowest concentration of NaCl (50 mM) decreased total leaf area up to 19 and 29% and dry weight by 55 and 63% in Pasban-90 and Sehr-2006, respectively. Salinity concentrations increased sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in tissues. The results of the study indicate great variation for salinity tolerance in two cultivars and greater photosynthetic capacity, comparatively low tissue Na accumulation at high salt levels, and greater relative growth rate. These results are related with the capacity of wheat to salt tolerance.