Effect of salinity stress on quinoa germination. Influence of ionic and osmotic components

Quinoa is a salinity tolerant species that can be used as a complementary crop in saline soils in many parts of the world. Previous studies, mostly referred to the influence of sodium chloride, have shown that according to the genetic material there are different salinity degrees of tolerance. In general, germination decreases with increasing salinity. However, there are few quinoa studies related to the components of saline stress (ionic and osmotic factors). In this study, the influence of both factors, in the presence of NaCl and KCl salts on CICA Var cultivated in the Argentina Northwest was evaluated. The seeds were germinated under different salt concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, 400 mM NaCl and KCl) and in PEG8000 in solutions osmotically equivalent to the concentrations of sodium and potassium salts. The results showed that up to 200 mM of NaCl and KCl, germination reached values higher than 90% and after 300 mM of salts the rate and final germination decreased. The ionic factor of both salts has the greatest influence on germination. This result can be explained by the physiological adjustment that this variety, originally from the mountainous area of Peru, displayed against the edaphic and microclimatic conditions of the cultivation site in the Argentine Northwest (1,995 m asl).