RESPONSE OF WHEAT VARIETIES TO SALINITY STRESS AS AMELIORATED BY SEED PRIMING

Salinity is the most detrimental stress which severely inhibits development of all cultivated crops. In this experiment salinity tolerance of fourteen wheat varieties were assessed with seed priming (50 mM CaCl2) and four levels of (NaCl) salinity (0, 45, 90, 135 mM). The results revealed that effects of salinity and seed priming was significant (p <= 0.05) on root length, shoot and root fresh weight, shoot and root dry weight, shoot and root Na+ content. Pirsabak-05 variety has produced maximum root length (24.12 cm), shoot dry weight plant(-1) (2.08 g), root fresh and dry weight plant(-1) (2.36 vs 0.47g). Maximum shoot fresh weight plant(-1) (8.61 g) was recorded from Lalma-13. Highest root to shoot ratio was observed in wheat variety Insaf-15. Among all wheat varieties, Uqab-00 variety has accumulated highest shoot and root Na+ content (1.31 vs 2.58 mg g(-1) dry weight). The seed priming has enhanced root length, shoot and root fresh weight, shoot and root dry weight except shoot and root Na+ content. Wheat varieties Pirsabak-05, Lalma-13 and Insaf-15 were more responsive to seed priming compared with Uqab-00 and Seher-06. It is concluded that wheat varieties Pirsabak-05, Lalma-13 and Insaf-15 were more tolerant to salinity compared with other varieties.