Influence of salinity stress on morphological, nutritional and physiological attributes in different cultivars of Prunus amygdalus L.

Almond (Prunus amygdalus L.) is commonly grown in water deficit and saline regions of the world, as well as in Iran. The current study aims to assess the morphological, nutritional and physiological responses of four almond cultivars ('Talkh', 'Nonpareil', 'Azar' and 'Sanghi') to salinity stress. Plants were grown under greenhouse conditions and irrigated with modified Hoagland solution containing of 0, 25, 50 and 75 mM NaCl for 90 days. The experimental design was factorial based on CRD. Increasing in the salinity concentration was accompanied on more leaf Na concentration and depression in K concentration in all of the cultivars, although Na+ and K+ accumulation pattern was different between cultivars. Nonpareil and Sanghi maintained better growth in salinity condition, and also nutrient concentration such as Ca, Mg and K decreased lesser, moreover antioxidant enzyme activity like APX, SOD, GR and CAT heightened more in Nonpareil and Sanghi than Talkh and Azar. According to these findings, we concluded that Nonpareil and Sanghi are more tolerant than Talkh and Azar to salinity stress, respectively. In conclusion, we deduced that characteristics such as antioxidant enzymes and macronutrients concentration might be beneficial for assessment and screening of almond cultivars.