CORRELATION BETWEEN POTATO CLONES GROWN INVIVO AND INVITRO UNDER SODIUM-CHLORIDE STRESS CONDITIONS

Salinity is one of the most serious and widespread agricultural problems resulting in losses of yield and arable land. One strategy available to cope with saline soil is to choose salt-tolerant crops or to select salt-tolerant cultivars within a crop. Difficulties in breeding for salt tolerance arise from its polygenic control and from the variable salt composition and distribution in the soil. An in vitro approach for screening large amounts of parental material is suggested and the present results confirm previous work conducted on in vitro response of the potato to a high level of sodium chloride. Furthermore, a highly significant correlation was found between in vitro growth parameters and field performance of ten potato clones.