GROWTH AND PATTERN OF ION UPTAKE IN ERUCA-SATIVA MILL UNDER SALT STRESS

Salt tolerance of two lines of Eruca sativa was assessed in salinized sand culture and compared to Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Brown) whose salt tolerance is already known. The land race of E.sativa collected from a salt-affected field was highly tolerant in terms of biomass and relative seed yield compared with the normal line, at a range of NaCl treatments, although both the lines excelled B.carinata. The Eruca salt-tolerant line was better able to exclude Na+ from its shoots, had significantly greater K+ and Ca2+ in both shoots and roots and high K selectivity compared with the normal line and B.carinata. From this study it is clear that salt tolerance of E.sativa is associated with exclusion of Na+, high K selectivity and high Ca2+, uptake. E.sativa is more salt-tolerant than B.carinata and possesses ecotypic variation.