Growth, Chlorophyll, and Cation Concentration of Tetraploid Wheat on a Solution High in Sodium Chloride Salt: Hulled Versus Free-Threshing Genotypes

ABSTRACT

Based on the literature, under-utilized hulled wheats could be tolerant to some harsh environmental conditions. The effect of salt stress on chlorophyll content, leaf area, dry weight, and ion concentrations in eight genotypes of tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum) using a three-replicate completely random design indoor experiment was studied. These genotypes included six hulled wheat (HW), T. turgidum subspp. Dicoccum, and two free-threshing wheat (FTW), T. turgidum subspp. durum. Salt stress was induced by adding sodium chloride (NaCl) to a hydroponic medium to 40, 80, and 120 mM, in addition to control. Salinity reduced leaf content of chlorophyll a (chl-a) at 120 mM but had not significant effect on chlorophyll b (chl-b) content. Salt stress decreased plant leaf area by nearly 63%. Plant top dry weight declined by 52% with increasing salinity to 120 mM level. Plant top calcium (Ca²⁺) content was not affected, whereas plant top sodium (Na⁺) concentration increased and potassium (K⁺) and magnesium (Mg⁺) concentration decreased with increasing salinity, averaged over genotypes. No significant interaction of genotype × salinity was detected for traits studied in this experiment. When contrasted as two groups of genotypes, i.e., HW vs. FTW, the former group suffered more severe decreases in terms of chl-a, chl-b, leaf area, dry weight, and Mg²⁺ concentration and a more pronounced increase in Na⁺ compared to the FTW. Overall, no evidence of salt tolerance was found for hulled tetraploid wheats of central Iran.

Keywords:

• chlorophyll content
• leaf area
• ion concentrations
• salinity
• hulled wheat

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was financially supported by the Isfahan University of Technology.

Notes

*Means followed by a same letter(s) in a row are not significantly different from each other (P = 0.05), according to LSD.