Effects of different levels of soil salinity on yield attributes, accumulation of nitrogen, and micronutrients in Brassica spp.

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to assess the effect of soil salinity on yield attributes as well as nutrient accumulation in different plant parts of seven Brassica cultivars from two different species raised in pot culture experiment with two levels of salinity treatments along with control corresponding to soil electrical conductivity (EC) values of 1.65 (S₀), 4.50 (S₁) and 6.76 (S₂) dS m⁻¹. The experiment was consisted of twelve replications in a completely randomized design. Imposition of salinity stress affected various yield attributing characters including plant height, which ultimately led to severe yield reduction. However, tolerant cultivars, CS 52 and CS 54 performed better under salt treatment showing lesser yield loss. Salinity stress reduced the nitrogen (N) content in leaves of the Brassica plants, which reflected in decreased seed protein content. Reduced accumulation of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) was observed in leaf, stem and root at flowering and post-flowering stages, while CS 52 and CS 54 showed less reduction than susceptible cultivars under salinity stress.

KEYWORDS:

• Brassica cultivars
• micronutrient
• nitrogen
• salinity stress
• yield
• seed protein

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the authorities of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi for providing the necessary facilities, and Mr. S.N. Rai for the technical support.

Funding

Financial help provided by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India to K. Chakraborty in the form of Senior Research Fellowship is also gratefully acknowledged.