Abstract:
Responses of fifty
varieties/lines of Gossypium hirsutum L. to
three NaCl salinity levels i.e., control, 10
dS/m and 20 dS/m, were compared at
seedling stage. The results revealed that
increase in NaCl salinity, after 30 days
growth, considerably affected the root and
shoot lengths, but the effect was more
pronounced on roots. Based upon absolute
salt tolerance and relative salt tolerance,
using root length and shoot length data,
three varieties/lines i.e., NIAB 78, B 557
and MNH 522 were found to be salt
tolerant, and by contrast Qalandri, MNH
147 and BP52NC63 were found to be salt
sensitive. In order to confirm the selection
of the tolerant and sensitive varieties/lines,
it was considered to study substrate salt
tolerance of the selected varieties, the
uptake of Na+ and K+ in the leaves, and then
K+ /Na+ ratio. The estimates of broadsense
heritability of root length was high,
suggesting that improvement in salinity
tolerance in Gossypium hirsutum L. is
possible exploiting the existing variation
through selection and breeding.
