Impact of Salinity on Germination Percentage and Seedling Growth in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) var. CSH – 14

Author: Jilukara Soujanya, Bineeta Michael Bara, Prashant Kumar Rai and Abhishek Kumar Pal

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Abstract

In both controlled and natural situations, salinity is one of the major concerns impacting seed germination, plant growth, and photosynthetic efficiency in the majority of species. In order to assess the effects of salinity on the quality of sorghum seeds, the current study was conducted to determine the impact of salinity on germination percentage and seedling growth in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), under controlled conditions. The experiment was carried out in the laboratory of Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Sam Higginbottom University of Agricultural Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh during 2021-2022. The seeds are treated with KCl, CaCl2, NaCl, MgCl2 salts. The treatments are as follows, T0- Control, T1, T2, T3 – KCl @ 50, 100, 150 mM, T4, T5, T6 - CaCl2 @ 50, 100, 150 mM, T7, T8, T9 – NaCl @ 50, 100, 150 mM, T10, T11, T12 – MgCl2 @ 50, 100, 150 mM respectively. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with thirteen treatments including control which were replicated four times. The experiment results revealed that seeds treated with CaCl2 50mM for 12 hours performed better than other treatments on seed quality in sorghum. That is Germination energy (88%), germination percentage (94.50%), root length (18.72 cm), shoot length (12.22 cm), seedling length (30.95 cm), root – shoot ratio (1.63 cm), root fresh weight (0.76 gm), root dry weight (0.15 gm), shoot fresh weight (0.84 gm), shoot dry weight (0.08 gm), seedling vigour index I (2926.56), seedling vigour index II (23.15) found highest in T4 treatment than all other treatments.

Keywords

Sorghum, Salinity, Different Salts, Germination, Seedling Growth

Conclusion

From the present investigation it is concluded that with the increase of salinity there is a significant decrease in germination and seedling growth. Among the various seed treatment treating the seed with CaCl2 50 mM for 12 hours was found to be more effective. The study clearly indicated that CaCl2 50 mM salt treatment was superior to other treatments based on its positive effects on germination and seedling traits. That is Germination energy (88%), germination percentage (94.50%), root length (18.72 cm), shoot length (12.22 cm), seedling length (30.95 cm), root – shoot ratio (1.63 cm), root fresh weight (0.76 gm), root dry weight (0.15 gm), shoot fresh weight (0.84 gm), shoot dry weight (0.08 gm), seedling vigour index I (2926.56), seedling vigour index II (23.15) found highest in T4 treatment than all other treatments.

References

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How to cite this article

Jilukara Soujanya, Bineeta Michael Bara, Prashant Kumar Rai and Abhishek Kumar Pal (2022). Impact of Salinity on Germination Percentage and Seedling Growth in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) var. CSH – 14. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(4): 198-202.