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Salt sensitivity in chickpea
Author(s) -
FLOWERS TIMOTHY J.,
GAUR POORAN M.,
GOWDA C. L. LAXMIPATHI,
KRISHNAMURTHY L.,
SAMINENI SRINIVASAN,
SIDDIQUE KADAMBOT H. M.,
TURNER NEIL C.,
VADEZ VINCENT,
VARSHNEY RAJEEV K.,
COLMER TIMOTHY D.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02051.x
Subject(s) - salinity , biology , rhizobia , shoot , germplasm , germination , agronomy , crop , soil salinity , halotolerance , horticulture , nitrogen fixation , ecology , genetics , bacteria
ABSTRACT The growth of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) is very sensitive to salinity, with the most susceptible genotypes dying in just 25 m m NaCl and resistant genotypes unlikely to survive 100 m m NaCl in hydroponics; germination is more tolerant with some genotypes tolerating 320 m m NaCl. When growing in a saline medium, Cl ‐ , which is secreted from glandular hairs on leaves, stems and pods, is present in higher concentrations in shoots than Na + . Salinity reduces the amount of water extractable from soil by a chickpea crop and induces osmotic adjustment, which is greater in nodules than in leaves or roots. Chickpea rhizobia show a higher ‘free‐living’ salt resistance than chickpea plants, and salinity can cause large reductions in nodulation, nodule size and N 2 ‐fixation capacity. Recent screenings of diverse germplasm suggest significant variation of seed yield under saline conditions. Both dominance and additive gene effects have been identified in the effects of salinity on chickpea and there appears to be sufficient genetic variation to enable improvement in yield under saline conditions via breeding. Selections are required across the entire life cycle with a range of rhizobial strains under salt‐affected, preferably field, conditions.