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Selecting Alfalfa Cultivars for Salt Tolerance Based on Some Physiochemical Traits
Author(s) -
Ashrafi Ensyie,
Razmjoo Jamshid,
Zahedi Morteza,
Pessarakli Mohammad
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj13.0569
Subject(s) - cultivar , proline , salinity , chlorophyll , carotenoid , medicago sativa , agronomy , biology , horticulture , yield (engineering) , chemistry , botany , ecology , biochemistry , amino acid , materials science , metallurgy
To assess salt tolerance of alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.), an understanding of the physiochemical properties of this species is needed. Therefore, a split‐plot design experiment was conducted to determine the leaf proline, total chlorophyll, carotenoid, soluble sugars, and herbage yield of alfalfa grown in a field under salt stress in Isfahan, Iran during 2010–2013. Three irrigation water salinity levels [20 (control), 60, and 120 mM NaCl] were the main plots and nine alfalfa cultivars the subplots. Based on correlation coefficients among the measured traits under severe stress, carotenoid content ( r = 0.84, p = 0.01) had the highest correlation with herbage yield followed by proline ( r = 0.75, p = 0.01), and chlorophyll contents ( r = 0.72, p = 0.05), respectively. Based on overall herbage yield, Rehnani and Isfahani were the superior cultivars. However, based on reduction in herbage yield, under 120 mM NaCl, Isfahani and Rehnani were the most salt tolerant, and Bami, Pioneer, and Nikshahri the most sensitive cultivars. According to the relation between salt tolerance and the measured traits, carotenoid ( r = 0.78, p = 0.01) was the most important marker for salt tolerance in alfalfa followed by leaf proline ( r = 0.67, p = 0.05) and chlorophyll contents ( r = 0.58, p = 0.05), respectively. This study showed cultivar differences in salt tolerance could be attributed to the ability of alfalfa to accumulate physiochemicals under salt stress, and metabolites are useful tools for depicting alfalfa salt tolerance and can be used in plant breeding programs.