Pak. J. Bot., 38(2): 325-329, 2006. | Back to Contents | ||||
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Updated: 09-07-09 | ||||
INDUCTION OF SALT TOLERANCE IN CHICKPEA BY USING SIMPLE AND SAFE CHEMICALS NIGHAT SARWAR, SUMAIRA YOUSAF AND FARHAT F. JAMIL
Abstract: Salinity is a common problem in Pakistan, which causes poor development
of crops. Studies were conducted to make possible use of waste saline
land by treating the seeds with some simple chemicals. Experiments were
conducted under controlled and field conditions. Chickpea seeds of variety
CM88 were surface sterilized and soaked in water, mannitol (2% &
4%), K2HPO4 (0.5% & 0.8%) and KNO3 (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%) for
24 hours. Treated seeds were sown in pots, where salinity was created
with 75ml solution of NaCl, along with three different types of control
experiments; non-treated seed in saline soil, non-treated seeds in non
saline soil and water treated seed in non-saline soil. It was observed
that root length and biomass of roots and shoots were better when treated
with water and mannitol. As far as K2HPO4 and KNO3 are concerned, lower
concentrations of these chemicals (0.5% K2HPO4 and KNO3) gave comparatively
better results than higher concentrations. Chickpea seeds of variety
CM98 treated with same chemicals were sown under field conditions, where
EC of the soil was 2.99-9.4 at 0-15cm depth, 2.8-10.5 at 15-30cm depth
and pH was 7.7-9.5. Priming with mannitol and water improved plant survival
and growth up to maturity under saline stress conditions. Plant Protection Division, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), P.O. Box # 128, Jhang road, Faisalabad, Pakistan |
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