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SCREENING OF DIFFERENT ACCESSIONS OF THREE POTENTIAL GRASS SPECIES FROM CHOLISTAN  DESERT FOR SALT TOLERANCE

M. YASIN ASHRAF¹, KALSOOM AKHTER², F. HUSSAIN¹ AND JAVED IQBAL²

Abstract: Experiments for evaluation of 22 accessions of three grass species (Panicum antidotale, Cenchrus ciliaris and Sporobolus iocladus) from Cholistan for salinity tolerance were conducted in a growth chamber under controlled environmental conditions at NIAB, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Germination stress tolerance index (GSTI), plant height and dry matter stress tolerance indices (PHSTI, DMSTI), cell membrane stability (% injury) and relative saturation deficits (RSD) of the germinating seeds were measured in all accessions under  0 or 1.5 % NaCl level. The results indicated that the accessions with high GSTI, cell membrane stability (less % injury), PHSTI, DMSTI and low RSD were more salt tolerant than the others thus seem promising for getting good productivity in salt-affected areas. These protocols are low cost, rapid and reliable for screening the germplasm of grasses against salinity.

¹ Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), P.O. Box 128, Jhang Road, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
² Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author: M. Yasin Ashraf; niabmyashraf@hotmail.com, myashrafsp@yahoo.com