Pak. J. Bot., 44: 27-35, Special Issue March 2012. |
Back to Contents | ||||
|
Updated: 26-04-12 | ||||
|
CHANGES IN MINERAL COMPOSITION, UPTAKE AND USE EFFICIENCY OF SALT STRESSED WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) PLANTS RAISED FROM SEED TREATED WITH TRIACONTANOL
SHAGUFTA PERVEEN1, MUHAMMAD SHAHBAZ1* AND MUHAMMAD ASHRAF1,2
Abstract: The role of pre-sowing treatment with triacontanol (TRIA) on two cultivars [MH-97 (moderately salt sensitive) and S-24 (salt tolerant)] of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was assessed under saline and non-saline conditions. Twenty four day old plants raised from seed pretreated with TRIA for 24 h were subjected to 0 (control) or 150 mM NaCl. After 21 days of salt application, changes in shoot and root mineral nutrient concentrations, nutrient uptake and use efficiency, and shoot and root K+/Na+ ratios were measured. Salt stress (150 mM NaCl) significantly increased the shoot and root Na+ and Cl- contents, while decreased that of K+, and K+/Na+ ratios in shoot and root of both cultivars under saline conditions. The uptake of shoot Na+ increased significantly, while that of the remaining nutrients decreased under saline conditions. Shoot and root nutrient (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cl-) use efficiency (NUE) decreased significantly in both cultivars under saline conditions. The exogenous application of TRIA as pre-sowing seed treatment significantly increased the shoot Na+ and K+ contents, shoot K+ uptake and shoot Cl- use efficiency, while its effect was non-significant on the remaining attributes in both cultivars under non-saline or saline conditions. Overall, the performance of S-24 was better than MH-97 in shoot and root K+ and Ca2+ contents and the uptake of these nutrients under both saline and non-saline conditions.
1Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 2Second Affiliation: King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia *Corresponding author’s e-mail: shahbazmuaf@yahoo.com |
||||
|
|||||
Back to Contents |
|
Back to Contents | |||
|