Krishnamurthy, L. and Serraj, R. and Rai, K.N. and Hash, C.T. and Dakheel, A.J. (2007) Identification of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] lines tolerant to soil salinity. Euphytica , 158 (1-2). pp. 179-188.
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Abstract
Crop tolerance to salinity is of high importance due to the extent and the constant increase in salt-affected areas in arid and semi-arid regions. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), generally considered as fairly tolerant to salinity, could be an alternative crop option for salt affected areas. To explore the genotypic variability of vegetative-stage salinity tolerance, 100 pearl millet lines from ICRISAT breeding programs were first screened in a pot culture containing Alfisol with 250 mM NaCl solution as basal application. Subsequently, 31 lines including many parents of commercial hybrids, selected from the first trial were re-tested for confirmation of the initial salinity responses. Substantial variation for salinity tolerance was found on the basis of shoot biomass ratio (shoot biomass under salinity/ non-saline control) and 22 lines with a wide range of tolerance varying from highly tolerant to sensitive entries were identified. The performance of the genotypes was largely consistent across experiments. In a separate seed germination and seedling growth study, the seed germination was found to be adversely affected (more than 70% decrease) in more than half of the genotypes with 250 mM concentration of NaCl. The root growth ratio (root growth under salinity/control) as well as shoot growth ratio was measured at 6 DAS and this did not reflect the whole plant performance at 39 DAS. In general, the whole plant salinity tolerance was associated with reduced shoot N content, increased K+ and Na+ contents. The K+/Na+ and Ca++/Na+ ratios were also positively related to the tolerance but not as closely as the Na+ content. Therefore, it is concluded that a large scope exists for improving salt tolerance in pearl millet and that shoot Na+ concentration could be considered as a potential non-destructive selection criterion for vegetative-stage screening. The usefulness of this criterion for salinity response with respect to grain and stover yield remains to be investigated.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Author Affiliation: | International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Subjects: | Soil Science and Microbiology > Soil Sciences Crop Improvement |
| Divisions: | Millet |
| Depositing User: | Mr B Krishnamurthy |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Nov 2010 21:38 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Dec 2010 20:24 |
| Official URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10681-007-9441-3 |
| URI: | http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/692 |
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