Investigation of Seed Germination Stages in Hordeum vulgare L. Under Salt Stress

Salinity is one of the most significant environmental factors that has unfavourable impacts on the growth of crop plants. It has been estimated that salt stress affects ~2.1% of dry land and ~19.5% of all irrigated land and these percentages continue to increase. The present research work aims to evaluate the effect of NaCl on barley during the seed germination stage. We determined different attributes of barley seeds during the germination stage. The research work integrated germination percentage (G%), germination index (GI), mean germination time (MGT), mean germination rate (MGR), coefficient of variation of germination time (CV), coefficient of velocity of germination (CVG) and germination rate index (GRI). Statistical analysis was carried out by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Different concentrations of NaCl (50 mM, 100 mM, 150 mM and 200 mM) were used to study the impact of salinity on seed germination. The present investigation revealed that different concentrations of NaCl (50 mM, 100 mM, 150 mM and 200 mM) significantly affected the seed germination parameters of barley crops. The germination percentage decreased with increasing concentration of NaCl solution. The concentration of >150 mM of NaCl in the soil significantly inhibited seed germination. The GI also decreased with increasing concentrations of NaCl. MGT of barley seeds significantly increased with increasing concentration of NaCl in the soil. On the other hand, other seed germination parameters, viz., MGR, CVt, CVG and GRI, also exhibited a significantly declining trend with increasing concentration of NaCl. It can be concluded that this negative effect of NaCl on barley seeds is dose-dependent.