Department of Botany & Plant Physiology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004, Haryana
*Corresponding author, E-mail: profdatta@hau.ernet.in
null
Two cultivars of wheat (salt tolerant KRL 1–4 and salt sensitive HD 2329) were exposed to salinity levels of 0, 40, 120 mM of NaCl and 0, 0.3, 0.9 mM of Boron (B) and two levels of Ca (0 and 20 mM as CaCl2). Various growth parameters such as plant height, tiller number, leaf number, leaf area, root volume and total dry weight of plant decreased with increase in salt and B concentrations. It was found that ascorbic acid content and the activity of ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, glutathione reductase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase either remained constant or increased slightly up to 40 mM NaCl (S40) and 0.3 mM boron (B0.3), but further increase in salt and B caused a significant decrease in the enzymatic activity. The decline in enzyme activity was, in general, more in salt sensitive than in salt tolerant cultivar. Application of Ca caused a partial reversal of the decline in the activity of above mentioned enzymes. The efficacy of alleviation by Ca was also more in salt sensitive cultivar (HD 2329) than in salt tolerant cultivar (KRL 1–4).
Anti-oxidant enzymes, boron, Ca, morpho-physiology, salinity, toxicity
