Department of Botany, P.O. Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya
To assess the effect of low and medium soil salinity (0.1 - 1.2 S m−1 electrical conductivity of the saturation soil extract) on the mineral elements and protein concentration in the shoot of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L) Gaertn), two African cultivars (“Enakuru” and “Ekalakala-1”) were grown under a rain shed covered with clear plastic sheet. The stress caused significant increase in the concentration of sodium, but potassium and proteins were not affected either way. The two cultivars were not able to maintain high K/Na or Ca/Na ratios under salt stress, unlike many of the reported salt resistant grasses; hence the ratios may not be used as a marker for salt stress in the African cultivars of finger millet.
