In vitro selection of salt tolerant variants in Arachis hypogaea L.

NaCl tolerant calli (variants) were selected from the cotyledonary embryo of Arachis hypogea L. on agar solidified medium supplemented with 1% NaCl, a concentration otherwise lethal to non selected calli. Growth characteristics represented by fresh weight Na⁺, K⁺ uptake and proline accumulation pattern were compared in selected and non-selected variants to understand the mechanism of NaCl tolerance. There was a significant difference in proline accumulation which showed correlation with Na⁺ and K⁺ uptake.