Effect of salinity on growth attributes in African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.)

An experiment was conducted at the Botanic Gardens, Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effect of salinity on growth parameters of African marigold. In this study, saline water was used as irrigation water for African marigold varieties (Coimbatore Local and Nilakkottai Local). Six salinity levels were imposed (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 mM and Control). The treatments were imposed by irrigating the plants with desired amount of NaCl dissolved in irrigation water. The observations were made on morphological characters in marigold varieties. Among the varieties, it was found that ‘Coimbatore Local’ tolerated salinity better than ‘Nilakkottai Local’. In both the varieties, reduced plant growth was observed under low salt concentrations, whereas, at higher salt levels, morphological parameters viz., plant height, leaf area, number of lateral branches and root length were significantly reduced. Among the two varieties, Nilakkottai Local recorded the lowest values for morphological parameters when compared to Coimbatore Local.