Determine Seed Germination Potential and Seedling Growth under Salinity on Lentil Seeds

Abiotic stresses such as salinity have a detrimental effect on lentil productivity. The most important stage of a plant’s life cycle is germination. To find out how salt affects the germination of different genotypes of lentil seeds, the current study tried to measure the germination potential of lentil seeds and the growth of seedlings under salinity. Examining the effects of varying salinity levels (00, 20, 40, and 60 mM NaCl) on seedling characteristics and germination of ten genotypes of lentils was the aim of this investigation. Sterilised petridishes with germination papers autoclaved were filled with 15 seeds of each genotype. The sets were kept in the dark for the first two days and were irrigated with 3 ml of test solutions every day after the previous day’s solutions were drained out at 24±2°C in the culture chamber. There were three replications of the CRBD experimental design. Evaluation of tolerance was performed based on germination percentage, seed water absorbance, root and shoot length, seedling water content, seedling vigour index and number of seedlings with an abnormal phenotype. In conclusion, All salinity levels for all characters showed significant genotype differences, except the germination percentage in salinity levels S0 (0.0 mM NaCl) and S3 (60 mM NaCl) and the seedling vigour index in salinity level S2 (0.0 mM NaCl), which indicates intrinsic genotype differences. Significant variations were found in genotypes, salinity levels, and the interactions between genotype and salinity levels, according to pooled analysis of variance. This suggests that genotypes respond differently to salinity for all traits. In conclusion, It is recommended to directly exploit RLG-5, RLG-195, RLG-234, SAPNA, and DLP-58 for seedling establishment in salinity, according to the findings of the current experiment.