Department of Plant Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, An-Najah National University, NablusP.O. Box 707, Palestine.
*corresponding author: Tawfiq Qubbaj, Department of Plant Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, An-Najah National University, NablusP.O. Box 707, Palestine. Email: tqubbaj@najah.edu
Online published on 27 January, 2022.
The experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, An-Najah National University, Palestine under growth chamber and greenhouse conditions.
To study the effect of NaCl on germination, fifty seeds in each treatment for each cultivar were germinated on a filter paper in petri dishes moistened with the different NaCl concentration levels (0.0, 50 and 100 mM ). To study the effect of NaCl on plant growth and productivity, 2 seeds per variety were grown in 10 liter pots filled wit peat moss-sand. Pots were irrigated with the different NaCl levels.
The tested chickpea cultivars showed different tolerance levels in response to NaCl stress levels. NaCl reduced final germination percentage (FGP) and germination index (GI). The highest plant height was obtained by Einalbeda (38.63 cm) in the control group, while the lowest one was found in Arij (28.25 cm) under 100 mM NaCl. NaCl did not affect root/shoot ratio in all genotypes. Reduction in fresh weight ranged between 25.6 and 74.2% under 50 and 100 mM NaCl.
Chickpea, Germination index, NaCl, Root/shoot ratio, Salinity
