Salt tolerance potential of wild resources of the tribe Triticeae

The salt tolerance potential of variousAegilops species of different genome combinationsviz., Aegilops squarrosa, Ae. cylindrica, Ae. ovata. Ae. triuncialis, Ae. variabilis, Ae. bicornis, Ae. longissima, Ae. umbellulata, andAe. sharonensis was tested to identify the high salt-tolerant genotype(s). Screening was done in cement tanks filled with gravel and Hoagland nutrient solution. Salinity was created by mixing Na₂SO₄, CaCl₂, MgCl₂ and NaCl in the ratio of 10∶5∶1∶4 and induced by a stepwise increase in electrical conductivity number of tillers and number of leaves. Inter-and intragenomic variations for cation uptake were also significant. Species with DD and CD genome were found to be highly tolerant. Possible factors responsible for these observations have been discussed.