| Abstract:
This research was conducted in two separate laboratory experiments to compare the effects of NaCl, PEG 6000. And distilled water on germination traits and salt tolerance (EC=13.7 dS/m) of Sefid Kashan onion seeds as compared with dry untreated seeds. Priming was done by NaCl at 5 concentrations and 3 periods and PEG6000 at 4 concentrations and 2 periods. The seeds after priming were rinsed and dried. Then planted in Petri dishes under saline conditions Germination study was done in an incubator with 20°C temperature and 65% relative humidity in darkness. The traits studied were: germination percentage after 4.8 and 12 days. Plantlet F.W. and D.W., radicle and shootlet length. In this study, RCBD experimental design was used for the analysis of experimental factors. The results showed that hydration of seeds in distilled water significantly increased germination % and plantlet F.W. in comparison with hydration in NaCl solutions. PEG6000 at 25g/l concentration significantly increased germination percentage and radicle length in comparison with other PEG concentrations. It is concluded that PEG6000 has a positive effect on increasing salinity tolerance of onion at germination stage.
|