Influence of NaCl induced salt stress on the seedling growth of citrus species

Abstract

Salinity is a commonly occurring abiotic stress and poses as a major impediment in citrus production as the crop has less tolerance ability to this stress. It causes severe osmotic stress restraining overall performance of the plant. One month old seedlings of Rangpur lime, Rough lemon and Indian wild orange were established in sand media and later exposed to stress for 48 hrs in a low cost polyhouse. The different levels of sodium chloride (0 mM, 75 mM and 100 mM) was used for simulating salt stress. The morpho-physiological parameters viz., shoot and root length, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root and Relative water content (RWC) were reduced on exposing to stress with severity being in 100 mM NaCl. On comparing citrus species, Rangpur lime performed better at both stress levels than Rough lemon and Indian wild orange exhibiting its tolerance towards salinity.